'Bieber, he's a great dude. He gave us advice backstage,' bandmember Roc Royal tells MTV News.
By Mawuse Ziegbe
Mindless Behavior
Photo: MTV News
According to Mindless Behavior, touring with Justin Bieber is a rowdy experience.
The rising quartet, which includes 13- and 14-year-old Philadelphia and Los Angeles natives Prodigy, Roc Royal, Princeton and Ray Ray, hit the road with Justin Bieber in December. When they stopped by the MTV News offices on Friday, they dished that opening up for the teen superstar meant rocking the stage for thousands while grappling with the Biebs' hard-core fanbase.
"It was crazy," plaited singer Ray Ray admitted. "He has a lot of fans."
Fellow Mindless singer Princeton — who fans may remember as that cute krumpin' kid from Gym Class Heroes' 2006 video for "Cupid's Chokehold/ Breakfast in America" — added that in addition to dodging legions of Beliebers, the boys had to bring it in massive arenas.
"Every night, 15,000 fans," the curly-haired crooner said, adding that the teen crew used the adrenaline to pump up their performances. "It made us nervous, but the minute we hit that stage — and the stage is big, by the way, like really big — but the minute we hit that stage the nerves just turned into great energy." Getting face time with concertgoers also helped to ease their nerves. "Before the show we always did meet-and-greets, so the fans were really nice and very supportive," Princeton explained.
With their peppy text-friendly jam "My Girl" gaining traction and their status as budding heartthrobs blossoming, the Mindless fellas got some tips from Bieber on how to handle their growing fame. Rapper Roc Royal said the "Baby" singer was really cool about doling out pop-star guidance.
"Bieber, he's a great dude. He gave us advice backstage. He's nice," Roc said. "He told us don't be nervous because it's just fans, and you love it."
Roc added that Bieber was always down for a laugh — even if it came at the expense of the Mindless guys' eardrums.
"[Our] favorite moments [were] when Bieber came into our room and we start playing," he smiled, recalling an instance in which the pop megastar barged into their rooms blasting an ear-shattering horn. "Like, he starts blowing the whistles in our rooms. [It's] like, 'Aw, man stop!'
"He came in on a Segway, and he was like [makes horn sound]. We were like, 'Ah!' " Roc continued. "Definitely those moments when we were backstage and we were in our sweats just having fun."
Pop-star mentorship aside, the boys insist that Bieber isn't going to get away with the reckless whistle-blowing. Ray Ray joked that the guys might just turn the intense energy of Bieber's fans against him. "We gonna put fans backstage so when he comes he gets attacked," he laughed.
Princeton had another idea: "Take his Segway!" he said, pretending to jack Justin's wheels, exclaiming, " 'What up, Biebs? Vrooom!' "
Did you see Mindless Behavior on tour with Justin Bieber? Tell us about it in the comments!
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