Review: Justin Bieber shows he's a pop star who wants to be taken seriously at arena concert

Midway through his Pinnacle Bank Arena concert Tuesday, Justin Bieber picked up an acoustic guitar, took a seat on a couch and played "Home to Mama" and "Love Yourself."

A few minutes later, he climbed behind a drum kit and hammered away at a solo -- two pieces of evidence that Bieber wants to be taken seriously as a musician, not simply considered a pop star.

That's also likely why Bieber's 1 hour 45 minute concert was heavy on songs -- 9 of them by my count -- from "Purpose," his solid, credibility-boosting R&B-leaning album from last year.

But, he's still Justin Bieber, pop star, a status confirmed by the ear-piercing screams of the 75 percent female, under-25 dominated sell-out crowd of more than 13,500 that opened the show and returned each time Bieber came back on stage following one of his handful of costume changes.

The show was a pop spectacle as well with smartly designed lighting and staging, including a trampoline suspended above the audience, a dozen dancers and lots of moving around from Bieber, who sometimes didn't sing at all. It's not lip syncing if you don't try to fake out the audience and no one around me seemed bothered in the slightest when Bieber let a track play the vocals while he danced around.

Bieber's Minneapolis performance Sunday night was roundly criticized, saying he was robotic, lifeless and appeared not to care at all. That wasn't the case Tuesday. As the show went on, Bieber engaged ever more with the crowd, talking frequently, smiling every once in awhile and clearly was trying hard.

At the end of a frenetic "Baby," Bieber stood alone under a spotlight, drinking one of what had to be 10 bottles of water he consumed during the concert as the screams hit their highest volume of the night.

Then he began talking about why he called the record and tour "Purpose," as in finding one's purpose in life. "I think it's good to make mistakes," he said. "Not unforgivable mistakes, but mistakes that allow you to grow and become the person you should be."

Then came "Purpose" with Bieber sitting on the stage, singing against a keyboard, no pop flash, just a musician trying to communicate with his audience.

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