By Jay Forte, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Canadian-born pop sensation and all-round social media celebrity, Justin Bieber, will be performing on Wednesday, March 29th in Rio de Janeiro at the Praça de Apoteose, the site of the famous Sambódromo.
Bieber will be performing to support his Latin America “Purpose World Tour” (2016-17), and be in São Paulo at the Allianz Parque on April 1st and 2nd. Tickets went on sale on October 31st, ranging from R$125 half price seats, to R$750.
Now at age 23, the star has maintained a strong following of ‘beliebers’ of all ages, and some have been camping out at the Sambódromo for as long as five months according to local news reports.
“I was the first to arrive, [I’ve been here] 4 months and 20 days. I study at night, so I come in the morning, I go to school and then I go back to sleep. We do a relay, my group has forty people. Those who sleep come twice a week and those who do not sleep come three times a week,” a student Victorya Maia, age 19, told G1 news.
The performer was first discovered in 2008 by a talent manager from YouTube videos, covering songs, and he released his debut EP, My World, in late 2009. Following releases were My World 2.0 (2010), Under the Mistletoe (2011), Believe (2012) and Purpose (2015).
Although the artists seems to be in the headlines more for his off-stage antics and growing pains, Bieber won the American Music Award for Artist of the Year in 2010 and 2012. He won a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording for the song “Where Are Ü Now” at the 2016 ceremony as well.
This is the third time Justin Bieber will perform in Brazil; he played previously in 2011 and 2013. In 2013 he was followed by the media relentlessly, and the then 19-year-old and his nine-person entourage were photographed leaving Centaurus, causing an international tabloid frenzy.
Mary Byker, of the 80’s English punk-rock band Gay Bykers on Acid, and later the band Pop Will Eat Itself, has lived in Rio since 2007 and shared his expectation of more scandalous activity. “[If] his last visit was anything to go by! Justin cemented his bad boy persona with his offstage antics last time he was in Brazil, expect more of the same!”
What: Justin Bieber: Purpose World Tour
When: Wednesday, March 29th at 6PM
Where: Praça da Apoteose, Rua Marquês de Sapucaí – Centro
Entrance: R$125 – R$750. Tickets can be purchased online. Must be 14 years-old, children between the ages of 8 and 13 may enter with their parents or guardians.