Justin Bieber fans, on the things they’ve done to meet their idol

Justin Bieber’s reputation is still recovering from his time as a house-egging, mop-bucket-peeing, illegal-street-racing miscreant. But last night, outside the Danforth Music Hall, none of that mattered. There, Beliebers had spent more than 24 hours waiting for a chance to get close to the Biebs before his last-minute charity show—an intimate, acoustic evening that sold out in minutes. We asked some of them to tell us about the things they’ve done for Bieber’s love. The answers were bonkers.

Taylor Bousfield, 21, psychology student from London, Ontario
“My friend and I took a Greyhound to be here at 11 a.m. yesterday. I have an exam tomorrow morning that I haven’t started studying for. So it’s going to be another all-nighter.”

Miranda Kowalik, 18, Tim Hortons worker from Hamilton
“During the Believe tour, I slept outside his hotel for three days trying to meet him. My parents didn’t know. I said I was at my friend’s house. But then my friend gave my name to the newspaper and my parents read it the next morning when I got home. They weren’t too happy about that one. I didn’t get to meet him, but it was worth it.”

Nadine Raymond, 45, youth justice worker from Newmarket
“Coming here and sleeping out on the Danforth since 8 p.m. is the most I have done for Bieber. It felt more like a camping activity, but it gave me some perspective on what it must be like to sleep on the street. He’s not a role model to my daughter, but he definitely is an idol of hers, and I don’t mind that she looks up to him. He’s amazing at what he does. ”

Sarah Palson, 19, student at Georgian College
“He’s like family. He’s been with me through tough times and his music helps me a lot. My room is plastered in posters and blankets, and I’ve even got a standup of him. I own pretty much all of his merchandise—easily over 100 items.”

Babak Fenty, 17, student at Western University
“I camped out almost a week before the MMVAs so I could see him perform. I also waited outside his hotel for almost five hours one night. It was the right hotel, but he was too busy to take a photo with us. My friend and I came all the way from Western for tonight. We had four classes today, but we don’t care. I actually started liking him more when he started doing dumb things like peeing in buckets.”

Devyn Nekoda, 14, from Brantford, and Addison Holley, 15, from Burlington
Devyn: “I felt really bad for him when he was going through that tough time. But I never stopped believing. I knew he would pull through. We’ve been here since 1 p.m. We’re freezing. My mom is in the van behind us to grab the chairs and blankets when it’s time to go in. She wanted to come, but the tickets sold out too fast.”

Jeff Morrison, 45, labourer from Barrie, and Haley Morrison, 18
Jeff: “I’ve seen him 5 times. You should see my Facebook right now. They’re all saying I dragged her down so I wouldn’t look bad attending a Justin Bieber concert. The craziest thing I’ve ever done was run with about 10,000 girls chasing him down the street in his van.”

Haley: “Once, I touched him.”

Jeff: “She also attacked Selena Gomez.”

Haley: “I did not attack her. I touched her and her hair got stuck in my fingers.”

Tiana Sandy, 16, and Akilah James, 16, both from Toronto
Tiana: “The last concert he played in town, we camped outside for him for 24 hours. I also spent two days camped outside of the MMVAs.”

Akilah: “Once a fan, always a fan. You can’t just leave him. You have to stick with him through everything.”

Cassandra Borges, 16, from Mississauga
“I’ve been here for 20 hours. I slept on the street. That’s how much I love him.”

Jessica Theocharides, 18, and Amy Theocharides, 15, both from Ajax
Jessica: “He came to visit me in the hospital when I had cancer. I was 12, and ever since I’ve loved him. My sister and I went behind the building before his Christmas concert, in the mosh pit of girls waiting for him, and screamed at Scooter Braun to give us tickets. He asked if our mom was with us, and of course my mom is always there, so he gave us tickets. We started crying our eyes out because we didn’t have tickets that night.”

Danielle Beckingham, 26, Sephora manager; and Michelle Beckingham, 23, waitress, both from Hamilton
Danielle: “I’m the bigger Belieber. I’m the one that’s always looking at social media, trying to find ways for us to meet him. I’m also the only one of us that doesn’t have a boyfriend, so I’m super in love with Justin. In my mind that means that if we ever met him, I’d get him.”