Now, before you sprain an optic nerve rolling your eyes, let me begin by saying, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yes, I realize that the vast majority of The Dude Abides readers do not fall within young Mr. Bieber\u2019s target demographic.<\/p>\n
Many of you likely are asking yourselves (perhaps out loud, as we adults are wont to do), \u201cWho the heck is Justin Bieber and why should I care?\u201d<\/p>\n
But please indulge me for a few more sentences before you click over to \u201cSeven Sites I Should Be Wasting Time on Right Now\u201d or similar.<\/p>\n
You<\/em> might not have a clue who Bieber is. Or, if you are aware of the existence of the crown prince of Stratford, Ontario, you might not give two hoots about him. But I\u2019m guessing that there is a young person in your life who does<\/em>.<\/p>\n So, for the sake of the children, please hear me out.<\/p>\n Justin Drew Bieber, age 17 \u00be, is a Canadian pop singer and, without a doubt, the most popular teenager on the planet. (I am not exaggerating.) You may have heard his earworm hit single, \u201cBaby.\u201d To refresh your memory, the chorus goes like this: \u201cBaby, baby, baby OH! Baby, baby, baby NO!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps you\u2019ve heard it in recent weeks while shopping at the mall or emanating from your daughter\/granddaughter\/niece\/little-sister\u2019s bedroom (or her Justin Bieber singing toothbrush in the bathroom. Yes, that\u2019s a real thing. I have one. Well, two, if I\u2019m going to be completely honest about it.)<\/p>\n Justin also happens to be, to use a popular bit of Christianese<\/em>, a \u201cbeliever\u201d \u2014 and quite an outspoken one at that.<\/p>\n It is entirely possible that Justin has more of an influence in the young-person-you-love\u2019s life than any clergyperson \u2014 living or dead \u2014 does. That sounds scandalous, I know, but it\u2019s true.<\/p>\n That is part of the reason why it might be helpful to know a bit more about him \u2014 and his burgeoning faith.<\/p>\n The lad\u2019s faith was explored to a certain extent in his record-setting hit documentary film, Never Say Never, <\/em>which is the second highest-grossing feature-length doc in U.S. history, right behind March of the Penguins<\/em> and one place above Michael Jackson\u2019s posthumous This Is It.<\/em><\/p>\n In his world tour last year, Justin grossed something in the neighborhood of $53 million. He sold out Madison Square garden in 22 minutes, and his first three albums (he only has the three so far) debuted at No. 1 on the charts.<\/p>\n He is an uber<\/em>celebrity, with more than 16 million followers on Twitter<\/a>, more than 39 million fans on Facebook<\/a> and his channel on YouTube<\/a> has been viewed more than 81 million times since his mother set up the account five years ago next week. He\u2019s even sung for the President \u2014 four times, most recently during the annual Christmas in Washington concert. (Sasha and Malia Obama are huge fans.)<\/p>\n In fact, Justin was discovered on YouTube. It\u2019s part of the Bieber legend (albeit a true part) that the legion Beliebers, as his fans are called, know by heart. His is a modern-day Cinderfella story, one that, even if you divorce his faith from it (though that would be nearly impossible), is patently inspiring.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the short version:\u00a0 Justin was born on March 1, 1994 to Pattie Mallette (then 17) and Jeremy Bieber (then 19), who were engaged at the time of their son\u2019s birth but never married and split when he was an infant. He always has lived with his mother, who raised him as a single parent in Stratford (home of that famous Shakespeare festival), but his father, who has since married and has two young children, always has been a part of his life.<\/p>\n