"Baby, baby, baby, oh" — who hasn't heard these lyrics before? And to think the guy behind these annoying words is Canadian. I mean with all due respect to Justin Bieber and his 'talent,' I'm not his biggest fan. I'd rather listen to Nickelback (although I can think of some people who'd mock me for wanting to listen to them). The reason why I wrote this article for this week is because this is the Valentine's Day issue of the Interrobang, and I thought who better than Justin Bieber? I mean, there are lots of people who would love to get married to him.

I'm going to be very frank here: I know a lot of people, especially girls, will not like the fact that I chose to write something where I'm not in favour of the teen pop singer, who was born in London and grew up in Stratford. Now, don't get me wrong, guys and girls; Bieber sings, I can't sing and I respect that. But since I grew up listening to classic rock, teen pop isn't quite my thing.

Justin Bieber is better than Rebecca Black, this I will confirm. I'd rather be forced to listen to "Baby" over "Friday." And Bieber does have a lot of publicity for a 17 year old; I'm assuming that would happen since he was discovered by Scooter Braun and he was signed to the Raymond Braun Media Group (a joint venture between Scooter Braun and Usher). Stardom was sure to follow. He's even dating Selena Gomez, though how long that relationship will continue remains to be seen.

Bieber had been in the news recently and his not-so-biggest fans like me had a good chuckle over the whole incident. The alleged claim that he was the father of Mariah Yeater's baby. Bieber fans were in shock, others had a good laugh. Then there was the incident at the 2012 Golden Globes when Ricky Gervais mocked the teen pop sensation. "Justin Bieber nearly had to take a paternity test. What a waste of a test that would have been!" he joked. "No, he's not the father. The only way that he could have impregnated a girl was if he borrowed one of Martha Stewart's old turkey basters. Open wide." 'Beliebers,' as Bieber fans call themselves, did not take that joke lightly and Gervais was subject to an angry barrage on Twitter and received death threats. That was something I wasn't expecting — not from angry young ladies, anyway.

I will mention that I was impressed by Bieber when he responded to 20-year-old Helen Campbell, an ailing fan, in her bid to raise awareness about tissue and organ donations. The last line of the article in the Toronto Star (dated January 28) caught my attention: "Bieber is not one to mumble a few catchy lyrics with the sole intent to make girls faint. He's a stand-up guy, ready to use his fame for others. Bravo Bieber."

Justin Bieber is one of those guys many people love to hate. He's famous, and that's a fact no one can escape. I'm not his biggest fan, nor will I ever become one, but he's Canadian and something Canada (or most Canadians) are proud of.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.