JUSTIN BIEBER
7 p.m., Verizon Arena. $31.50-$51.50.
OMG. For weeks now, we’ve practically been able to hear the days get Sharpie’d off on wall calendars all over town. The tween-pop Elvis is coming to Verizon for what is guaranteed to be the most frenzied concert Little Rock sees all year. Now, the Biebs has gotten more than his fair share of criticism since his astronomical ascent from YouTube scrubbery to international megafame, but we’re not interested in calling out the omnipresent young pup for his fortunes, deserved or otherwise. He’s a kid making music for other kids; grown men aren’t really in a place to dismiss him. That’s like saying, “cat food tastes gross.” However, we might say “cats go bonkers for this cat food,” and it’s in that spirit that I’ll acknowledge that Bieber is nothing short of a pop music sensation. This month, he was the most Googled celebrity, his video for “Baby” became the most viewed YouTube video of all time and a gang of Internet pranksters almost succeeded in rigging a poll that would have sent the 16-year-old to tour North Korea. The sensation will be joined by fellow teen-pop star Sean Kingston, who’s sure to provide the eeriest part of the night when the arena sings along to his Ben E. King-sampling, suicide-flauntin’ hit track, “Beautiful Girls.”