When I chose Justin Bieber for my weekly secular artist review, all I knew about his music was that he is an extremely popular tween heartthrob with a high voice.  Seriously, that's all I knew about him.  I have a fourteen year old sister who happens to be a fan of Justin's music, just like millions of other Christian and non-Christian teens and preteens around the world.  Because of this, I chose to review Bieber's music so that my sister and girls like her could have a Christian viewpoint on this popular new artist. 

Quick Bio-
Sixteen year old Justin Bieber grew up in Ontario, Canada with his single mom.  He started posting videos on his YouTube channel when he was twelve.  He taught himself how to play piano, guitar, drums, and trumpet.  Soon after his widespread YouTube fame, he was discovered by Scooter Braun of So So Def, sang for Usher, and was signed to Island Records in October of 2008.  Justin's first single, "One Time," went platinum in Canada and the United States.  "Baby", another single of Justin's that features Ludacris, has charted at number five in the United States and made the top ten in six other countries.  There was an incident at Roosevelt Field Mall in Long Island, where Bieber was supposed to perform but had to cancel last minute, and three thousand crazed fans mobbed the area, leaving several with minor injuries.  There is no doubt that Bieber is an international fad right now.  He has become the youngest male solo artist to top the chart since Stevie Wonder. 

"My World," Justin's first album, contains mostly lighthearted lyrics with a few "iffy" points that I would like to highlight.  In "Favorite Girl," Justin describes his devotion to a potential girl friend.  It's a lighthearted, happy song.  My only critique is that he mentions frequently that the girl is his "prized possession," which can potentially make young girls feel that they belong to their boy friends as possessions and not as dignified human beings who are allowed to say no to sex.  "One Time" is a love song where Justin describes his undying love for a girl friend.  A little strange, considering that Justin was only fifteen when this song came out. 

In "Love Me," Justin repeats over and over, "Love me, love me, say that you love me.  Fool me, Fool me, oh how you do me.  Kiss me, kiss me, say that you miss me.  Tell me what I wanna hear..."  These lyrics are a little intense for a fifteen year old singer, but they aren't bad enough for me to spurn altogether.  In "Bigger," Justin asks a girl to give him another chance.  He claims that he's "bigger" and he's learned from his mistakes he made as a child.  He sings, "We ain't on the playground no more.  We're big enough to stand in the picture.  We're big enough to stand next to love."  These words actually made me chuckle.  Although Justin is definitely out of the playground, he's not old enough for love, and neither are most of his fans.
     
The most controversial song in Bieber's first album is "First Dance," a song where Justin sings about taking a young girl to prom and asking her for her "first dance."  The lyrics, however, are suggestive that Justin is singing about something more than a simple dance.  The lyrics almost seem like Justin is asking a girl for her virginity.  I'll let you decide for yourself.  "If you give, give the first dance to me, girl, I promise I'll be gentle.  I know we gotta do it slowly if you give, give your first dance to me. I'm gonna cherish every moment, 'cause it only happens once, once in a life time..."

While Justin Bieber sings almost exclusively about love and girls, his song "Down to Earth" is inspirational and uplifting.  It's about Justin's recovery from his parents' difficult break up, and can be a great encouragement to other young people who have gone through similar experiences.

In My World II, Justin's second album, he mentions love almost constantly.  "Eenie Meenie," a song about a girl who can't make up her mind, contains somewhat questionable lyrics.  "Eenie meenie miney mo, catch a bad chick by her toe.  If she holla, let her go... 'cause Shorty is a eenie meenie miney mo lover."  When an unmarried teen boy (and Sean Kingston) sings about a "bad chick" and a "lover" in the same song, you can't help but question the intentions behind the lyrics.  Justin's huge hit "Baby" is fairly lighthearted and simple.  "Runaway Love" talks about a girl who won't stop leaving Justin for other guys.  In "Stuck in the Moment," Justin mentions the relationship between Adam and Eve, along with several other examples of legendary couples. 

In my opinion, Justin sings too much about intense, serious love instead of the casual, lighthearted crushes that young teens (his fans) should be looking for right now.  However, Justin's lyrics aren't inappropriate.  He doesn't cuss and he doesn't explicitly sing about sex.  If you plan to add (or already have) Justin's music on your play list and you are under the age of eighteen, then I would recommend you to remind yourself that you don't need to be looking for true love yet.  You don't need a serious boy friend.  Live life as a kid while you can.

Justin Bieber seems to have a kind heart and good intentions with his music, and I'm not going to say that his songs are wrong to put into your head.  Just be careful about how much of his lyrics you take seriously.  Look at the positive aspects about Justin instead, such as the way he overcame a bad situation at home and gained success. 

"I'm looking forward to influencing others in a positive way.  My message is you can do anything if you just put your mind to it. I grew up below the poverty line; I didn't have as much as other people did.  I think it made me stronger as a person.  It built my character.  Now I have a 4.0 grade point average and I want to go to college and just become a better person."

What do you think?  Do you listen to Justin Bieber?  Does Justin's music make you wish you had a serious relationship or do you think it's all lighthearted fun?  Do you disagree with what I have to say?  Comment below.
 
Credit for the pictures goes here and here.

-July 6, Monday
Eldoret, Kenya-

The Kenyan people are hilariously funny and half the time they do not even know it. For example, two nights ago, our server was trying to convince me to take a second portion of the rice he was serving, and he said, "You need to eat more so that you will be plump, like this girl," and he pointed at Bekah. It was both terrible and hysterical at the same time.

Today Barbie and I separated from the group and went to the bush to interview sponsored children and those who needed desperately to be sponsored. These children lived in devastating conditions. Single room mud huts, no clean water, little food... we would ask questions and take pictures for the Christian Relief Fund sponsorship program.
One family had absolutely nothing but the clothes on their backs and a decrepit mud hut with holes in the walls. This family proudly gave Barbie and me a fancy tribal gourd as a gift. They had nothing in the literal sense of the word, and they were giving us gifts.

One family consisted of a woman named Helen with ten children. I met four of the ten- Erick, Shadrach, a little girl whose name I do not remember, and a baby who did not have a name yet. Helen asked Barbie and me to name her baby son for her. We named him David, since King David was also the youngest of many siblings. I feel very special because I was able to take part in naming a child, and David is going to carry his name for the rest of his life... a name that I helped give him.

Connor asked me to find a little boy for him to sponsor. Shadrach, who was six years old and will be seven this August, I chose as the boy. Shadrach was very shy and sweet, and he desperately needs the sponsorship. It will help out his entire family.

Since Helen is a widow, she has been forced into prostitution to be able to feed her family. They have no money for fertilizer and cannot grow crops. They have no money to raise animals, so they do not have meat. They literally have nothing to eat.

While Barbie and I traveled around the bush, meeting face after face, there was one very old woman who stood out to me. She was very wrinkled and elegant. I knew that she had seen many days of suffering. I pulled one of the beaded bracelets off of my arm and gave it to her. Instead of putting it on her wrist, the woman threaded the huge bracelet through the gaping hole in her earlobe and posed regally for my camera. After I took the photo, she laughed and laughed. She was the sweetest old woman.

When we were way out into the boonies, a group of several children was following us around, never coming closer than ten or fifteen yards. I turned around to greet them, but they ran away, screaming with terror. Apparently their parents had told them that if they ever saw a white person, a mzungu, then the mzungu would steal them away and eat them. I was incredulous.

Another group of children asked my new friend, James, if I was a person or a kind of animal. An animal! I gave all of the children candy, and that made them like me more.

One little girl started screaming and crying with fear when she saw me. It was sad to see that the color of my skin brought such fear.

My driver told me that some children had asked him what I was wearing- what kind of paint or cloth- and he had to explain to them that it was actually my skin.

We went to two different schools to check up on certain children and give one a gift bag from his sponsor. The children were all so shy and sweet and precious. I feel so honored to have met them, and yet they were so grateful to meet me, even when I was doing absolutely nothing for them.

We stopped for lunch at a tiny, tiny 'hotel' and restaurant called the Sunshine Hotel. We had chipati and Coca-Cola for around fifty cents a person. It cost less than fifteen cents for a coke.

We drank tea at the house of one family. It is the custom of Kenyans to serve tea to their guests, and it would have greatly offended them if we did not drink it. However, the tea was made out of water, and so it is only by the grace of God that I am not sick with cholera or something worse at this moment.

We went to a restaurant called Sizzlers, and I got a Coca-Cola, a cheese burger, and 'chips.' American food... ahh. How nice, despite how un-American the food may have tasted.

On the way outside, we were confronted by a crowd of street children who were high on glue and dressed in filthy rags. They held out their hands and said, "Thank you? Thank you?" It made me feel a great sadness to see those little boys.

Africa is giving me such feelings of both sorrow and hope. It is almost impossible to describe the emotions that are constantly passing through my heart.