Not again! Justin Bieber, the brat Badshah of bubblegum rock, is scheduled to perform at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on October 18.
Have we forgotten what Bieber did to us the last time he graced our country?
In 2017, Justin Bieber came, played, and ran away, leaving behind a trail of embarrassing questions for the organizers. Was it worth the thousands of rupees (ticket prices were up to Rs 80-90,000) just to see Mr. Bieber mimicking his songs on stage? That is right. Bieber didn’t sing his songs live on stage: he just lip-synced them while the songs played in the background.
Does Bieber care about Indian sensibilities? it doesn’t seem like it. The way he abruptly up and left after a concert in 2017 left a very sour taste in the mouths of even the most diehard Bieber fans. He refused to meet anyone in person and stubbornly refused all attempts to arrange any kind of afterparty.
Jacqueline Fernandez, who was Bieber’s hostess backstage, was apparently barely recognized by the great American performing arts superstar. But the worst insult was to one of India’s most respected classical musicians, Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, who planned to give Bieber a specially designed Sarod, constructed specifically to be played by a left-handed musician, as Bieber, Khan Saab, discovered, he was left-handed.
Since it was his first visit, Sarod as an Indian artist should have been a welcome gesture. The organizers of Justin Bieber’s White Fox India concert suggested it and Khan Saab thought it would be great to get him to strum the Sarod. Most guitarists will fall in love with the Sarod because it is the same family of strings. Musicians Steven Tyler, Joe Walsh, and Derek Trucks own Sarods. It was a more portable and friendly lefthanded Sarod.
But unfortunately, the gift remained unattended, unacknowledged. It is doubtful that Khan Sahib’s gift actually reached Mr. Bieber’s hands. Even if it did, it meant nothing to him. He showed no respect for India and Indians.
And I’m not talking about smiling at disadvantaged children. As more and more details emerged from Justin Bieber’s disastrous concert in Mumbai in 2017, it became frighteningly clear that apart from the obligatory kisses to the screaming crowds, Mr. Bieber didn’t care the least bit about Mumbai and his fans in India.
There is a huge question mark hanging over all concerts in India with international artists. Do organizers and audiences have to tolerate a barrage of demands, tantrums, and rejections just because some Billboard Badshah condescends to descend on our humble shores?
Now word has it that the bubbly Bieber is canceling all his concerts around the world “due to health reasons”.Whose health is not okay, his or his organizers? If we’re lucky, he’ll back out of the Indian gig as well. This is one manifestation of the cancellation culture we all look forward to.
