On Tuesday, April 26, 2016, I attended Justin Bieber’s Purpose tour in Cleveland, Ohio. I have mixed feelings about the show, so I feel the need to express my feelings about it.
I have been a loyal fan of the Biebs ever since I was 13 years old, so for over seven years now. Nothing could break my undying love for him, even when he took a dive off the deep end and got himself into some trouble. I still gave him the benefit of the doubt, because that’s life, and I knew he would eventually find his way back. We are all human, but sometimes, it’s difficult to imagine our idols doing bad things. All of the Bieber haters would express how arrogant he was and I never saw it. But after seeing this past concert, I have mixed feelings about him.
I had been so excited to attend this concert ever since my roommate and I snagged tickets in December. We were planning to go all out for this concert, so money wasn’t even a concern when we purchased the tickets. Our tickets, with all of the taxes and fees, came out to be roughly $110. They were in a great location, so everything was set, now all we had to do was wait until April to be reunited with the Biebs. Months passed and the day was finally here. With the concern of the Cavs playoff schedule, I was so thankful that the concert was still on!
As soon as I stepped foot in the Quicken Loans Arena, I took it all in. Our seats were a straight shot to the stage and I was excited! So excited, it reminded me of the first time I saw Justin Bieber, so my expectations were high; bad decision. I made sure before the concert I didn’t look at any videos online to spoil what was supposed to be a great evening.
After the opening acts performed, the environment in the arena was incredible. Everyone was chanting his name and we were ready to see JB. The lights began to dim, our time was here. My expectations were higher than ever. The graphics of his intro video were amazing, then suddenly, Justin rose from the underneath of the stage. All of the girls in the arena screamed, obviously including myself; my ears still ring just thinking about it. I was in disbelief that he was in front of me, so for the first song, "Mark My Words," I had my hands over my mouth, saying "oh my gosh, I love him so much" over and over. He looked great and sounded flawless; at that time, I didn’t think anything of it.
As the concert went on, I started to notice my roommate looked a little disappointed. I wasn’t sure why, but then she told me to watch him sing. Spoiler alert; he wasn’t singing, not even trying. He was just lip-syncing, really badly lip-syncing at that. I can imagine that dancing and singing is difficult, but I used my hard-earned money to watch you sing, and you’re not. He would literally take the microphone away from his mouth as the track was playing; he wasn’t even trying to make it discreet at all. Once I noticed, my heart sank immediately. But it was still early in the concert, so I gave him another chance.
Typically, the artist playing at a concert will play one or two songs, then address the crowd. I adore that because it makes the show feel more intimate. The fourth song came along, and still nothing, not a word. Finally, when Justin sang "Home to Mama," he addressed the crowd. But all he said was, “I’m gonna slow it down a bit." Like, really, are you not going to acknowledge my presence? I spent over a hundred bucks, and so far you haven’t even sung or even shown a sign of interest in my existence. That’s cool, Justin.
Finally, he sang! Yes, he finally used that beautiful voice he has. He stopped halfway through the song to restart, because his guitar was out of tune. But I love moments like that; it shows that he is a human. Not everything can go perfectly during a show. That also means I get to hear his wonderful voice all over. After that, he ACTUALLY sang "Love Yourself," my spirit was high again. I forgave him for the lack of acknowledgment and inability to actually sing. As soon as he wrapped up the song, he started lip syncing. I gave up hope.
The concert went on. I mean, I was having fun, just disappointed in the worst way. I couldn’t believe my idol for over seven years had the audacity to perform like that. I wasn’t sure if he was sick or just out of it. He just seemed so disconnected from the audience. Everything he would say was so scripted and monotone. I spent more time wondering what could possibly be wrong with him rather than focusing on the actual concert. I was just ready to leave at this point.
At the end of the concert, he put on a Cavs jersey and interacted with the crowd a little bit more. Then when he sang "Purpose," and he pulled a little girl on stage and sang to her. All of our hearts fluttered. I tried so hard to be mad at him at that point, but as soon as he starts showing his personality, it is hard to do so. As the finale came to a close, I wasn’t too sure how I felt. I let it sink in for a day, but looking back, I am still extremely disappointed. I am not going to say there wasn’t anything enjoyable about the concert because I did have a great time. The graphics and stage appearance were phenomenal. His dance team was also extremely talented as well. But Justin did not pull his weight that night.
I know we all have our bad days; I have never been in the spot light and I can’t imagine it is always rainbows and butterflies. Justin Bieber is human and we all have our off days. I hope this doesn’t transcend to the rest of his tour, because Justin has built such a loyal and large fan base, it would be awful if we all felt this way after his concert. But he chose this life, it was his decision to tour and his decision to not perform to the best of his ability. Thus, I’m questioning my level of fan loyalty to Justin Bieber.
