Justin Bieber’s duet with Sean Kingston is infectiously simple, its plot augmented by an equally simplistic video. The tale is told like this: Bieber and Kingston are getting hit on by the same girl, but she can’t seem to decide between the two of them. “You can’t make up your mind, mind, mind, mind, mind,” they accuse. “Please don’t waste my time, time, time, time, time.”
Bieber and Kingston chant about catching a “bad chick” by the toe, and they plead with her to give each of them “the night to show you, hold you.” The video amplifies those whiffs of lyrical innuendo, featuring images of women in bikinis and midriff-baring tops at what looks like a frat-house kegger in a swank condo. The sexual undercurrent is further reinforced by the repeated line, “Shawty is a eenie meenie minie moe lover.”
But while 20-year-old Kingston looks very comfortable in the video, Bieber looks lost. And that’s about the best praise I can give this young singer. A 16-year-old should look lost in that context. After all, there’s nary a chaperone in sight, and he looks like the youngest person there by about five years. Not to mention the fact that lots of folks are carrying around plastic cups—the red variety that have come to be shorthand for beer in movies and on TV. So Bieber seems for all the world like someone’s kid brother who snuck into somewhere he doesn’t—and shouldn’t—belong.
And yet, there he is, flirting with the “Eenie Meenie” girl, leering at her as she walks away and checking out pictures of her clad in a bikini. He seems like a youth longing for a little corruption, longing to grow up way too fast. And from the looks of things here, Justin Bieber doesn’t need any “Eenie Meenie” girl to contribute to his delinquency. His record-label handlers seem quite capable on that score.
After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.
Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.
