There are two kinds of Justin Bieber fans, or as they call themselves, Beliebers. There are the casual listeners who might hear one of his songs and the radio and think ‘Oh, this is actually a pretty cool song’. And then there are those who have been thoroughly infected with Bieber Fever, with a reaction more along the lines of ‘OMG! This is my favourite song in the world! Justin Bieber is just the best ever! I want to marry him and have his babies! Eeeeeeek! I think I’m going to faint!’
Yes. Bieber Fever is real. And it may be the most contagious condition of our time, according to a group of researchers at the University of Ottawa. With symptoms like uncontrollable crying and/or screaming, excessive purchasing of memorabilia, distraction from everyday life and poor life choices (like copying his signature hairdo) –
Bieber Fever definitely exists, and we’ve seen it all over the world.
So it was no surprise when South Africa got caught in the grips of Bieber Fever from the moment we heard he would be performing here. What did come as a surprise, however, was the extent of the fever. With JB set to perform at Cape Town Stadium tonight, 8 May, and on Sunday 12 May, at FNB Stadium Johannesburg, women (and even some men) of ALL ages have been infected.
When 5fm launched their #feedthefever5 competition on Twitter, SA’s Bieber Fever was put firmly under the spotlight. Giving away double golden circle tickets – along with an exclusive meet and greet opportunity – 5fm brought the most hard-core Beliebers out to play in the Twittersphere.
Displaying bad life decisions:
Justin Bieber’s Cat
"@UnstableFeline #feedthefever5 this is a tattoo of Justin on my hip. I have all his merchandise, a member of http://bieberfever.com"
"@[email protected] #feedthefever5 I even painted myself purple(his fav colour) and now I have paint in places paint should never be"
Showing that not only 12-year old’s love Justin:
"@TashaSteyn My shrine at work, I'm 25 and I ♥ JUSTIN, and YES, ppl do make fun of me here @ work #feedthefever5 @5FM"
Representing the guys:
"@kobusdekock15 I gave a car playing bieber on the radio space in the traffic this morning. I think its good deed for a ticket @5FM @Sureshnie #feedthefever5"
"@RyanvdBotha #feedthefever5 johannesburg baby!!!!! And I’m a dude, come on, you gotta give me tickets :D"
Of course there are also the anti-beliebers – those moaning about all the Bieber news flooding their lives for the past while and turning their radios down when his songs start playing. But whether people are in the throes of Bieber Fever, or complete anti-Beliebers, the consensus seems to be that the kid genuinely has talent. He was after all the first artist to have seven songs from his debut record to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.
There’s no denying it. With over 15 million albums sold worldwide, the Biebs is a big deal – and we can’t wait to see how the SA Beliebers perform at his concerts.
So far there is no vaccine for this fever (but the non-beliebers are hoping scientists will come up with one soon)
Article by Jessica Smit