And what perfect song and dance it is: The choreography goes from the kind of dancing you might do in the street to straight-up stunts, from striptease, aerials and capoeira to synchronized swimming … thus, performance becomes part of life. It’s the real Justin Bieber’s escapist fantasy about a place where the only price of fame is footage of his awesome life getting leaked to the press - no sex tape, no salvia-smoking video, just evidence that he has a supremely fun life surrounded by cool, attractive people in a world that bursts into song and dance to express his every emotion. Maybe within the story of Justin Bieber’s footage being stolen lies a story about a fictional pop star named Justin Bieber, a modern Gatsby without the tragedy, whose life really is one big party. So maybe its depiction isn’t meant as just some scenery for the song, but as a fiction. It’s so embarrassing that now everyone can see me having this awesome party.”īut just as obvious as the non-candidness of this video is the fact that it is fictional. Taking the viewer on a trip into his private world is really the ultimate humblebrag: “Guys, I didn’t mean for this footage to get out. In a long tracking shot, Bieber leads the camera through a wild and luxurious pool party. It’s not a very intimate portrayal, though: that promise was just a hook. This is the version of himself he wants to show - a version we’ve all agreed to pretend is his real self. But because it is pseudo-candid, as faux-effortless as JB’s hair, we are to understand that everything we are seeing is what Justin Bieber wants yearning fans’ eyes to see. And this introduction also pretends to classify the video as candid, which adds to the sensationalism and the intimacy. It tells us that we are accessing something intimate (shared with 174,527,504 others) while reminding us obliquely of how hotly sought-after it is. The following footage was illegally uploaded by an anonymous blogger.” From the nod to the internet culture responsible for Bieber’s fame to the sensationalism of the “stolen” footage, this is a perfect framing device. The video opens with text on a black screen: “In October of 2012 3 hours of personal footage was stolen from Justin Bieber. Whether or not this teen superstar created this coming of age story, it happens to have particular resonance with his life. After all, maybe even a teen superstar has time to read a few books, or at least have his storyboards done by people who have. Eventually, he plunges into the water, a sign that he is metaphorically swimming in the deep end - he has “taken the plunge” - and emerges from the water in a kind of rebirth. Throughout the song, the character progresses, or tries to: much of the choreography mimes running in place, its movement hampered by water weighing down. This might stand for childhood innocence: a worldview that is uncomplicated but also shallow. Here, the singer and his umpteen backup dancers are joyfully splashing in the kiddie pool. Water often appears in music videos in the form of rain as it falls gently around the lead singer to express the melancholy of a breakup song. And because the video is set at a pool party, water serves as an important symbol. The evolution of the main character - whether he is actually Justin Bieber or the singer Justin Bieber or a character played by that singer in this video - is manifested through the choreography as well.
But in the main narrative, he’s the one controlling the camera.
One of the first clips shows him singing at the piano, in a shot reminiscent of Behind the Music. By directing the video himself, JB no doubt intended to signify he had come of age as an artist. This video is, after all, his coming of age story. It’s unclear whether JB really directed the video, but it does provide startling insights into his life - intentionally or unintentionally.