Eric Clapton is coming around on Justin Bieber, just like the rest of the world.
In an interview with Billboard, the 71-year-old guitar legend discussed his daughters’ taste in music. Slowhand said that learning his kin were Beliebers left a sour taste in his mouth, until he actually sat down and listened to what the pop star was doing.
“I was, I suppose, a little bit disappointed that they were talking about him, until I heard the music,” he said. “It’s got some substance now.”
Clapton’s sentiments reflect a massive re-evaluation of Bieber as an artist in the wake of “Where Are U Now?” and his latest album Purpose. The entire musical world has had to reckon with the fact that the teenybopper behind “Baby” is making somewhat serious music now that actually deserves a listen.
While the Biebz isn’t exactly cranking out future additions to the canon, Clapton isn’t wrong in his assessment that songs like “Sorry,” “Love Yourself,” and “What Do You Mean?” have “some substance.” When everyone from Kanye West to Eric Clapton to our own Ryan O’Connell is feeling the new Bieber tunes, there’s probably a little something there.
Of course, Bieber has been doing everything in his power to squander that goodwill, whether it’s rocking dreads or trying to make Prince’s death about himself. But as we’ve seen, you can always come back around again.
