LONDON, Ont. - The hysteria surrounding teen pop sensation Justin Bieber has less to do with his musical talent than teenage girls getting caught up in the hype regarding his popularity, says a media expert.
Tim Blackmore, a professor in media and information studies at the University of Western Ontario, says Bieber is no different than any other teen star who's risen to fame over the years.
Blackmore believes Bieber Fever is similar to the hysteria that surrounded the Beatles in the early 1960s or the way young girls reacted to Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus a few months ago.
Bieber Fever, of course, is not actually a disease, but rather the term used to describe teenage girls who've fallen victim to 16-year-old pop star Justin Bieber's soft brown eyes and sultry voice.
"It doesn't have to do with talent as much as it has to do with a sense of excitement," Blackmore said.
People often buy into the hype surrounding a pop star not because of the music they produce, but because they're popular, he said.
"What (people) want is that feeling of being part of a group, and that's what takes (someone) from being popular to being mass.
"The star becomes less important and the feeling starts to roll into a juggernaut on its own."
Blackmore said it's not Bieber's music or looks that set him apart from other young artists on the music scene today, but chance.
"It's like the lottery," he said about fame, "somebody wins all the time -- but have you ever met anybody who's won?"
And the excitement is mounting in southwestern Ontario, where the Stratford, Ont., native will be performing in London next month.
The show will a homecoming of sorts for the teen singing sensation who has yet to perform publicly in the area since his rise to stardom a year ago.
Blackmore said what's made Bieber Fever such a viral phenomenon is the way the young pop star has been marketed through social media.
Record companies and media executives have been using social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook to push Bieber's star quality to the max.
Bieber has almost 4-million followers on Twitter. He uses his account constantly to let his adoring fans know what he's doing. His Facebook page has more than 100,000 fans.
"You can heat up the system a lot more quickly than you used to be able to because of social networking," Blackmore said.
Bieber's first single One Time was released in July 2009, and already the teenage star has played for U.S president Barack Obama at the White House, will be the subject of a 32-page biographical comic book, and was recently offered a guest starring role on the hit crime drama CSI.
But despite Bieber's mass appeal, Blackmore doesn't expect the teen sensation will be a hot item for long.
"I'm guessing he'll probably get another strong year before things begin to lag."
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
