Never Say Never

So I got a case of Bieber fever and went to see "Never Say Never" today.  I dragged a friend with me who asked to remain nameless...I think she was a little embarrassed to be there, I went in the name of research!

I have to say that I really enjoyed the movie.  I knew bit about Justin's journey but it was cool to see the whole story come together.  The story takes us through his journey up to his big sold out show at Madison Square Garden.  I had thought going into that Justin was a kid who got lucky.  He was discovered on youtube and then 2 years later he's a superstar.  That's all true but he did work hard to get there. 

A manager in Atlanta Georgia saw his youtube videos and flew his mom and him to Atlanta to meet with producers.  Several record labes said no to him, who i'm sure are kicking themselves now.  He got a chance to sing for Usher who took him to L.A. Reid and he got signed.  He traveled all through the States to push his first single.  He sang acoustic at every radio station he could to get them to play his single.  He would get 50 people out to see him, then 100 then more and more and then the mania began.  His story is proof of the popularity of social networking.  Youtube made him famous, twitter and facebook helped spread his popularity.

The back story is his family.  His mom was just a teenager herself when she had Justin and his grandparents had a huge role in his life which is obvious when you see them all together.  His mom is always with him and his grandparents are there as much as they can.  His mom and dad didn't stay together and it doesn't look like his dad goes on the road with them.  He wasn't interviewed during the movie but we see him at Justin's Toronto show, his first time seeing the show, and I can't imagine what it would be like to see your son up there performing.  You could see the emotion all over his face.  Justin's other family is the team behind him.  The movie gives a good look at who helps with his career and it seems like he is in good hands.  His vocal coach is like a second mom, his manager and road manager take up the role of big brothers and by all accounts, yes everyone is making money from his success, but they all take good care of him.

Justin's Christianity and faith has been a big topic around LIFE lately and it's evident in the movie.  Seeing people pray before a performance doesn't always convince me because even Madonna prays before her shows.  But you see Justin saying grace at a restaurant with his friends when he's back home visiting Stratford, his mom praying over him when he was sick.  So I felt it was genuine and obviously God is an important part of their lives.  There is a clip of his mom on Huntley St. just before they moved to the States to persue Justin's career. 

The movie is 3D which was cool and there are several concert performances around the documentary part of the movie.  This kid is talented, he's not just another bubble gum pre-packed artist.  He plays drums, guitar, piano and is a great singer.  I think his fans will grow up with him and stick with him, but if in a few years Bieber fever goes away what an amazing time in his life to look back on, he lived the dream.