Baby, Baby Bieber

There is a young man living in my daughter's bedroom. His presence is so pervasive that I've come to think of him like one of family. He's quite charming actually, with a sweet voice, and -- until recently -- this floppy signature bangs-in-the-face style that drives tweens wild when flipped just right (no wonder he sold a lock of it on E-bay for $40,000 to charity). All this going for him and he's still stayed away from drug addiction, petty theft and (that I know of) sexual scandals.

His name is Justin Bieber. That's BEE-ber, which rhymes with fever, which is why they call the international phenomenon and crazy following around this boy "Bieber Fever."

This winky young Canadian crooner was discovered on YouTube at age 12 by a manager/producer who new a teen angel and originality when he saw it. Justin rose quickly to worldwide fame on YouTube before he was signed by rap star/producer Usher. J.B. went on to sell more than 4 million albums in 2010. He is the Shawn Cassidy-Beatles-Elvis of a new generation of tweens like my daughter who love to sing and perhaps cling to the fact that maybe they too might be discoverd on YouTube.

Mostly though I think they just want to date him.

Why should you care about this young, puckish lad raised by a single mother? Because to know Justin Bieber is to understand that dreams can come true. Even if you don't like his catchy and somewhat addictive hits like, "Baby" or "One Time," it's hard not to admire this spunky kid who keeps on climbing the charts (and box office) and attracting adoring fans despite being passed over for an unknown jazz singer at the Grammy's for "Best New Artist" of the year. Plus the kid can dance, and even made fun of himself as he did with Tina Fey on "Saturday Night Live." Plus there was that huge charity concert for Japan...and the list goes on.

As you can see, I like the boy.

They say there are a lot of closet J.B. fans out there who love to say they hate him but secretly croon to his songs in the privacy of the car or shower. I'm "out" in my appreciation of the kid and just hope that guidance from his mom and others will help him stay on the straight and narrow unlike so many other teen stars gone bad. He's inspiring in a age of sexual innuendos and provacative R rated videos that blur the reality of what is cool and what is just plain wrong. That means, for now, he can keep living with my daughter and singing on my Smart Phone.

Then again, "Never Say Never."