A View From The Top #15

Well, what can I say, here we are again. When I signed up to this column just over a month ago, I deliberately put my name down for a date way into January assuming that by then surely JB would finally have stopped dominating the top spot. This was obviously not to be however, and Bieber goes on breaking records. Even the untimely death of one of the greatest musicians of our generation, David Bowie, hasn’t been enough to knock Bieber, despite the fact Love Yourself was released over two months ago now.

Regardless, credit where credit is due, JB has definitely excelled himself with this one. While Bieber’s other recent hits What Do You Mean? and Sorry really haven’t done much for me, Love Yourself is definitely more my thing (as painful as this is to admit). It might be the Sheeran influences, having always been a fan, but I can’t deny that I enjoy the simple but funky beat overlaid with Bieber’s ever sexy vocals. The lyrics add to the honest and exposed appeal of the song, laying down a situation almost anyone could identify with. Lines like “My mamma don’t like you and she likes everyone” have infiltrated popular culture and I’m sure that with minimal effort I could find them emblazoned onto a T-shirt or jumper. The song is yet another instalment in Bieber’s undeniably incredible comeback.

All that being said, I was still baffled when I realised he would yet again be the subject of this column. With JB reigning dominance over the British music scene, almost anywhere with a sound system will no doubt have Love Yourself on their playlist. As his dulcet tones slowly become the soundtrack of all our lives, it surprises me that everyone hasn’t got just a little bit bored yet. There is such thing as overplaying a song, and if six weeks at Number 1 isn’t overplayed then I don’t know what is. Bewilderingly, no one seems to have got to this point yet and we continue to blast out his album with undiminished endurance.

Honestly, I think surprise at his success is the least of our worries. Fear might be a more apt emotional response, as the ease with which JB (and of course his evidently highly skilled team) exert their grasp over our tastes is daunting at the very least. This new album has no doubt created innumerable new Beliebers and is leading me, and I’m sure many others, to obsess over just what is it that has us all so hooked on him. Is it really his music, or perhaps his badboy image or even, as many seem to think, his beautifully versatile mop of hair? Whatever it is, I truly hope for the sake of, not only this column, but all of our sanities that something comes along to steal Bieber’s limelight. All I know now is that it’s going to have to be pretty special.