How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Justin Bieber and One Direction

One music critic's embrace of preeminent cheeseball pop.

Bradley KanarisGetty Images

On a recent evening, I felt an argument coming on with my 28-year-old wife. She, a longtime obsessive Justin Bieber fan who follows the @justinbiebertracker on Instagram, was, per usual, drooling over his latest offering. I felt it was my dudely duty to tell her she was being ridiculous to fawn over a little pop star. But I couldn't. Why? I, a 30-year-old journalist who covers music and pop culture, am a bonafide Justin Bieber fan. A Belieber. And a One Direction fan too. No joke.

Hence my barely-containable excitement this week: both have new albums out. Biebs has Purpose; 1D has Made in the A.M.

Do I line up for hours to get tickets for either of their concerts? No, I do not. But would it be uncommon though to see me cruising down a suburban street rocking out to 1D's "Perfect" or Bieber's "Sorry"? Absolutely not. And why wouldn't I? Both are brilliant, no-nonsense pop cuts. That's not to say I don't have a wide musical palate; my taste cuts a broad swath, ranging from hip-hop to rock and blues.  But give me the choice, I'd far prefer to dissect One Direction's heavenly harmonies, analyzing how the now four-piece is getting on with "bad-boy" Zayn Malik no longer in the mix, than wax poetic on Aphex Twin's acid house days. I'd be the first to spend my time giving Bieber's brilliant 2013 vintage-R&B manifesto Journals another of its several hundred spins on my Spotify account than get weird to a new Ariel Pink song.  (Sidenote: If an artist of any genre has made a more consistently pleasing cut, and a track worthy of repeat listens as "All That Matters" then surely I haven't heard it.)

What then makes their music so noteworthy? With Bieber, it's hard to separate his "comeback" story—a  troubled child-artist whose personal demons warranted an entire 2013 Rolling Stone cover story—from his musical evolution. But that only further highlights the brilliance of his new album. Rather than rehash old tropes in an attempt to get back in the public's good graces, Bieber has now dipped his toes into musical experimentation: ambient ("I'll Show You"), EDM ("Where Are Ü Now"), island pop ("What Do You Mean?") and even trap ("The Feeling"). In doing so, he's expanded what listeners expect from a pop star, cradled critics into his corner and, dare I say, given the genre a sonic overhaul.

One Direction, meanwhile, have kept churning out anthemic, uplifting arena-rock-sized pop gems at a steady clip. Made in the A.M. is supposedly their last album before going on an extended hiatus, but when a boy band's peak-popularity historically expires after a few years, 1D's half-decade run is already a modern marvel. Sure, what has emerged from their new album is surely not as instantly memorable as that which comprised last year's stellar Four—although some would argue "Drag Me Down" is audible fire—but it's only when comparing themselves to their past success that they seem to falter in the least. Make no mistake: 1D is still releasing a steady flow of bangers.

So where does this leave me? I'll be there, for the foreseeable future, in my SUV, fluffy white maltipoo on the passenger seat, rocking out to music supposedly made for hormonal teenage girls, wearing my pop-music-loving badge proudly. And most importantly, I'm no longer ashamed.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
More From Music