celebrity gossip, academic style

A year ago, I wrote a post asking (and answering) “What is a Justin Bieber?” That was right after the release of his second album; the song “Baby” was all over the place; people were lobbing around the word “Bieber Fever” and making fun of the haircut. Here’s what I said then:

A few months back, someone on my Twitter feed asked “What is a Justin Bieber?” Obviously he’s a person, and more specifically, a teenage pop star, but the phrasing of the question highlights he’s particular role in the mediascape today. Justin Bieber isn’t just a teenage boy with a baby face. He’s not just the next New Kid on the Block, nor is he a new Justin Timberlake. His fame is organic to the internet, and he’s either a harbinger of the future of the music industry or a model for a new type of teenage fame.

Now, I realize the term and idea of transmedia do not translate perfectly to a star. But I do think that we can think of a star as having a ‘narrative’ — and, as in the case of Bieber, a narrative that has components that are consumed by the majority, while other components are meant for consumption by fans aching for deeper understandings of the ‘story’ that is Bieber [.....]

How, specifically, does Bieber occupy this position? He regularly Twitters; he has a website; his music videos are on Youtube. None of those things make him all that different from other pop stars. Yet I would argue that it’s the existence and tremendous popularity of his original videos — coupled with ‘stunts’ such as “Bieber or Die,” the Twitter account (with its 1.7 million followers), and dozens of videos Bieber made specifically for fans, including “So How Did I Fracture My Foot with Taylor Swift?” and “Justin’s Favorite Girl Response” that make his transmedia status (at least somewhat) unique. Bieber has an immense footprint on the web — and that, more than his signature haircut and plaintive voice, are what helped make him so successful.

Again, I don’t think Bieber is unique in his status as a transmedia star. Rather, I think that his success underscores the necessity of *being* transmedia — whether through Twitter, writing books, serving as a guest judge on a reality program, or having a website that does more than simply reproduce known facts about the star (as in the case of Tom Cruise’s). If you want to be a star today, whether in music or reality television, you’ve got to offer breadth — room to explore, room to be fascinated, room for your fans to feel like they know more about you than anyone else….

So what’s changed? Bieber has gone beyond the role of teen idol to become a veritable cultural touchstone, immediately recognizable not only to tweens and teens, but adults of all ages. His visibility is somewhat akin to Miley Cyrus, but without any of the scandal and annoyingness that attends her current image. But he’s more than just visible — he’s LIKABLE. The combination of Bieber’s own charisma and the discourse around that image have transformed a teen idol into an affable, “head firmly on shoulders,” highly self-aware and self-mocking celebrity…..all before the age of 17.

Bieber’s biographical movie — Never Say Never — opens this weekend, and it will open big. Of course, it’s been timed for the weekend before Valentine’s Day, allowing Bieber to boast that girlfriends the world over will be spending their Valentine’s Day….with him. If this line was delivered with a straight face, it might make me nauseous, but there’s a certain tongue-in-cheekness to it, which performs adds a fascinating, incredible self-awareness to his image.

So how has this self-awareness been amplified — and how does it appeal to adults?

As is the case for all stars, the Bieber Image is a result of a cluster of “texts” — interviews, pictures, appearances, music videos, anecdotes — that combine to create a harmonious understanding of what Bieber is “really like.” Obviously, we have no idea what Bieber is “really like,” unless we happened to grow up in Canada with him. Instead, we have a vision of what these texts communicate as his “really like-ness.” Each text makes some claim to authenticity — this is the “real” Justin because it’s live footage; this is the “real” Justin because it’s an intimate interview; this is the REALLY REAL Justin because he’s ACTUALLY TWEETING THESE WORDS!

In recent months, there have been three major texts contributing to the Bieber Image (and, specifically, it’s visibility for adults and non-”Bielibers”)

1.) The Vanity Fair Cover/Profile

There was a lot of hoopla about this cover leading up to its publication — for some, it was a sign that Vanity Fair had finally and totally sold out, featuring a star they knew would generate page views online and newsstand sales offline. (But really, how is this all that different from publishing yet another Kennedy/Camelot retrospective, as they do EVERY YEAR? Just because it’s catering to a different type of celebrity/scandal/glamour-hungry reader….)

The profile includes several, well, HILARIOUS photos — (all photos from VF.com)

Note that all of these photos are at once invoking and softly satirizing Bieber’s teen idol status — and whether or not they were Bieber’s idea (doubtful), they nonetheless communicate a willingness on his part to participate in the mockery of teen idolhood. What they photos boldly communicate: Bieber doesn’t take himself too seriously, and gets that this whole deal — the fact that hoards of screaming girls clamor after him, the fact that photos of him blowing bubbles are “cute” - is absurd. I especially like the one of him singing to the girl above, as it acts out the promise of his songs, e.g. a devoted Bieber will ask you, love-sick girl, on a picnic in the park, and serenade you with a love song written just for you.

The meat of the interview is also quite good — as if Vanity Fair knew that this article would be held up to scrutiny, and they couldn’t offer the usual pabulum that passes for the VF celebrity profile. (Don’t get me started). The author is Lisa Robinson, well-known for her rock journalism over the last thirty years (she was also behind the recent Gaga profile). Robinson makes ample use of testimony from those who surround Bieber, but mixes it with her first-hand account of her time spent with him, painting a portrait that at once makes it easy to understand why young girls love him….but also encourages adult readers to appreciate him. In other words, this profile is not written for teen girls — even if they may have been the ones buying the magazine en masse on the newsstand for the pictures. At several times, she uses a lists of Bieber’s traits/accomplishments to create an aura of maturity. For example:

“A huge Lakers fan, Justin had dinner alone with Kobe Bryant, who reportedly advised him ‘Don’t take any shit from anybody.’ Justin shot hoops and had a dance-off with Shaquille O’Neal on Shaq’s TV show last summer and came across as a sophisticated, smart kid. He can act — a stint on CSI was more than respectable, and his skits with Tina Fey on Saturday Night lIve were funny. He can breakdance and do ‘the Dougie’; he can learn or mimic something in a minute; he can solve a Rubik’s Cube in less than two minutes. When Scooter taught him the Hebrew prayer the Sh’ma, Justin incorporated it into the before-show group prayer on a nightly basis. He’s a phenomenon. This is not your typical teen idol.”

She compares him to the charismatic idols that came before:

“He’s hyper; he’s an athlete — he’s played hockey and golf and by all accounts is excellent at both. In a way, he reminds me of the very young Michael Jackson: with a direct, focused gaze and akeen curiosity, just like Michael did, he asks me almost as many questions as I ask him.”

She draws attention to the way he’s preserved his appeal to teens, and, even more importantly, how interacts with adults:

“He has been linked to and photographed with performers such as Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, and Jasmine Villegas, but he keeps his private life private — lest he destroy his fans’ fantasies. The ‘kid’ sitting in front of me is a huge flirt; he even flirts with every older woman who has ever interviewed him - including Barbara Walters and Oprah Winfrey, both of whom appeared to fall under his spell.

Other parts of the profile — as well as another published in New York Magazine this Fall — point to the fact that he lives his life surrounded by adults; his bodyguards, voice coaches, manager, mother, back-up dancers, mentors (Usher, et. al.). And while he still acts like a kid from time to time (there’s a particularly hilarious section that details the fact that he spends a good amount of time plotting practical jokes and throwing candy at his manager) he spends the vast majority of his time conversing with adults, surrounded by adult conversations, and — this is crucial — keeping the schedule of a workaholic adult. Indeed, one of the traits that emerges from all writing on Bieber is a sort of consummate professionalism: he possesses a keen understanding of exactly what makes his image work, and the sort of work (posing with hundreds of girls for photographs before each concert; going to bed on time so as to preserve his voice; keeping his hair/trademark in tact; not having a serious girlfriend) necessary to preserve that image. He’s a teen beloved by teens, but has few peers. Or, rather, he has become a peer to adults — and that’s why he’s so fascinating/compelling to us, as adults ourselves.

No seriously. Think about the kids you’ve known — whatever their age — that have spoken to you as if you were both adults. Whether it’s a sort of flirting (I used to get this all the time when I was a camp counselor; junior high kids “flirting” in a decidedly un-sexual, yet charisma-infused way) or just communicating about serious issues in an articulate way, these are the kids that adults are drawn to. I have little interest in “being friends” with a 15-year-old who uses teen-speak; but some of 15-year-olds I taught at Gifted and Talented Summer Camp (Nerd Camp, as they called it) had, through a combination of nature and nurture, talking with adults and being treated like adults, learned to communicate and convey themselves like adults, and, in the process, made it much easier for adults to, well, like them. [Because, let's face it, a lot of teenagers are unlikable. I say this as someone who, at several points, as decidedly unlikable myself, even if I did have bursts of likability, but never during my 8th grade year. Ask my mom.]

2.) The 502 Television Appearances

Bieber is in full-out promotion mode for the new film, which means he’s been all over the talk show circuit this past week. But he’s not doing traditional appearances. Instead, he’s mocking him image yet again:

Switching Bodies with Jon Stewart

Satirizing ‘The Roommate’ with Andy Samberg on SNL:

Doing the “Top Ten Reasons It’s Fun to Be Justin Bieber” on Letterman (and then playing the drums with the band):

Highlights:

“Cross me and I”ll have 50,000 screaming girls come to your house and mess you up”

“At the Barber Shop, I can say, ‘Give me the ‘me’”

Appearing in a Best Buy Super Bowl Ad with Ozzy Osborne:

Note that he not only mocks his own image (and Bieber Fever) with a straight-faced sell of “Bieber 6G,” but also, in disguise at the end, plays on the fact that his looks are often compared to those of a girl.

In all three of these high profile appearances, he mocks himself — and appeals to adults who want to have a similarly mocking attitude towards teen culture in general.

3.) The Movie and The Music

Here’s where Bieber’s image gets really polysemic. (Polysemic is a word that Richard Dyer, the scholar who basically founded star studies, used to describe the way that star images worked — each image could hold many meanings, which resonated differently with different people). For even as Bieber uses “adult” media sources to appeal to non-teens, he’s still incredibly skilled at cultivating and sustaining the teens that compose his base. The movie is a straight-faced tale of hard work and devotion, with ample use of clips from Bieber’s past — a testament to the fact that YouTube viewers and fans really and truly made him a star.

TRAILER HERE

The home videos also convey an undeniable authenticity: if even 2-year-old Bieber was talented, that’s proof positive that his talent is neither manufactured nor mediated. Other footage makes it clear that he works hard, which makes it easier to embrace him, as his riches and fame are not a birthright or a matter of chance, but the result of a good old fashioned American(Canadian!) work ethic. (Americans particularly despise those whose fame seems unearned: see Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, et. al.)

While Bieber’s been busy mocking himself on screen, he’s also appealing directly to his SEVEN MILLION Twitter followers to come see the film. Seven million, you guys! Last year, Twitter refigured the way that it tracks “Trending Topics,” because #justinbieber so consistently dominated the top spot. [Think about that: His fans so voraciously Tweeted his name that Twitter had to re-conceptualize the way that it tracked popularity] But his fans got around the #Bieber-ban, conjuring a new way to get him in the trending topics by hashtagging the number of days until the movie opens: #Sixteendays, #FiveDays, etc.

Bieber has accelerated the trend by participating in it himself. Yesterday, he Tweeted #4Days, which was then retweeted by 100+ followers (I’m guessing hundreds of thousands; Twitter refuses to keep track when the number tops 100)

And unlike his old-fogey celebrity elders, Bieber Tweets like a teen. As the New York mag profile points out,

According to Billboard magazine, he tweets at least four times more often than any other celebrity, almost as if he’s filling a quota. He follows more than 70,000 people. He actively cultivates an online conversation, maintaining the illusion that it is not one-sided by frequently giving “shout-outs” to particular fans (“allison in the purple tye dyed shirt it was nice meeting u”) or to his female audience in general (“how u doin ladies ”). The belief that, unlike other artists, he is “real” and that he “really cares about us” is a common refrain among devotees—and what they feel separates him from the genetically blessed and vigorously managed young stars forged in the Disney or Nickelodeon machines. For many fans, having him follow them on Twitter is a lifetime goal, though few have ruled out the possibility that he might one day swoop down into the crowd and choose a lucky girl to be his one and only.

And then there’s the matter of the music. Sure, it’s sweet and a little treacly. But it’s also near-perfect pop. Slate’s music critic, Jody Rosen, cites Bieber’s “Baby” as his favorite of the year, explaining:

I couldn’t resist Justin Bieber’s “Baby,” which struck a perfect balance between hip-pop production and circa-1963 malt-shop throb. (Listen to Bieber’s opening “oh-oh-oh-oh-ah-ah-ah”; listen to that doo-wop chord progression. A cheeky history lesson, courtesy of Tricky Stewart and The-Dream.) “Baby” reached only No. 5 on the Billboard charts, but it was clearly the people’ choice. The video is the most viewed in YouTube history: as of this writing, 444,225,275 viewings and counting.

For snobs, Bieber is an easy punchline. But of course, Bieber is playing a time-honored teen idol role: easing a new generation into the joys of pop and the mysteries of eros, singing songs flushed with romance but notably free of sex itself. He pulled it off with a mix of guilelessness, showbiz panache, and social-media-age savvy that I found charming. Above all, he did it with good music. My World 2.0 is full of excellent pop/R&B songs that Bieber performs with occasional ingénue awkwardness, but mostly in fine style. I like Bieber’s raspy vocal tone. He still hasn’t sung as well on record as he did on those adorable early home videos that got him a record deal.

And hey! I like “Baby!” You know why? Because like Rosen, I love “malt-shop throb.” How different is Bieber, really, in both tone and topic, from Sam Cooke? In this way, his sound appeals to a base audiences (teen girls) and the secondary audience (those, like Rosen, who appreciate a finely-wrought pure pop song).

When Robinson compares Bieber to Michael Jackson, she’s hinting at Bieber’s potential future: as his voice changes and he grows into young adulthood, he’s going to have to figure out what his next step is. If he — and his producers — can figure how to further broaden the appeal of his sound, the same way that Jackson did, he really does have the potential to become much more than a teen idol. Clearly, he has the intelligence, the self composure, the self-awareness, the sense of humor, the work ethic, and the skill needed to do so. If handled wrong — and compounded by a life of abuse — they can lead to tragedy, as manifested in the twilight of Jackson’s career. But all of these profiles of Bieber are also doing a second, equally necessary task: they underline the fact that Bieber comes from a solid, loving background, surrounded by people who want to give him as normal a life as possible — and, in the process, cultivate the charisma and talent he shares with Jackson while avoiding the delusion and grotesquerie.

But only time will tell.

So do you like the Biebs? Even if you don’t like his music, do you find him — and his self-mockery — amusing?