Justin Bieber Moves Moscow Show With Little Girl, Has ‘Believe’ Tour Hit Its Stride?
Justin Bieber may be battling molten headlines, but, on Tuesday after he invited a little girl on stage at his Olimpiisky Arena concert in Moscow, he claimed the hearts of the Russian audience.
Showing Putin and any self-respecting politician how its done, the 19-year-old invited the very young fan to join him during a rendition of his 2010 hit “Baby.”
Apparently overcome with joy, the little girl cried as Bieber hugged, sang and danced with her on stage.
After telling the overcome child that he liked her flag-adorned hat, the shirtless singer asked her:
“You excited, you happy, you know my song ‘Baby’ right, do you want to help me sing it?”
The nearly 80,000-strong audience roared their approval as one of the biggest pop stars in the world punched the air with his pint-sized stage guest during the opening bars of the song.
The undeniably sweet moment was captured on video by a fan in the crowd and retweeted by Bieber on his account last night.
The encounter also underlines the reality that scorching media coverage of the singer’s road exploits hasn’t lessened the tour’s overall success in fan reception terms.
Even after an almost inconceivably embarrassing opening night of the Believe tour on September 29, 2012 in Glendale, Arizona when the singer vomited on the stage mid-song — an event that quickly went viral after numerous videos were posted online — the tour now appears to have hit its stride.
Despite the still deafening silence from Bieber’s representatives regarding the as yet unresolved battery allegations, rock manager Peter Mensch’s revealingly ominous comment to the UK’s The Sun that Scooter Braun was “scared s***less” and a catalog of tour dramas that includes:
A run-in with a British paparazzo, the quarantining of the teen’s pet monkey by Munich custom’s officials, an international incident over his guestbook entry at Amsterdam’s Anne Frank House and a tour bus drug raid by Swedish police — the pop superstar now enters the third trimester of his titanic trek trailing sold-out shows and (mostly) delighted fans in his wake.
Having performed the last of two shows in the Russian Federation, the Believe tour will shortly head to Dubai for two performances at the The Sevens Stadium on May 4 and 5.
To say fans and media in the United Arab Emirates are excited about Bieber’s impending arrival would be something of an understatement. National outlets have been buzzing for days about the singer’s reported blocking out of a Dubai golf course and possible visits to the Wild Wadi and Aquaventure water parks, and have welcomed the spotlight the tour will throw on the Gulf state.
Time Out Dubai reports that Bieber is the “biggest music act ever to visit the emirates.”
Just days ago, 16-year-old Neha Syed, was declared UAE’s ‘Ultimate Belieber’ after winning Virgin Radio and du Live’s national search for the nation’s biggest Bieber fan.
The Canadian-Pakistani student’s prize? A meet with the heartthrob before one of the The Seven Stadium shows. “I know everyone says they’re Justin Bieber’s biggest fan, but I really am,” trilled Syed.
Proof of her dedication, or obsession, comes from the revelation that Syed and her family drove 700 km from Montreal to Stratford, Ontario last year, just to see the hometown of her idol.
With reports of mounting fan excitement ahead of the Believe tour’s arrival in Dubai, and local entertainment outlets jostling for interviews with the singer amid news of parents preparing for decibel damage and merchandise demands from their ‘little darlings,’ it’s entirely possible this last stretch of the tour could be its best.
Before Dubai, Bieber will play Istanbul on May 2, encored by two South Africa shows from May 8. Then, it’s back to the the US for a “something different” performance at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards before the second stateside leg kicks off on June 22.
Fittingly ending August 10 in Atlanta, the place where a 14-year-old Bieber met his mentor Usher, could the Believe tour yet come full circle, relatively redeemed?
Time will tell.
love the job. #giveback. thanks moscow twitter.com/justinbieber/s…
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) April 30, 2013
