This Might Be the Most Embarrassing Stage Moment for the Biebs Yet
Clearly he hasn’t been forced to hear "Despacito" as many times as we have.
On Tuesday night, home-grown pop icon and dude who probably still quotes lines from Anchorman a lot, Justin Bieber surprised a crowd at 1 OAK in New York by getting on the mic to sing along with the Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee track for which he sung the hook. Then, according to footage from the event published by TMZ, it was Bieber’s turn to be surprised as he realized Spanish words are hard to remember, especially when you don’t speak the language.
It’s always awkward, if totally understandable, when artists forget the lyrics to their songs. But, since the Biebs wasn’t singing in his native tongue, when he substitutes ‘blah blah blahs,’ for Spanish words he didn’t understand in the first place, the whole thing takes on a more problematic tone. Like, if you’re going to make money singing in another language, maybe you should learn the language?
But maybe that’s unfair! Who among us hasn’t tried to sing along to an Enrique Iglesias track, only to butcher the language of love, or made up correct sounding words to “Gangam Style,” back when it was a thing. The point is, this could have been much worse.
We’re just worried about Biebs, is the thing. While he has had a history of racial missteps, he’s clearly not racist. But he isn’t especially woke, either. (Nor is he especially chill these days). And, given the political climate these days, now is not a good time to be un-woke. But it’s an even worse time to be un-professional.