It’s going to be a big weekend for Justin Bieber. Remember a few years ago how pissy he and Scooter Braun were about not being nominated for a Grammy? Well, JB’s performing at the Grammys. And he’s nominated for a Grammy. Maybe more. There are so many categories I can’t be bothered to check how many. Just know that JB succeeded in the transition from bubble gum boy pop to making music that appeals to more than just the teen girl demo.
And so, just in time for Grammy weekend, comes his new cover feature in GQ. This photo shoot is giving me some serious Elvis Presley feels. As you might know, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while, Elvis was one of my first obsessions. I share this with my friend Lorella who made the same JB observation this morning without my prompting. Except maybe for the skateboarding shot. I LOVE this shot:
Excerpts from the piece were widely covered yesterday. Like how he feels about Hailey Baldwin. And the fact that Sorry, the song, is about a girl, and not a general apology for his being a prick for two years. If that’s all you take away from the article though, you’re missing a lot. You’re missing most of it. Because it was written by Caity Weaver who is, really, the true star of this story.
Many of you probably started reading Caity when I did, from Gawker. She’s hilarious. And smart. And sharp as f-ck. And she brings all of that to GQ. This profile is not a shot of love up JB’s ass. This profile isn’t a takedown either. Caity’s humour and irreverence is organic – it’s there because her subject, Justin Bieber, is giving her the material. And still, none of it feels mean. Rather, Caity’s just reacting and reflecting, and if she didn’t, it would be a disservice to the reader – her first priority and NOT the celebrity – because her observations and comments are what we would be observing, how we would be commenting. Maybe just not as cleverly. Not even close.
This is why I don’t want to highlight any passages. Caity’s work deserves to be enjoyed in full flow, without interruption. And you’ll want to re-read it later on too. Which is what I plan on doing later, and probably laugh at new parts. That’s not to say it’s all snark, not at all. Because deftly embedded in between the funny bits is some serious insight into who JB is now. And who he might be in a year. Consider what he has to say about his anxiety, about not sleeping, about that doctor in New York…
She’s telling us this for a reason. She’s giving us this information as part of a larger story – about youth and fame, about celebrity and reality, about how all that can converge with such spectacular results that, sometimes, we all miss the warnings.
Click here to read the full Caity Weaver piece on Justin Bieber.
Also attached – JB at the Saint Laurent event last night. Ummm…is he giving Jane Fonda the “hey what’s up here”?
