10 Years Of Justin Bieber: Fans Reflect On How Beliebing Changed Their Lives
10 Years Of Justin Bieber: Fans Reflect On How Beliebing Changed Their Lives
By Elizabeth de Luna
One of Justin Bieber's biggest hits asks "Where Are Ü Now?," a question that feels timely today because the singer celebrates a decade of pop stardom with the release of a greatest hits album, The Best. Over the last 10 years, Bieber has damaged records, multiple hearts and, yes, several laws. Although he’s also noticed solace in religion and family member and is happily married. The Bieber of 2019 has grown up, and thus have his fans. We wanted to know, where are they now?
In 2009, Beliebers were the pioneers of online stanning culture and paired in-person community organizing with digital savvy. They led mass physical album buyouts while setting records for streaming and zealously adopted early forms of online engagement. By 2010, they were trending Bieber-related hashtags day-to-day on Twitter, prompting the platform to alter its trending hashtag algorithm in a try to diversify the topics that appeared there (though Beliebers remained unbothered and speedily trended "Bustin Jieber" instead).
We discussed to five current and past Beliebers about those first few years, whether they still imagine themselves fans today, and what they're up to right now. Visualize what they had to mention about buyouts, "Baby," and The Biebz below.
Maya, 22
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Favorite Justin Bieber Song: "Stuck In The Moment"
Courtesy of MayaMTV News: What is your first memory of Justin Bieber?
Maya: I remember watching a YouTube video that someone had embedded on their MySpace page of his "With You" cover. From there on, I watched his YouTube videos and added him as a friend on MySpace and followed him on Twitter... He actually ended up following me in March 2010 immediately after months of begging. He still follows me, and I routinely forget. I some days DM him just because I can and I know he won’t visualize them. In high school I DM'd him "please go to prom with me." [Laughs]
MTV News: As soon as would you would you mention you became a Belieber?
Maya: I saw on Justin's MySpace events that he'd be doing a concert with a local radio station at Fourth Street Live! In Louisville. This was September 2009 and, OK, listen to this lineup: Justin Bieber, Gentlemen Like Females, Push Play, Jay Sean, and Jessie James... For $5! He was headlining, also it was chaos. If he went on, it was clear that that's who each person was there for. It sold out and I had a soccer game just before, so my dad drove us from soccer straight to the concert. Justin played "One Time," "Bigger," and "One Much less Lonely Girl."
Courtesy of MayaMTV News: What a nice dad you have!
Maya: My parents were both super accommodating, especially my dad. He is a professor at a community college, so while he introduces himself to his classes he likes to brag, "I went with my daughter to be able to see The Jonas Brothers and Justin Bieber way back whenever, before they were big."
MTV News: How long would you mention you were a hardcore Belieber?
Maya: I probably was into him up until Purpose. I still love him, naturally, however I got into One Direction, and right now I just support smaller bands.
MTV News: What do you do now?
Maya: I just graduated with a degree in Recording Industry Management and Music Agency and aspire to go into VIP experiences.
Courtesy of MayaMTV News: do you suggest being a fan of Justin contributed to your career?
Maya: Certainly. I just remember following how Scooter Braun [Justin's manager] managed artists and thought it was cool that the head of Bieber Army [a fan Twitter account] was hired to do digital marketing for SB Projects [Braun's company]. A lot of people in the fandom have ended up going into digital media jobs and touring.
I was so cringey... I'm just thinking about how much stuff I did. Once My World came out I made a shirt that mentioned "Bieber Day" in bubble paint and wore it to school to promote the album. And once My World 2.0 came out and so they made a CD booklet that was a collage of fans faces, I submitted my photo plus it got on the cover. I compiled a Justin Bieber "street team" for Kentucky on MySpace, and I was just a kid! I wanted to organize a buyout, yet I was a poor 12-year-old so I just updated the page with TV appearances and his discography. Looking back at it right now, I'm like, "Wow." It makes sense that I got the degree I did. I was a kid attempting to promote an artist — and that's still what I'd like to do!
Ida, 23
Oslo, Norway
Favorite Justin Bieber Song: "All Around the World"
Courtesy of IdaMTV News: What is your first memory of Justin Bieber?
Ida: It was lunch break or recess in middle school. The girl who would later become one of my best companions showed me "Love Me" on her iPod Touch because it sampled "Lovefool" by The Cardigans, which was a song we already knew. The opening thing I mentioned upon hearing his voice was, "Who is this girl?" My friend got really offended and corrected me. I then listened to "One Far less Lonely Girl," which is one of the opening things I remember doing on my way to becoming a Belieber.
MTV News: Do you imagine yourself a Belieber still?
Ida: No.
MTV News: Why not, once did you determine that?
Ida: Any time While I met him.
MTV News: Get out!
Ida: Yep! It was his Believe tour in April 2013 and my friend and I got Diamond Circle tickets. She had joined a contest on BieberFever.Com where would be entered to win a meet and greet with Justin in case you submitted a photo of yourself with many Bieber merch. She happened to check her phone while we were waiting for the concert to begin and we began screaming, "We're meeting Justin Bieber!" And every Belieber around us was so excited for us. We had an incredible concert. Bieber has astonishing stage presence, so it's fun to be able to see him in concert — I plan to will usually mention that.
The next day was the meet and greet and I was so nervous. I visualize him, I walk up to him, and I mention, "Hi, Justin!" And he looks at me like he would rather be dead than mention hi to me. I remember that so vividly that I got this really weird feeling in the pit of my belly. Before we may mention anything else to him, security began to push us out. We tried saying goodbye and he didn’t even acknowledge us or smile in the picture. I did think it was sort of sweet that he contained my hand beyond one of my companions backs in the photo we took, however it group kind of felt like an automatic reaction to prepare me feel like he cared.
Courtesy of IdaAnyway, it doesn't sound as bad If I mention it out loud, however as a person who'd been a fan of him for over three years, it just wasn't the perfect feeling. That night we went to be able to see him in concert again, and I barely remember it because we just did not have as much fun. That was April 18, 2013 and by the time June 2013 came around, I was already a EXO-L [a fan of K-pop order EXO].
It was sort of sad, nevertheless that was a nice way to end it. He still follows me on Twitter, which is funny. He is my oldest mutual on Twitter! He retweeted me once, so I had done everything a Belieber could want — I was followed by him, retweeted by him, saw him in concert, and met him. Everything except being the One Much less Lonely Girl!
MTV News: What were some of the craziest things you did as a Belieber?
Ida: If I was 15, me and my best friend at the time made the opening Bieber parade in Norway. The girl who'd created the opening Bieber parade ever was from Denmark, and I knew her and asked if we may do the same thing in Norway. And me being 15 years old, we just did it; we didn't ask the police. There really is a statue in front of the Norwegian palace in Oslo, and we determined we would meet there. The soldiers standing guard literally instructed us a number of times not to stand there, and we did it anyway. I was barely allowed to be in Oslo alone, and my friend and I were hosting an event! We also made a street team and used the printer at our school to print posters before putting them up everywhere. My friend and I did a buyout of Under the Mistletoe and gave the albums to the Oslo University Hospital. And then I also saw Justin in the astonishing chaos that was May 30th, 2012 on the roof of the Oslo Opera House.
Courtesy of IdaMTV News: There’s a magnificent overhead shot of the scene that day!
Ida: Exactly! We determined we were going to go to the airport and wait for him to show up. A friend had a camera crew following her for a NRK (Norway’s public broadcaster) show called Normal Madness the complete day. We waited overnight and any time while he landed he didn’t come through either of the VIP exits we were waiting at, so there's a nice recorded shot of me swearing because we had been given the incorrect statistics about where he'd be.
By this time I was feeling pretty ill, nevertheless we still went to the Opera Residence. They weren't letting anyone else onto the roof to watch him perform, and I was so sick that I fainted in line. That gave me this astonishing idea for a lie. I walked right up to the security employee and instructed him that we were with that friend who was filming a documentary nevertheless had to stay back because I was not feeling well. We were supposed to meet them on the roof. He didn't look convinced so I whipped out my phone and, although I didn’t have the variety of the girl being filmed, I still mentioned, "I can call them now and confirm that we are segment of the team." And he let's onto the roof! I was so intense as a Belieber. That same day, a pap proposed us $2300 to tell them where Justin was and we resisted to tell him. I went house and yes it turned out that I had bronchitis for those two days.
MTV News: How has being a Belieber affected who you are today?
Ida: I learned to speak English language by being a fan of Justin Bieber. We learn English in school in Norway, although I discussed to people on Twitter daily any time As soon as I became a Belieber. I went from being an average student in English language to getting top grades because I was speaking English language daily, just talking about what I loved.
Khoi, 22
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Favorite Justin Bieber Song: "Favorite Girl"
Courtesy of KhoiMTV News: What is your first memory of Justin Bieber?
Khoi: I was in Germany, and my cousin showed me the song "One Time" on her phone. I remember immediately loving the song, although I recall being a hater before that. I watched him on YouTube, busking in front of the Avon Theatre, at least a hundred times.
MTV News: As soon as did you begin your Justin Bieber fan Tumblr?
Khoi: It must have been around that time. I was already into Photoshop and making GIFs and he had a lot of content, interviews, etc., To work with. I should make GIFs and create promo pictures. I had a pretty fantastic URL (thebiebs.Tumblr.Com) and, at my peak, I had 11,000 followers!
MTV News: Would you mention you’re still a Belieber? Why or why not?
Khoi: I wouldn’t mention I'm not, because if he plays a gig in Rotterdam I routinely go, nevertheless around 17 or 18, I stopped being so into him. This was around the time that he and Selena [Gomez] broke up and he went into a downward spiral. He had to appear in court and had a mugshot and that’s any time While I was like, "I can't do this anymore."
For five years, I protected him. I would routinely stick up for him once anyone spoke trash about him. Even as soon as he was doing bad things, I might still make very good excuses for him. I think I saw him as a friend. I'd mention, "You only visualize what they mention about him on the news, you don’t know him." Not that I knew him, yet I felt like I did. I knew the names of his best friend, of his mom, of his grandparents, of his dog. I felt like they didn't know the Justin I knew and the Justin I knew was so much better than anything that was ever portrayed on the news.
MTV News: What's your best memory from being a Belieber?
Khoi: I remember him retweeting and following me on Twitter and that was such a big deal. That was on July 8, 2013, and I used to think about that date As soon as I was irritated because it made me so happy. It was 2 a.M. And I began screaming and my parents woke up and asked me what was going on. Once they discovered why I was shrieking, they were like, "Are you kidding me?"
MTV News: What did your parents think?
Khoi: I think they were sort of worried about me because I would spend so much time on the world wide web. I would do Skype sessions with several females from the Netherlands, the Philippines, and America. I remember having long talks about how he was super misunderstood, how was 12 as soon as he got prominent, and why he needless to say had to learn to grow up coping with the fame. I don't think my parents understood why I was talking to so several people around the world or how big of a fan I was.
Courtesy of KhoiMTV News: Any time once you look back on that time, what do you suggest of yourself?
Khoi: I certainly could have been far less obnoxious about Justin Bieber, yet I do remember that time very fondly because I really noticed a sense of community I hadn't had before. I clicked with people who I would have never met otherwise. I grew up in a tiny town in the Netherlands, and I'm Vietnamese and there weren't several Asian people where I grew up, so to have that sense of community was a really good time.
overall, I was very in the Justin Bieber bubble. I remember getting in a fight with a friend because I could remember Justin Bieber’s birthday and not hers. And I remember her being significantly furious about it and back then, I couldn't understand why. In hindsight, it's super weird that I would know a celebrity’s birthday and the time he was place on Earth yet not any time one of my best companions birthday was.
MTV News: What are you up to now?
Khoi: I'm doing a BA in International Communication and Media at a university here in Rotterdam. I'm serious about pop culture and why things are portrayed in the media and wish to go into marketing... In a way, habitually wanting to be up to date about all things Justin helped me figure out that I was dedicated to popular culture and made me wish to apply for this degree.
Lama, 20
Saudi Arabia
Favorite Justin Bieber Song: "Down to Earth"
Courtesy of LamaMTV News: What is your first memory of Justin Bieber?
Lama: Each person was talking about him, and I remember I pulled up YouTube on my mom's computer to listen to "One Time." Then I began looking at his older videos. I really fancied his music and I still remember most of the lyrics to the My World album. I remember he habitually discussed about his mother and why much he loved her and that was one of the things that made me really like him and gave him points with my mom, also. Pretty speedily I changed my Twitter account to "LamaBieber" with several random numbers at the end.
MTV News: Did you have companions who were Beliebers?
Lama: I befriended a lot of people throughout that time and I actually met one of my best companions before I actually knew her. She had a Bieber fan account and mentioned she was Saudi, and there weren't several Saudi Beliebers, so it was really fun to find another one. My friend order was obsessed with Justin. That was sort of our thing, being Beliebers. I remember once on his birthday, we got him a cake although we knew he'd never visualize it.
Courtesy of LamaMTV News: What's different about being a Saudi Belieber?
Lama: We did not have as much possibility in terms of merchandise and movies because back then Saudi Arabia was really in back of on media. Physical albums would arrive months right after their release. We did not have a cinema up until recently so once his movie came out, I needed travel to be able to see it. I've never paid for something Bieber-related in Saudi Arabia. As soon as my family member traveled and saw something Bieber-related them would purchase it for me. It was just harder to be a fan, and we got all of our info from Twitter.
MTV News: Would you imagine yourself a Belieber still?
Lama: No. The initial experience that annoyed me was whenever Justin came to perform in Dubai in May 2013 and was three hours late. I was alone, it was really hot, and I was really tired because we were standing. There were so several people who came from Saudi Arabia to be able to see him. It was a very exhausting experience for us, and he issued no apology... I began seeing pictures of him and realized I didn't feel the same way anymore.
MTV News: How did being a Belieber shape who you are now?
Lama: Any time While I look back at what I did, I think some of it was beautiful, however in general I am embarrassed by it. Although at the same time, it was fun and also a lot of it helped shaped my childhood.
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