Justin Bieber came home for the holidays on Wednesday night – to Canada.
The Stratford, Ont.-born teen idol spread plenty of good cheer while visiting Toronto.
One of the first things he did on arriving in the country was to hold a benefit concert and raise $500,000 for Bieber’s Believe charity, for the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada, Sunnybrook Foundation and Project Medishare.
The concert, held at Toronto’s historic Massey Hall, was taped for a TV special that aired on MuchMusic and CTV last night. It was called Justin Bieber: Home for the Holidays.
The concert got off to a late start, but with good reason. Partly Bieber was delayed because he was backstage with three special fans, Jalissa (10), Jake (8) and Harvey (16), who are each battling life-threatening illnesses. Their “wish” was to meet the pop star and Bieber wasted no time in making their wishes come true.
Bieber had been busy that day – he’d also dropped by Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank to make a donation.
And that’s after he joined some of The Maple Leafs hockey players on the ice at the Air Canada Centre.
During his Massey Hall concert Bieber debuted a new song, “Be Alright” in front of about 2,700 fans. The show sold out show in about half an hour.
Website dose.ca said the concert featured stripped-down arrangements for guitar, piano and a choir of shrieks. The last item describes the effect Bieber has on his young female fans, who tend to scream and sing throughout his songs. (At the end of his concert, Bieber asked his fans to stop screaming or he wouldn’t do an encore. They didn’t; but he did, anyway.)
The website said that when Bieber described his new song as being about getting through hard times with your girlfriend or boyfriend, “the kids throughout the concert hall began buzzing ‘Selena Gomez!'”
Bieber’s parents, grandparents and childhood friends were in the audience, supporting the pop star.
Although fans were warned not to take videos, at least one did – and you can watch a clip from the show at http://www.dose.ca/music/5898825/story.html.
Dose.ca isn’t specifically a kid-friendly website, so please visit the site under adult supervision.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Kathleen Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
Justin Bieber uses his celebrity and wealth to help thousands of people who are less fortunate than him.
Do you think all celebrities should be required to donate a portion of their money and/or time to support charities and people in need? Why or why not?
Reading Prompt:
People have different points of view (opinions) about Justin Bieber. Some people adore the pop star, while others aren’t interested in him at all. How would this article be different if it was written by one of his adoring, screaming fans? How would it be different if it was written by someone who is not a fan of Justin Bieber? How would it be different if it was written by a family member or a close friend?
Primary
Identify the point of view presented in a text and suggest some possible alternative perspectives (OME, Reading: 1.9).
Junior
Identify the point of view presented in texts, ask questions to identify missing or possible alternative points of view, and suggest some possible alternative perspectives (OME, Reading: 1.9).
Intermediate
Identify the point of view presented in texts, including increasingly complex or difficult texts; give evidence of any biases they may contain; and suggest other possible perspectives (OME, Reading: 1.9).
Grammar Feature: Compound Word
A compound word contains two smaller words. Some examples of compound words are: basketball, airport, barnyard, championship.
Identify the compound words in the article and explain what smaller words are joined together to make each one.
