If anyone in New York City was still unaware of how real Bieber Fever is, they were fully educated by the end of Tuesday night’s (August 31) concert at Madison Square Garden starring 16-year-old Canadian sensation Justin Bieber.
The sold-out show in one of the world’s most famous arenas was part of Bieber’s My World tour, his first headlining tour built around his two albums, My World and My World 2.0, both released less than a year ago.
It was a slick and stylish show filled with high-flying antics, pyro, and enough sticky and sweet bubblegum pop songs to share with an entire sixth grade class. But style was not just employed to make the concert visually appealing; it was also used to hide flaws in Bieber’s still-maturing artistry, like how his voice was an utter strained mess on most of the ballads (to be fair, he was getting over an illness that forced the cancellation of a performance only a couple days prior), and that his swagger isn’t really natural, but a clever mimic of stars he looks up to (his mentor, R&B star Usher, for one).
But none of that mattered to the crowd of young girls — most with parents in tow — who came to see the Biebs sing, dance, and, oh yes, flip his hair. The parents can appreciate that he also played guitar, drums, and piano during his set.
“Welcome to my world…I got a lot of surprises,” Bieber said after starting the show with first album cuts “Love Me” and “Bigger.” “You know I have the greatest fans in the world right? And I would do anything to make them smile, because when you smile, I smile.” Cue his new single, “U Smile,” which he performed with three background singers lined up behind him, giving the song an almost Boyz II Men-like soulfulness. Wait — that really IS Boyz II Men! Surprise numeral uno!
And the surprises didn’t stop there. Between flying over the crowd in a gigantic metal heart for “Never Let You Go” and “Favorite Girl,” which he mixed with Kanye West’s “Heartless” (West didn’t come out for the remix of “Runaway Love” like we had hoped) and showing sappy home videos that elicited just as many teen screams as live and in person JB did, Bieber brought out Usher for “Somebody To Love,” Miley Cyrus, who was dressed like a cheap Las Vegas cocktail waitress, for a duet of “Overboard,” Will Smith’s adorable pint-sized rapping son, Jaden Smith, for “Never Say Never” (he should probably follow his dad’s example and stick to acting), opening act Sean Kingston for “Eenie Meenie,” and closed the show with his biggest single, “Baby,” with its featured guest, Ludacris, coming out for one more sweet treat.
VIDEO: Justin Bieber Rocks Madison Square Garden With Miley Cyrus, Usher, Ludacris, More
Adults can pick apart the show if they’d like, but JB had the overwhelming approval of his target audience. Overheard: “Oh my God, Mom, that was the best show ever….and he’s SO cute!” Well, there you have it.
Justin Bieber’s Madison Square Garden show also doubled as the setting for his 3D concert movie, hitting theaters at the end of the year.
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