The newest teen sensation is a 16-year-old from Canada whose 2009 debut EP quickly went platinum in North America. Justin Bieber has nice hair, and sings on overproduced backing tracks - but he could be a lot worse.
'Who is Justin Bieber?' What do you mean, 'Who is Justin Bieber?' For your information, the young pup - we mean, pop star is about the biggest thing to happen to the global population of tweenies since Hannah Montana and Bebo came along. A self-taught multi-instrumentalist, the 16-year-old Canadian was picked up after an opportunistic music manager saw him perform on YouTube, shoved him into the limelight, and hey presto - quickly had a multi-million selling recording artist on his hands.
It's easy to be cynical about people like Bieber; he has the all-round appeal for under-15s - the pearly whites, cute smile, nice hairdo - but does he have what it takes to last the distance in the cruel and shallow trench that is the music business? This evidence (the full-length follow-up to last year's 'My World' EP) would suggest so - or at least until his voice breaks. Strangely, Ludacris turns up to rap on r&b-tinged opener 'Baby' (with its chorus of "I was like baby, baby, baby, oh / like baby, baby, baby, no") and Sean Kingston ruins yet another song with his sloppy contributions to 'Eenie Meanie' - but all is not completely lost, despite those blips. 'U Smile' has a swing to it that's almost Motown, power ballad closer 'That Should Be Me' could (and probably will) soundtrack a Disney montage, while 'Somebody to Love' is decent synthesised dance-pop.
Unless you're in Bieber's age bracket, you probably won't be too interested in the machinations of 'his world' - but the boy sure can sing, even if it is a little amusing to hear him muse on being 'old and grey' ('Stuck in a Moment'). Flash in the pan? We shall see.
