Justin Bieber has accomplished a massive amount by the age of 19. Multimillion selling albums, a sold out world tour and a fanatical group of fans who would probably even defend him kicking a basket of kittens off a cliff.
Despite the platinum records and the movie, Bieber’s never really had the ear of many within the music world, a point made wonderfully clear by Patrick Carney saying the “He’s rich, right? Grammy’s are for music, not for money. He’s making a lot of money. He should be happy, I guess” when asked what he thought about Bieber’s lack of Grammy nominations.
While Carney attracted a hilarious amount of hate on Twitter, we have to be honest and say that here in the FemaleFirst towers, we think that not only was it a ridiculous question to ask Carney, but that he’s right.
Bieber’s not making the type of music that will stand the test of time and be looked back on favourably. Let’s be honest here, Bieber’s songs aren’t masterfully written pieces of art. McCartney, Lennon and Cobain shouldn’t start quaking in their boots any time soon after listening to 'Boyfirend' or 'Beauty And A Beat'. None of his songs had truly delved the depths of the human soul or extolled a craving for something more.
While his music has matured over the last two years (although coming from My World that’s not too tricky a feat), it’s still very much the music of a care-free teenager which doesn’t feel like it’s going to be treated the kindest to the ravages of time.
The real question is though; will he simply have burnt out by then? Can a late-twenties Justin Bieber still succeed? The answer here really is no. Bieber’s fan base is primarily young girls. Young girls that will soon grow out of this phase of their life, soon acquire driver’s licences and then be introduced to a world of much better music at college.
Another factor is as to if Bieber will even be making music in ten years’ time. Over the last few months, Bieber’s increasingly looking like a rather unsavoury character to anyone apart from his die-hard fans. Behaviour on and off stage has stunk of someone with a rather overblown opinion of themselves.
Contrast the mop haired 16 year old who burst on to the scene with ‘Baby’ to the 19 year old we see today. If he keeps up this trajectory over the next decade, he’s going to burn out rather quickly. Just look at the pictures coming out today with him strutting around London in the early hours of the evening shirtless and seemingly having forgotten how to wear trousers.
Bieber’s not helping his situation with these types of antics. This attitude isn’t unexpected, he’s been constantly told over the last few years that he’s amazing, but it really doesn’t endear him to the rest of the world who hasn’t always been a ‘Belieber’.
We can’t see any situation in the near future where Justin is embraced the same way musically as youngsters like Jake Bugg and Tom Odell have been, and while this hasn’t always been crucial in ensuring a long-term career, Bieber’s always going to be a divisive figure amongst listeners.
Justin may have built himself an empire by the time most of us are only half way through higher education, but time may prove that it’s built out of quicksand.
What do think, is Bieber fever a long lasting infection and can he still be as big in a decade’s time? Or will he simply become another embarrassing footnote in the musical histories of millions of women out there? Let us know in the comments.
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