The pop star becomes the new face of Calvin Klein underwear and jeans. Alicia Powell reports.
Justin Bieber took an informal poll to determine the age of his audience at his Saturday, July 9 concert at the Prudential Center in Newark.
He'd state a number and wait for the squeals in response. Fifteen was the winner.
So it is for the 22-year old Bieber, who's making motions toward musical maturity -- witness his forays into a New Age-y, EDM sound -- but who's seemingly stuck in teen and tween pop stardom. So it was in Newark as a largely teen female audience cheered, squealed and cooed at every Bieber moment.
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A slide down the back of the stage -- a cheer. A somersault on a trampoline during "Company" -- a big cheer. A drum solo on a riser -- a big squeal with a coo. Biebs could do no wrong. To reciprocate, he brought out kid dancers for his song "Children," completing the circle.
Yet, the evening seemed lacking. It seemed rote, uninspired and mechanical. Bieber didn't seem to be enjoying himself. It seemed on stage at the Prudential Center was the last place he wanted to be.
Now, we're not naive to think that every performer on a stage is having the time of his or her life. But we never caught the Backstreet Boys with a sour puss on their faces on stage. Even when they were hanging upside down from the ceiling in harnesses, they looked relatively happy.
Not so with Bieber, who with a kilt and tussled blonde hair looked like a Millennial Johnny Rotten. Even Bieber's metallic, round-edged stage seemed to suggest a steely dourness. The fact that the Bieber didn't even pretend to sing added to the toss away feeling of the show.
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Ninety-five percent of the energy in the room, if not more, came from the audience.
"This is the Purpose Tour and I'm proud of each and every one of you," Beiber said. "Thank you for letting me do my purpose." The tour plays the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Friday, July 15 and Madison Square Garden on Monday, July 18 and Tuesday, July 19.
Hits like "Baby" and the newer "Sorry," a tropical pop song produced by Skrillex, closed the show. Bieber and his team of dancers wound up in a wading pool on stage. Even the splashy horseplay seemed forced.
Chris Jordan: cjordan@app.com
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