Until a few years ago, I was certain I hated The Biebs.
My reasons:
• He probably doesn’t write his own music
• Pop lyrics are basic and lack depth
• His stupid face
One day, I was listening to the Skrillex and Diplo song Where Are Ü Now, and I asked my buddy, “Do you know who’s singing?”
He looked at my blankly and retorted, “Are you joking? It’s Justin Bieber.”
My universe turned upside down. Everything I thought was true and real turned out to be a mirage. My very being turned to ash and I had no idea who I was…
Joking aside, I was struck. How could this person I despised make me feel such joy and raw emotion with his simple lyrics and angelic voice?
That’s when I realized my hatred for the young pop singer had nothing to do with him. I was just being a jealous twat.
He had more money and women at age 18 than I’ll ever see in my lifetime. All he had to do was sing a simple song and millions (if not billions) of people would listen and love it.
I was humbled when I realized I had been singing along with JB for months without knowing it was him on the track. It sounds ridiculous but that was the moment I thought, Maybe pop music doesn’t have to meet my expectations. Maybe music is just any collection of sounds that people find enjoyable.
Thank you, Justin (we’re on a first name basis), for enlightening me…and serenading me.
Lessons:
• It doesn’t really make sense to hate someone for their success—they’ll still do what they do, and we’ll just be salty about it.
• Just because we dislike a certain kind of music or entertainment doesn’t mean its bullshit (e.g. For the life of me, I don’t understand how most TikToks are good, yet they have millions of likes so fuck me I guess).
• When we have powerful feelings against another person, it’s important to check in with ourselves and ask why.