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AN EVENING WITH JUSTIN BIEBER

RBMG/Def Jam Mega Star Packs Staples Center for Album Release Celebration

Justin Bieber hosted one hell of a party Friday night (11/13). To celebrate the release of his highly anticipated fourth studio album, Purpose, RBMG/Def Jam's megastar filled L.A.’s iconic Staples Center for An Evening With Justin Bieber. And he did it not once, not twice, but three times.


With events at 2:30, 6pm and 9:30pm, the Biebs welcomed fans to an exclusive gathering. Attendees had the option to buy tickets for $18 or spend just $4 more to get admittance and an actual copy of the album bundled together. At the events, the crowd was also informed that buying the physical set at the venue gave you the chance of snagging one with JB’s signature.

Upon arrival, fans lined up eagerly along a barricade in an unexpectedly calm manner. That was, of course, the calm before the storm, as a cosmopolitan running of the bulls occurred within milliseconds of the barrier’s removal.

“JUS-TIN” was repeatedly chanted with hormone-powered vehemence and the shrieking reached a whole new decibel level.


Manager extraordinaire Scooter Braun kicked off the festivities with a spirited intro and shared, “I forgot how loud Bieber shows are.” JB, who arrived via skateboard, was joined onstage by KIISJoJo and Pastor Judah Smith—a close confidant of the star—for a lighthearted Q&A, which pulled questions from members of the crowd (and live-stream viewers for the 6pm show).

Bieber claimed he wrote about 500 songs before finding the perfect track listing for Purpose, and detailed the joy of working with the likes of Diplo, Skrillex, Usher, Halsey, Big Sean and Ariana Grande. He also made sure to dub Michael Jackson his biggest musical inspiration, praising his authenticity and lamenting the lack of such in the modern biz. And in case you were wondering, his favorite songs off the album are “Mark My Words,” “Sorry” and “Love Yourself,” he considers the most personal ones to be “Purpose” and “Life Is Worth Living” and his favorite Disney movie is Frozen.

The Q&A was followed by a mini-concert that included acoustic performances of “What Do You Mean?,” “Home to Mama,” “Love Yourself,” throwbacks “One Less Lonely Girl” and “Boyfriend,” and “Sorry.”

Before all of that though, Bieber called for a moment of silence before leading everyone in a prayer for those affected by the recent tragedies in Paris and Japan to “hopefully bring some light and hope to those hurting.”

The night was capped off with the world premiere of his short film, Purpose: The Movement, which consisted of dance videos for each of the 13 tracks. Basically, it all added up to a Belieber’s paradise.

L-R: Def Jam's Nicki Farag and Noah Sheer, HITS' Samantha Hissong, SB Projects' Mike Chester, Def Jam's Mundo Garcia and Rick Sackheim

The following morning, Purpose was #1 at iTunes (where it remains), and on the singles side, “Sorry” (#2), “Love Yourself” (#3), “What Do You Mean?” (#6), “I’ll Show You” (#8) and “The Feeling” (#10) all sat in the Top 10.

With two more “Evenings” set for Chicago and Houston (and lord knows what else Braun and Steve Bartels have up their sleeves), will the marketing push be enough to take the Biebs to #1 in this week’s chart battle with SYCO/Columbia’s One Direction? Stay tuned.

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