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Justin Bieber - Source: BANG Showbiz -
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This time last year, Bieber Fever struck New Zealand. As the pint-sized pop star flew into New Zealand for a whirlwind promo visit, the country's media went mad.
More reporters and camera crews showed up at his media call than followed Prince William during his royal visit.
It was jaw dropping.
Fortunately, it was also fleeting. No sooner had we all worked out who this kid was, he was gone again.
Of course, we've had regular status updates since then. Every now and then, he pops up on the news at an awards ceremony or event, surrounded by trillions of screaming tweens.
But it's easy been easy enough to ignore.
Alas, a new strain of Bieber Fever is on its way. A more serious, virulent strain that will cause thousands of teenage girls to scream in agony, cry and in some extreme cases, collapse.
The second coming of Bieber comes in the form a documentary - a 3D feature film, set for release this week (and due to stick around for as long as the pocket money keeps flowing).
It charts Bieber's life so far (all 16 years of it), combining home videos, baby photos, behind-the-scenes interviews and live concert footage.
It actually makes for surprisingly interesting viewing. On the one hand, it's the story of a talented kid with a dream. On the other hand, it's a potent example of the relentless publicity machine that shamelessly manipulates fans to grab headlines and boost sales.
It's this publicity machine that made Bieber famous in the first place. I've written about it before and having seen the "true" behind-the-scenes story, I am more convinced than ever that Scooter Braun is a bad man.
A bad man that took advantage (and continues to take advantage) of a child and his mother.
Of course, teenage girls won't see this when they watch Never Say Never.
They'll be too focused on the giant 3D Bieber popping out of the screen (the only time the 5'5 singer will ever look big.)
I wouldn't go so far as to recommend the documentary to non-Beliebers, especially not in theatres full of screaming, dancing, hyperventilating girls. But I will say it's not nearly as bad as you might think it is.
