Teen Idol Justin Bieber Plans For A Long Career

LOS ANGELES — Daytime was unusually hot, summer temperatures mocking winter. Now darkness has settled over the storied Paramount Pictures lot, just the ghosts of Groucho, Hope and DeMille lurking about.

But wait. Who’s that darting down a path, howling at the moon?

“Woohoo!” yells Justin Bieber, just another 16-year-old powered by a cocktail of energy and testosterone. But there’s another ingredient. Freedom. For this is one kid who can’t run rampant down the streets of any town, in any country, anymore.

“People think that being famous is easy, but there’s so much hard work in it,” says Bieber, fidgeting in his chair inside a large studio conference room. “Don’t get me wrong, I have no regrets. I’m able to do so much that a lot of people aren’t able to do. But I’m also taken away from a lot of stuff. I won’t be able to go to my prom. But you sacrifice. And I’m committed to a long career.”

• 
  

  FAMOUS FRIENDS: Bieber and the Smiths

  
  


• 
  

  TRAILER: Get a peek at ‘Never Say Never’

  
  

The teen-idol road typically has a fork. Leif Garrett Lane (who?) or Michael Jackson Freeway (unforgettable). Anyone looking for clues to Bieber’s future would do well to parse Never Say Never, Paramount‘s 3-D bio-concert pic premiering Feb. 11.

To be sure, the movie’s main job is to reinforce the hype and hagiography associated with Bieber, the planet’s first Internet-made pop superstar. (The haiku version of JB’s tale, for the two or three out of 6 billion souls who haven’t heard it: Bieber grows up singing and drumming in Stratford, Ontario. Mom videotapes, then posts to YouTube. Talent manager Scooter Braun finds him. Usher anoints him. About a year later: 20 million Facebook followers, 7 million Twitter fans and untold millions in the bank.)

But, tellingly, Never Say Never also addresses two questions that haunt every teen idol hoping to find stardom in adulthood: Is there real talent behind the dizzying packaging, and is the inner circle supportive and selfless? Bieber’s score: yes, and so far.

The first of these is addressed by a series of homemade videos that showcase a very young Bieber. We see a toddler drumming on chairs with uncanny rhythm. A grade-schooler busking, guitar in hand, on the steps of a local theater. In a foreshadowing of Beibermania, passersby predicting future stardom.

Beliebers may adore the cute face, trendy haircut and dreamy vocals, but strip that away, and the kid can still wow a crowd.

Career vs. craziness

The attitude of his inner circle is encapsulated by a conveniently dramatic sequence in Never Say Never. A hoarse Bieber wants the show to go on, but his vocal coach, Jan Smith — whom he calls Mama Jan — echoes the entourage’s conviction that he must cancel the tour date. Sane adults prevail; turbo-charged teen is reminded who’s boss.

“I really didn’t know much about Justin, but after spending time with him, I saw a boy with an old soul and great abilities who just needs to choose whether or not to be carried away by the craziness,” says the movie’s director, Jon M. Chu, best known for the dance-oriented Step Up movies. “I see this movie as the first in a trilogy. Let’s see where he goes from here.”

How about, everywhere.

Bieber already is a rare ray on the typically gloomy music industry horizon, and is up for two Grammy Awards on Feb. 13. He also has climbed the book charts with his what-I’ve-accomplished-so-far autobiography, First Step 2 Forever: My Story.

Bieber will battle Ozzy Osbourne in a superhero-themed Best Buy ad during the Super Bowl on Sunday. He’ll make another appearance on TV’s hit CSI Feb. 17, playing against type as psychopath Jason McCann. And now add wanting to film a comedy with Will Ferrell.

More?