Justin Bieber is a well-known fan of pop superstars Michael Jackson, Usher, and Justin Timberlake. But you'd be incorrect if you assumed the 17-year-old known for his bubblegum chart-topping songs was only interested in mainstream music.
Thursday night, Justin surprised one of his favorite artists, lesser-known indie singer-songwriter Ernie Halter by showing up to Ernie's concert and joining him on stage. The two singers, who had previously never met, performed together Ernie's song "Come Home To Me."
The Rock Ridge Music recording artist was completely blindsided that Justin and Selena Gomez showed up to his concert at the La Cave restaurant in Orange Country, California. "I looked over to my left and saw him sitting there and my jaw dropped," Ernie told Yahoo! Music about Justin, who had just landed in Los Angeles, fresh off of an 11-hour flight from Tokyo.
"I asked him [to perform with me] and he said, 'Yes,' " Ernie told MTV. "It was a little bit of a surprise because I didn't think he would do it." To return the favor, Ernie performed an acoustic version of Justin's hit "Baby."Ernie was unaware that Justin was a fan of his music until Wednesday when the teen idol tweeted a link to his cover of Ernie's "Come Home To Me." Ernie responded to Justin on Twitter and was shocked to see the number of Justin fans that replied.
"He sent it to me and people were, like, on fire retweeting it," Ernie said. "My Twitter feed on my computer just starts going crazy, like bing, bing, bing, bing. They are all retweets of Justin Bieber. He wrote it to me like, '@ErinHalter come home is such a great song. I thought I would do a little something with it.' "Justin's tweets to Ernie before and after the meeting prompted an influx of more than 30,000 new Twitter followers for the Los Angeles-based artist. It also helped Ernie's most recent album, "Franklin & Vermont," re-enter the top 50 on iTune's Singer Songwriter chart.
Ernie was also shocked to find out that Justin has been a fan of his music for years. Justin told Ernie that the "Come Home To Me" singer inspired him to make one of the YouTube videos that ultimately helped Justin get discovered.
"[Justin] said, 'When I was first making videos [I saw your] cover of Justin Timberlake's 'Cry Me A River.' ... [When] I saw that song, then I made one,' " Ernie said.
Ernie is not an amateur by any means. He has shared the studio and stage with the likes of Katy Perry, Neil Young, Christina Aguilera, and Lady Antebellum, and his songs have been featured on "General Hospital," MTV's "The Real World," and others, but he says the recognition from Justin was substantial."I've played with all these amazing people," he said, "but this is an up that I've never seen before, something on a whole 'nother level."
That's Really Week gives a nod to Justin for inspiring one of our most touching stories. But the news isn't always positive, as is the case with some of the other happenings this week. Lady Gaga's much lauded "Born This Way" album, due out on Tuesday, was leaked. Pete Doherty's battle with drugs landed him in jail. Controversial political television show host Bill O'Reilly debated with Jon Stewart Common's invitation to the White House. But most sadly, we lost M-Bone of the upbeat, Los Angeles, "Teach Me How To Dougie" rap group Cali Swag District. He was fatally shot.Hopefully, Justin's good deed can keep us afloat until next week's wrapup. See you then.
THIS WEEK'S TOP 5 MUSIC NEWS STORIES
1) Never Say Never -- Justin Bieber surprises favorite indie artist
2) He Was The Greatest Dancer - "Dougie" rapper killed in drive-by shooting
3) Unauthorized Preview -- Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" hits the Internet early
4) Political Rap -- Jon Stewart defends Common's White House visit
5) Libertines And Justice -- Pete Doherty heads to jail on drug charges
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