A disclaimer up front – I’m not a Bieber fan but I don’t hate the guy. Give anyone $50 million at the age of 21 and they’ll behave like a bit of a dick, right?

So what’s all this about a shambles in India? Well, Wednesday saw around 56 000 fans in Mumbai stand for hours in the searing heat outside DY Patil Stadium, waiting to watch the Beeb’s first ever concert in India.

It’s pretty much the biggest concert the country has ever seen, with some folks paying $1 165 (R15 500) for a ticket, and Justin was coming in hot.

Quartz below:

Before arriving in India, Bieber’s team reportedly delivered an extremely long list of demands. There were specific orders on his upholstery and room decor, dietary requirements, and the refrigerator and washing machine provided. The singer was also meant to get Z+ security—a special protection the government provides to just 36 influential people in the country.

But Bieber’s India stop began as a stark contrast to what his team may have envisioned. He landed at the airport in a simple hoodie and shorts. Instead of special forces, Bollywood star Salman Khan’s bodyguard Shera was seen escorting Bieber. Bieber had also called for a chopper but ended up journeying to the concert venue by road…

That’s all good and fine, but it was inside the stadium that it really went to shit:

Fans eagerly awaiting Bieber’s biggest smash hits like “Where Are You Now,” “Sorry,” “Boyfriend,” “Love Yourself” amid other popular tracks, were subject to a botched lip-sync performance for most of the night. Worse, it seemed he didn’t even try to make his act believable. Comedian Ashish Shakya from the popular comedy group All India Bakchod (AIB) described one such moment in a Facebook note, saying, “Bieber was wiping his face with a towel such that the towel covered his entire face, and the vocals just played on unchanged.”

That post from Ashish Shakya deserves a closer look:

I didn’t expect to be blown away but I figured, hey, this was an international act worth hundreds of millions of dollars so surely they’d put up some sort of performance spectacle. What, I wondered, are these foreigners doing at gigs that we aren’t doing here?

…Imagine the smiles of a thousand Beliebers wilting in unison, their hearts shattering as the myth of their Piper dissolved before them, while thousands of others still stayed strong and did not let their fandom waver, even in the face of irrefutable evidence…

All things considered, I’m so glad that I went because it’s not often that you get to witness a magnum opus Failblog.

Best he put on a better showing when he touches down. I don’t give a single f*ck, but I know some of you forked out serious cash and we’d hate for you to home disappointed.

Kinda, because it would be pretty funny if he botched our shows too.

[sources:quartz&facebook]