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Cape Town - Say what you like about Justin Bieber and his recent behaviour on his Believe world tour: He started on time - early, in fact, hitting the stage at 20:40 for a 21:00 scheduled start - in Cape Town on Wednesday night and ensured his young, screaming fans would be safely home and in bed by midnight.
The 19-year-old star sent passions into overdrive as he swaggered onto stage dressed all in white, wearing reflector sunglasses and showing off the tattoos snaking up his arms.
Bieber was the youngest person on stage by a decade at least and led his band and troupe of dancers through familiar radio hits like Somebody to Love, Beauty and a Beat and Never Say Never – while lesser known album tracks Be Alright and She Don't Like the Lights got the same reception from the excitable crowd.
The screaming from his mostly young and female fans was already in full force during opening support sets by ChianoSky and Locnville, but reached even higher levels as the Canadian pop star hit the stage and gyrated his way through the first few songs.
PHOTOS: Justin Bieber live in Cape Town
Bieber went through a number of costume changes during his 80-minute set, each one a variation of a pair of leather dropped crotch trousers with a pair of white boxers peeking from the waistband and his ever-present sleeveless vest.
Pandemonium ensued throughout the 65 000-strong crowd when Bieber emerged shirtless for the final stretch of the show, flexing his hard-won but still slight body through hits from the Believe album - Boyfriend and As Long as You Love Me.
Thankfully Bieber remained unimpaired throughout his performance at the piano for encore track Believe, his first time playing the song to a packed stadium since being attacked on stage by fan at the same point during his Dubai show on Sunday.
Children as young as two years old were clutched closely to their parents in the Golden Circle, an area that was especially raucous as everyone jostled to get as close to the stage as possible. Many parents were soon seen fleeing the Golden Circle area with their young daughters in tow as the heaving crowd and unpredictable energy of the scenario proved too much for them.
There were also reports of girls fainting in the throbbing crowd, but security and event officials worked hard to make sure the young Beliebers were kept hydrated, passing out cups of water.
But Bieber remained cool and casual throughout, teasing fans at the front by reaching out to touch their fingertips, offering the drumsticks from his obligatory drum solo interval and looking out into the crowd of "beautiful girls" to find his One Less Lonely Girl - the lucky Belieber who is brought onto stage to be serenaded by him.
That girl turned out to be a girl named Neli, who sheepishly let the special moment wash over her while 50 000 other girls in the audience were left seething with jealousy.
The set was not without problems, however. Bieber's vocals were kept low in the sound mix and the drummer lost the beat during the early part of the performance of Boyfriend.
But the Belieber experience does not stop to correct missteps and the drummer soldiered on while Bieber kept the show on course, doing what he does best by dancing down the front of the stage to set young hearts racing anew.
The 19-year-old star sent passions into overdrive as he swaggered onto stage dressed all in white, wearing reflector sunglasses and showing off the tattoos snaking up his arms.
Bieber was the youngest person on stage by a decade at least and led his band and troupe of dancers through familiar radio hits like Somebody to Love, Beauty and a Beat and Never Say Never – while lesser known album tracks Be Alright and She Don't Like the Lights got the same reception from the excitable crowd.
The screaming from his mostly young and female fans was already in full force during opening support sets by ChianoSky and Locnville, but reached even higher levels as the Canadian pop star hit the stage and gyrated his way through the first few songs.
PHOTOS: Justin Bieber live in Cape Town
Bieber went through a number of costume changes during his 80-minute set, each one a variation of a pair of leather dropped crotch trousers with a pair of white boxers peeking from the waistband and his ever-present sleeveless vest.
Pandemonium ensued throughout the 65 000-strong crowd when Bieber emerged shirtless for the final stretch of the show, flexing his hard-won but still slight body through hits from the Believe album - Boyfriend and As Long as You Love Me.
Thankfully Bieber remained unimpaired throughout his performance at the piano for encore track Believe, his first time playing the song to a packed stadium since being attacked on stage by fan at the same point during his Dubai show on Sunday.
Children as young as two years old were clutched closely to their parents in the Golden Circle, an area that was especially raucous as everyone jostled to get as close to the stage as possible. Many parents were soon seen fleeing the Golden Circle area with their young daughters in tow as the heaving crowd and unpredictable energy of the scenario proved too much for them.
There were also reports of girls fainting in the throbbing crowd, but security and event officials worked hard to make sure the young Beliebers were kept hydrated, passing out cups of water.
But Bieber remained cool and casual throughout, teasing fans at the front by reaching out to touch their fingertips, offering the drumsticks from his obligatory drum solo interval and looking out into the crowd of "beautiful girls" to find his One Less Lonely Girl - the lucky Belieber who is brought onto stage to be serenaded by him.
That girl turned out to be a girl named Neli, who sheepishly let the special moment wash over her while 50 000 other girls in the audience were left seething with jealousy.
The set was not without problems, however. Bieber's vocals were kept low in the sound mix and the drummer lost the beat during the early part of the performance of Boyfriend.
But the Belieber experience does not stop to correct missteps and the drummer soldiered on while Bieber kept the show on course, doing what he does best by dancing down the front of the stage to set young hearts racing anew.
