It takes something unidentifiably special to propel a video to the most-viewed spot on YouTube, but teen idol Justin Bieber managed to achieve just that with his music video for Baby. But more than just the most-viewed video, with half a billion views and counting, Baby is also the most discussed video and even the most disliked video ever to have graced YouTube. Quite the hat trick.
Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, party planner to the stars, and released his debut album in 2009 to both critical acclaim and plainly fierce criticism. Internet users, for instance, are apparently enraged simply by the 17-year-old's youthful looks and voice, and he has been targeted by many online pranks, including one which effectively lobbied his record label to send the star to North Korea.
However, the industry has granted the singer a huge host of awards given his short professional career to date and 'Beliebers' from around the world speak out in support of the young star who, in the eyes of many a teenage girl, can do no wrong.
Perhaps it's Bieber's relentless niceness that goads people into criticising the singer or perhaps his face just genuinely riles people. But one thing is for sure: when the singer and his entourage arrive in Hong Kong the city will know nothing other than Bieber mania, for better or for worse.
Tickets to his show at AsiaWorld-Arena on May 13 are now on sale through HK Ticketing. Prices range from HK$480 to HK$1,899.