One must follow a certain protocol when interviewing an obscenely famous superstar such as Justin Bieber. Questions, a maximum of three, must be e-mailed in advance to his record label. You must be at the venue four hours before the designated time to register, have your credentials checked, and wait — with only breath mints for lunch — for his arrival, which will be behind schedule. No iPhones (they will be kept in a Ziploc bag and returned to you later), so no live tweeting. No cameras either (official photos and video will be provided).
As my voice recorder and I found a spot behind rows of hysterical tween girls who have yet to discover One Direction, I realized that I was in a privileged position: I could finally observe real-life Beliebers in action. Will they scream and sob at his Canadianness until they pass out? Will my ears be able to withstand the frightening decibel levels? Will I, at the end of all this, go native and become a Belieber myself?
PG-13 Queries
After treating the Toddlers & Tiaras set to a special pre-concert acoustic gig, Justin Bieber then fielded some fan questions. “The quietest girl gets picked,” he says, the subtle sarcasm flying past most heads in the auditorium. The queries were appropriately PG-13. The comments in my head? Not so much:
Eager Belieber: “What’s your favorite car right now?”
The Biebs: “My favorite car is probably the Rolls-Royce Phantom. I don’t own it, but I like to look at it from a distance.”
Me: “Not your $102,000 Fisker Karma?” (See, I would’ve taken the opportunity to quiz him about his most recent brush with the law, when he called 911 during a paparazzi chase and was eventually cited for excessive speeding. Oh, the awkwardness.)
Belieber in the nosebleed area: “What’s it like to be loved by everyone?”
Me: “Awww, you are acutely aware of how you are perceived. Four for you, Glenn Coco!”
Nearly speechless Belieber: “Can I hug you?”
The Biebs: “You’re all the way there! Can’t you ask another question? Can we do an air hug?” (Bieber then wraps his twig-like arms around himself.)
Me: “When the misty clouds of youth have finally cleared, this particular devotee can look back on this once-in-a-lifetime episode and slap herself for not asking the pubescent light of her life a more open-ended question.”
Elegant Journalism
But as it turns out, those Justin Bieber fans were smarter interrogators than some adults. I showed at to the press conference ready, stones in hand, but our collective interview time was used up by lazy Asian reporters who formulated questions that Google could answer. (“If you could choose anybody dead or alive to collaborate with, who would it be?”; “What normal things do you miss doing the most?”; and my favorite, “What makes a good boyfriend?”) I rolled my eyes at how elegantly regional journalism was swirling down the regional toilet. At least I had the concert to look forward to.
To shake things up this year, MTV decided to open the show with the boldest name in the line-up. Malaysia was Bieber’s lone Southeast Asian stop and the banshee-like shrieking could be heard from Subang all the way to Kuala Lumpur. Panting in between songs due to the humidity, J-Beebs nonetheless delivered a more-than-decent suite of familiar and not-so-familiar tracks, from the earworm Baby and latest hit Boyfriend to All Around the World and Die In Your Arms from “Believe.” What truly got my attention though was him dancing impeccably to As Long As You Love Me, a dubstep-infused R&B number. Suddenly I didn’t care if people saw me singing along with my eyes closed. The kid can really move. I was jealous.
The Korean girl group Kara was next to storm the stage. It was the fivesome’s first-ever live Malaysian appearance and though they have yet to find their place in today’s K-Pop pantheon, their soft power quotient was evident. Dazzling lights and cutesy choreography came together as they performed Jumping, Lupin, Honey, and the big-in-Japan Mister, singles that you didn’t need to understand to enjoy. Kara is really nice to look at, but as I’m hardly a K-Pop connoisseur I find them a tad interchangeable.
Paroxysm of Puppy Love
“I want to make Malaysia proud because they chose me this year,” goes Mizz Nina, the third act to command the 16,000 or so young attendees. The day before, the homegrown talent, who has teamed up with Flo Rida and Colby O’Donis, told me that Malaysian artists making it big worldwide — Yuna, Zee Avi, and herself — owe their success to passion, hard work and a good team. Of course, “the music, your product, has to reach out and connect to people.” She proved it that night with Just Do It, Takeover, Summer Burning, and What You Waiting For?
“Filipino fans have very good hospitality. It’s a very affectionate country and every time I go there it’s a good experience,” shares Jay Park, the final artist at MTV World Stage Live in Malaysia 2012. The US-born 25-year-old initially found solo renown doing YouTube covers, but in four short years he has rapped and crooned his way into many a teenage heart via his own compositions.
His set — Abandoned, Know Your Name, and Carefree, among others — was well-received by girls overtaken by some momentary paroxysm of puppy love and a glimpse of his abs. As he and his crew b-boyed to Far East Movement’s Dirty Bass, I recalled what he said during our brief chat earlier: “I don’t feel like I’m that famous or a big celebrity or anything. I’m just trying to be me, trying to enjoy life. If I get to Justin Bieber status then you could ask me that question.”
And so, I guess, it was back to Bieber. By the time the crowds made their exit, the pocket-sized pop sensation was already en route to Australia and New Zealand, where he would promote his latest album. He is probably the biggest celebrity I’ve had the chance to meet — however fleeting — to date, and I couldn’t help but picture how he plans to transmute the magnificent fame of being the king of singing fetuses into doing whatever the hell he wanted when he was older. He has gotten a lot of static in his life for being a moppet. But once upon a time, if you jog your memory, so did Justin Timberlake.
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Shot in high definition, MTV World Stage Live in Malaysia 2012 premieres today, July 28, at 1:30 p.m. (SG/HK/PHIL) on MTV Southeast Asia. Contact your cable operator for channel details.
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Special thanks to Dawn Lum and Tarin Teo.
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