Bieber Fever sweeps Manila

CEBU, Philippines - Tuesday night, all roads led to Pasay City. Of course, that meant all roads were congested to the point of standstill. Cars honked angrily at one another, at the traffic police, and at pedestrians weaving in and out of the mess of vehicles. The people immediately outside the SMX concert grounds were not much different: They yelled at one another, at the security guards and at people just trying to pass through the throng.

The rains of the past few days had ravaged the metro, but it seemed that an equally powerful storm was brewing at the Mall of Asia — one that promised to deliver a deluge of admiration for a 17-year-old Canadian pop star named Justin Bieber.

Getting inside the venue, by itself, was no easy feat. Swarms of “Beliebers” who weren’t able to get tickets had already claimed the real estate surrounding the grounds. Like bees protecting their hive, they snarled at anyone who dared enter their space. Everyone with right-side entrance tickets needed to struggle through a sea of humanity already agitated by the heat and crowdedness.

Because of the chaos outside, it wasn’t difficult to imagine even greater crowd horrors inside the concert itself. But once through the gates, surprise! It seemed that the main venue wasn’t the harshest part of the storm, but rather, the eye. Rows upon rows of seats were actually being sat on, and while the hum of conversation (and the occasional shriek) filled the air, it was relatively quiet.

But it didn’t last long.

The concert crowd turned out not to be the eye of the storm. It was the calm preceding the downpour. The preteen and teen girls (and their parents, brothers, and boyfriends), sitting so pretty only minutes before showed their Hyde sides the moment front act Poreotics, a local dance group, finished their performance.

A 15-minute (yes, you read right — minute) countdown appeared on the big screen and suddenly, Beliebers started to surge forward and stand on seats while chanting “Bieber! Bieber!” like a spell summoning the boy to the stage.

Of course, the timer paid no heed to the demands of Bieber’s fans. However, when the wait was up, the pop star himself opened the show with a demand of his own: “Love me, love me, say that you love me.”

Not that the audience needed to be told. The moment Justin stepped foot on the stage in his white, purple, and silver tracksuit, his Filipino fans gave the young artist a taste of both the famed Pinoy hospitality and the nation’s passion for music.

A chorus of kids and fangirls echoed Bieber’s singing, while shrieks punctuated the song every few seconds. The Belieber chaperones, meanwhile, took charge of taking pictures, fanning their companions, and humming along to the one part of the song they knew: The chorus, which was borrowed from the The Cardigan’s song, Love Fool.

For the rest of the night, parents were content to hum and bounce along as their children screamed out every single word to every single song the Biebs crooned out — with two shining exceptions: Covers of Aerosmith’s Walk This Way and Michael Jackson’s Wanna Be Starting Something. As Justin pranced around the stage to the classics, young, blank faces stared at him. And for once, the parents and older kids (read, anyone above the age of 20) were the ones singing along.

Other than that brief salute to artists who came before him, Justin’s show was all his, from the music and the dance steps, to the home videos and crowd-wooing tactics.

He performed 17 tracks, including his debut hit One Less Lonely Girl, when he brought a female fan from the crowd up onstage. The girl, who for three minutes, was the object of everyone’s hatred and envy, sat on a stool in the middle of the stage as she was given flowers and was serenaded by the pop star.

Justin showed off his other musical skills by playing the guitar when he covered Edwin McCain’s acoustic hit, I’ll Be and playing the drums during Walk This Way.

Fan favorites Never Say Never, Somebody to Love and One Time were also performed. But, though this fueled the audience’s Bieber fever, he saved his biggest hit for last.

Teasing the crowd by first singing the rock-a-bye baby nursery rhyme and Britney Spears’ Hit Me Baby One More Time, he threw his fans into a frenzy. He finally gave in to their chants of “Baby! Baby!” launching into the first line of his famous song — “You know you want me. I know you care.”

And every word he spoke was true. The fans wanted him, and they definitely cared. He even made some converts of some macho macho men who thought the Biebs was lame and that they would never enjoy his show.

As one young man exiting the concert said, “I think that was one of the best concerts I’ve seen this year.”

It just goes to show that there is truth in Justin’s mantra — never say never.