Teenage Canadian crooner Justin Bieber arrived in Japan Monday night to promote his album "Believe." Bieber, who was accompanied by Selena Gomzez, 19, was greeted by about 600 enthusiastic fans at Narita airport, Sankei Sports reported.
Making his first visit to Japan since May 2011, Bieber told reporters, "I'm glad to have had a chance to come back. The people here are great. I love Japan."
Meanwhile at home, reports have been speculating as to whether Bieber is heading for a Lohan-esque meltdown after he was stopped for speeding in his Fisker Karma, was reported to be going through a rocky patch with on again/off again girlfriend Gomez, flashed his new tattoo on Letterman and then hung up on a radio DJ after inadvertently insulting his late mother.
On Tuesday, Bieber will become the first Western artist to perform in the "Telephone Shocking" section of Fuji TV's "Waratte Ii Tomo" with host Tamori since the program began in 1982.
© Japan Today
35 Comments
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Wakarimasen
Belieber furenzy. Yes, fame may finally be getting to the boy wonder.
smithinjapan
Well, his music is stupid enough and his lyrics dumb enough that even junior highschoolers here could understand the English, so he's bound to be successful.
basroil
Doesn't he have enough arrests to allow immigration to stop him? This "kid" shouldn't be let in, he's annoying enough half a world away. At least he has zero appeal here, this is probably just a push by Universal to evade taxes or some other gimmick like that.
Blair Herron
smith and basroil, good boys! You two are getting along in here since you have a competition in common. Tahahahaha 冗談だよ :)
USNinJapan2
May be it's just my interpretation of the word but crooner is just not the right word to describe him. He's definitely not my cup of tea but I'll admit he's talented. He's definitely a pop star but I just would never call him a crooner. Sinatra, Martin, and Davis? Yes. Harry Connick Jr.? Yes. Michael Buble? Yes. Just not Bieber and not with his current repertoire and style.
nath
Maybe he will will do a promo with AKB48. That should appeal to everyone here.
basroil
Blair HerronJul. 10, 2012 - 03:15PM JST
I think anyone above the age of ten can agree to dislike this guy, much better artists are marginalized by a corporate scam like this, even ABK48 is better and SMAP more talented. I really don't see a reason to bring him here other than Universal pulling something (that is unrelated to music).
Badge213
I'm no Beiber fan, but he is one of the western artists that did visit Japan after the earthquake/tsunami and was not scared about radiation madness. If I recall, he had arguments with some staffers who did not want to visit Japan by telling them to "man the "F" up" . (Note to JT moderators, this was an actual reported news story in quotes).
Vernie Jefferies
Basroil.... I take it you didn't catch Bieber's performance on Smap's Show last year. He actually performed together with them in a song.
Blair Herron
Maybe so. The most popular kid in showbiz/school…is always disliked and bullied, just like the most intelligent JT poster is disliked and bullied because of jealousy? But they don’t give a damn about negative ratings and continue performing. That’s COOL!!!
Sagiri Ikenaga
You know, you all should really just admit that you're jealous of this 18 year old prodigy getting all this attention. Really. I'd like to see you become this successful at life, having fans from all over the world absolutely adore you. He came to Japan to promote his album, not to receive hate. @smithinjapan .. Honestly? His music is stupid? If his music is so stupid, how come he has over 24 million fans JUST on twitter? Sold out Madison Square Garden in 32 seconds? And dumb junior high students? I find that highly offensive, and most of them DO know some English and can probably use it better than you, considering your rude comment did not make much sense either. Also, his lyrics aren't dumb. You're right, "Swag" isn't the best lyric for people to use. BUT when he uses it, it's acceptable, because he's successful enough to use it and to not sound stupid. "I think anyone above the age of ten can agree to dislike this guy" HOW ABOUT NO. Once again, would you like me to write a list of achievements he has done? You haven't even met the guy, don't judge a book by it's cover.. So tell me why you dislike him? Because you don't like his music? Does that make him a bad person? You all are just too judgmental.
smithinjapan
Blair Herron: "Maybe so. The most popular kid in showbiz/school…is always disliked and bullied, just like the most intelligent JT poster is disliked and bullied because of jealousy?"
The day anyone is jealous of Bieber is a sad day indeed. Did you know Bieber himself didn't know the roots of his last name in an interview a couple of years back? The host asked him if Bieber was German and he became a deer in headlights, saying he couldn't understand the question which was: "Does your name come from German?" The kid is a moron, and with lyrics like "Baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby" how could anyone be jealous of such utter inability to speak one's own language well?
Blair Herron
Did you type them all? お疲れ様(^_^)/(^.^*)
Sagiri Ikenaga
Sad day? Having a girlfriend as gorgeous as Selena, having tons and tons of money, being as attractive as he is now? You'd be crazy to not want his life. And may I ask when this interview was? Obviously the question was said differently, and 'does your name come from German' how would he know ? He's Canadian himself, and maybe a few centuries back he might have had some German relatives. Do you know what happened thousands of years ago ? I think he has better things to do as a famous artist than to research history. + This kid is a moron? He has a 4.0 grade point average, and his lyrics are quite catchy actually. & baby is a huge hit, being the most viewed video on YouTube. Before you judge him ONCE AGAIN WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW HIM, go write a song as amazing as all of his, with your "perfect" lyrics and we'll see if you'll become famous worldwide.
Thunderbird2
Wonder if he'll get the police to arrest him in Japan too.
hoserfella
I will give him his due in that he can actually play an instrument and has musical ability, but I don't think he could spell CAT if you spotted him the C and the T
Thomas Anderson
You forgot the "ooh".
lostrune2
Not a fan of his music, but at least he started this by working himself, instead of just being the latest development of a factory. So he owns his success.
smithinjapan
Sagiri: Sorry, it was worse than I remembered -- Bieber actually did not understand what the word 'German' meant.
http://www.prefixmag.com/news/justin-bieber-doesnt-know-what-german-means-worrie/40145/
There's a YouTube video of the interview that's absolutely classic!
"Do you know what happened thousands of years ago ?"
Nope, but I know that 'Smith' is English -- doesn't take a genius to know a little about your name and heritage, nor does it take 'thousands of years'.
"This kid is a moron?"
Yes.
"...and his lyrics are quite catchy actually. & baby is a huge hit, being the most viewed video on YouTube."
Yeah, I saw a YouTube video of a two year old who could sing the song perfectly, which again points out how 'smart' the lyrics are.
"Before you judge him ONCE AGAIN WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW HIM..."
I don't need to know him to have an opinion or make my own judgements. As for writing songs, I've dabbled in it a little, and had a few bands make songs of them (none world-famous, to my chagrin, but there's still time). And his lyrics do literally stink, and are very, very childish (again, two year olds can sing them perfectly). Might I remind you that bands like AKB48 also receive a huge following for doing basically nothing but standing on stage and looking pretty, spouting off nonsense, etc. I will give him credit for what lostrune said a moment ago, but that's it.
smithinjapan
Sagiri: Sorry, the YouTube link didn't work, so here's another one. And watch closely -- he even gets shown the card with the word 'German' on it and still doesn't know what it means! haha. And he says, "We don't use that word in America" despite being Canadian. What a doofus!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xp7YFndtcfA
smithinjapan
Sagiri: "And dumb junior high students? I find that highly offensive, and most of them DO know some English and can probably use it better than you, considering your rude comment did not make much sense either."
Where did I say junior highschool students were dumb? I said Bieber's English was bad enough that junior high school kids, studying ESL since I have to spell it out, could easily understand the lyrics as there is no depth to them. That's not saying the junior highschool kids are dumb at all, so the only offense you should be taking is your own misinterpretation of what was said.
smithinjapan
Sagiri: "Once again, would you like me to write a list of achievements he has done?"
Lots of people with no talent have 'achievements'; it's part of the industry. If you think it's a measure of talent you are sorely mistaken.
smithinjapan
Sagiri: ""And dumb junior high students? I find that highly offensive, and most of them DO know some English and can probably use it better than you, considering your rude comment did not make much sense either."
Sorry, meant to add that, no, no junior highschool kid here I know can use English better than I can, though it's a possibility, and your misunderstanding of my comment is clear that you can't either. Goes both ways, my dear. I'm sorry you could not understand what I said and took it as insult -- I did not intend at all to intend students here, whom I know work quite hard for the most part in the subjects they are forced to study, but that's not my problem. Fact remains, Bieber's English in his lyrics is poor enough that any ESL student could understand it at a basic level.
dctokyo2002
Justin Bieber and his girlfriend Selena Gomez arrived at Tokyo’s Narita Airport on Monday local time to a crowd of about 600 screaming Japanese fans armed with their smartphones and ready to snap up pictures of the 18-year-old Canadian pop-star and post them to Twitter (because that’s what Japanese girls do). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik9mfheQkVs&feature=player_embedded
dctokyo2002
The Baby singer was greeted by hoards of screaming girls, as per. Maybe they were screaming, "TAKE THAT STUPID BANDANA OFF YOUR HEAD YOU PLONKER, YOU LOOK RIDICULOUS!", although it's doubtful.
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/678404/thumbs/o-JUSTIN-BIEBER-570.jpg?4
smithinjapan
dctokyo2002: Does he understand what 'Japan' means? :)
Pukey2
Why is it that western celebrities who are usually ridiculed there so popular in Japan, like this twelve year old or Tom Cruise?
I'd be crazy to want his brain.
Smith:
I just saw the youtube link you posted. It was embarrassing. I first gave him the benefit of the doubt, as the interviewer admitted he had an accent, but then he SHOWED the word to Bieber.
I'm trying to figure which one of them is the more 'talented one'. Decisions, decisions.
Lauren Gardner
It's fine if you're not a Justin Bieber fan. Of course you are in the minority.
freedomski
LoL. Smith are you feeling better now getting all these off your chest ?
The conversation in here reminds me how I was about Take That in the 80's or 90's. I ridiculed the band in front of my much younger sisters who were huge fans. Perhaps just because I was more a fan of the well known bands from the 60's and 70's. However in recent years Robby Williams became one of my favorite artists and I even enjoy Take That songs from time to time.
I'm not a Bieber fan nor a connoisseur of all things Bieber but you'll never know how this young guy will develop in the future. I just wish him good luck with the exceptional possibilities he has in life.
lostrune2
.
Furthermore, this reminded me of that Forbes business article just this past May "Justin Bieber, Venture Capitalist: The Forbes Cover Story." I think these parts succinctly describe it:
.
How many teenage celebrities can say that they run their own businesses? And props for working himself wise into investments. As Magic Johnson once said: "It's good that you're the man, but you need to start owning things."
smithinjapan
freedomski: "I'm not a Bieber fan nor a connoisseur of all things Bieber but you'll never know how this young guy will develop in the future."
Very true, and I hope so.
Probie
No, I'd like his money though. The "prodigy" bit made me laugh. She's not a prodigy. Do you even know what that word means?
He gets hate wherever he goes. Because he's a girly-boy who "sings" rubbish songs.
His "music" appeals to squeaky little children. And there are a lot of squeaky little children.
Most things that are popular are stupid. Catchy vapid songs that appeal to tweeny idiots sell. That is a sad fact of life.
I'm guessing that Smith is a native English speaker, so your fanrage just looks all the more silly.
Yes they are.
Anything that little Bieber girl says sounds stupid.
How about YES.
That would be a very unimpressive list, I'm sure. Compare it to what real musicians have achieved.
Who wants to meet her?
"You all are just too judgmental". Really? By a person who spent most of this post being judgmental.
Little Miss Bieber once said that he "feels like the Kurt Cobain of (his) generation".
And the world laughed.
He'll develop into "That guy who used to be that Justin Bieber chick" and get arrested for drugs offences.
DentShop
Bieber is so wild and hot and crazy!!
I notice thanks to You Tube advertising that Adam Rambert is having a crack at the bloated cash cow that is the Japanese entertainment market. Great if you can make it here. Just ask Avril Lavigne who has made so much money from Japan but is barely even mentioned wherever she comes from. How to make it here though? That still remains a mystery...
seesaw1
Why can't some of you guys be happy for him? Strange . Just the other day someone said gaijin women are bitter. Sounds like gaijin men are bitter too...
Wolfpack
Who is Justin Bieber? I'll try my best to be happy for him - whoever he is....