Justin Bieber has been on a steady streak of getting real mad at his concerts, and it’s not because he’s going through a quarter life crisis meltdown–the Biebs is growing up and he’s frustrated that his fans aren’t maturing with him.
The “Sorry” singer is going through intellectual puberty. He is tired of being viewed as a teenage heartthrob, and wants to connect to his fans on a deeper level — but his audience doesn’t seem to care much about the emotional attachment aspect of Bieber’s performances.
On Sunday, the “Purpose” singer dropped his mic during his concert in Manchester, England and walked off stage because his fans were screaming too much and he wasn’t able to speak to them without being interrupted. Perhaps surprisingly, this wasn’t the first time the Biebs was frustrated with his Beliebers.
Just last Thursday, Bieber was speaking to another crowd of screaming fans in Manchester, but to his disappointment, they didn’t want to hear his heartfelt speech about the meaning behind “The Purpose Tour,” they were just there to see him perform.
“You can talk if you want,” Bieber said. “If you guys wanna take this moment and — I just thought I could have a moment of, you know, trying to say something. But if not, I’ll just get to singing, if you don’t want to hear me speak.”
It might come as a shock to some Beliebers, but Bieber isn’t the same 16-year-old pop star who rose to international stardom with his sappy, high-school crush single “One Time” in 2009. Since then, the Biebs has gone through a highly publicized and messy growth spurt where he rebelled against his G-rated image.
Now he’s back on track and is attempting to rebrand himself from a teen pop idol to a mature artist with a little bit (a lot) of swag. And he wants to be taken seriously by his fans, which is not only evident by his reaction to their adoring screams, but also his music. He goes from teenybopper Bieber singing about innocent love in “One Time” to jaded R&B artist admitting heartbreak in “Sorry.”
There are plenty of artists who take time out of their performance to give their fans a heartfelt message: Beyoncé, Kanye West and Adele have all either thanked their fans, went on rants or spoken up on social issues during their concerts. That’s a pretty normal thing to do.
And that is exactly what Bieber was trying to do at his concerts–connect with his fans and be on one wavelength for a minute or so, but the intimate moment was drowned out by screaming Beliebers. Although this was clearly frustrating for the Biebs, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to the “Purpose” artist because that’s what his fan base is known to be–a bunch of teenaged girls fanatically obsessed with a teenaged heartthrob whom they failed to realize will probably mature into a young adult at some point or other.
Given the “What Do You Mean?” artist’s multiple failed attempts at connecting with his fans, it appears as if Bieber’s period of intellectual puberty and his growth isn’t sitting well with the Beliebers. The Biebs gained fame as a teenage heartthrob and now that he’s passed that phase and growing up, it doesn’t seem like his fans want to accept that change.
Bieber hasn’t only been upset with his fans at concerts, he’s frustrated with Beliebers off stage too and has used social media as a platform to scold them.
Bieber’s desire to be seen as something more than just a teen heartthrob can be traced back to at least to earlier this year when he announced that he would no longer be taking pictures with fans because he felt like a “zoo animal.”
“If you happen to see me out somewhere know that I’m not gonna take a picture I’m done taking pictures,” Bieber wrote on his Instagram. “It has gotten to the point that people won’t even say hi to me or recognize me as a human, I feel like a zoo animal, and I wanna be able to keep my sanity. I realize people will be disappointed but I don’t owe anybody a picture.”
That announcement came just after the “Sorry” singer said that he would cancel his Purpose Tour meet and greets because they leave him feeling “drained and unhappy.”
His evolution hasn’t only been evident through his music and his reaction at concerts, but also through his behavior when it comes to fans interfering with his personal life.
Bieber had also deleted his Instagram page in August after he received criticism from fans for posting a photo of Sofia Richie.
While some may think his outbursts are a lack of respect or appreciation for his fans, the Biebs has just matured enough to know that some sort of privacy is probably a good thing when you’re famous–although he may not be going about it in the most mature way.