Are you a Belieber? If you are not a 13-year-old girl or the mother of one, then the answer is likely to be, no.

A Belieber is a person who is proudly afflicted by the latest pop-culture epidemic of Bieber Fever, a distinct love of the young pop sensation, Justin Bieber.

This new wave of fever has some of the same basic symptoms of Beatle-mania, armies of teenage girls swooning over their every word (or tweet), sell out tours and now a Hollywood offering to fuel the fans hunger.

Justin Bieber’s concert film "Never Say Never", opened yesterday across the UK, and has already sparked a flood of interest from across the pond.

The general hubbub across the reviews is that, it may not win any critical awards, but it’s impossible not to be entertained by it. The film is everything you would expect from a sugary – poptastic-bubblegum stick, and with the addition of 3D cinema, every hair swoosh and cheesy smile is even more charming.

True Beliebers, Summer Ponchade, 14, Lauren Ponchade, 12 and Yasmin Langdan, 13, sum up his appeal with his singing, his dancing and most of all his hair. Summer says: "We were fans of his before he got signed, we used to watch his videos on Youtube."

And this is the key to Justin’s success – his fans. Their overwhelming support seems to stem from the sense of ownership they feel over him, as they discovered him first before any record label.

The rapid break out of Bieber Fever has been something of a digital-social landmark. Contrary to popular belief, Justin Bieber was not manufactured in the marketing meetings of money-grabbing record labels, he was discovered, after appearing in a local talent show. His mum posted a video on Youtube for his family to see. What followed was a rapidly growing fan base not only on his Youtube channel but on his Twitter page as well. His videos were stumbled upon by ex-music executive, Scooter Braun, (Bieber’s current manager) who then brought him to the attention of R&B star, Usher, who then signed young Bieber to his record label.

By the time he was just 13, his first single, One Time reached top 30 in 10 countries. His debut album, My World, went platinum and gave him seven singles in the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

But teen sensations have been around even before the days of social networking.

Back in the sixties, music fans flocked in adoration of such teen stars as the bee- hived beauty Helen Shapiro and the young Lulu.

Even though the internet has changed the way young singers rise to fame, for Justin Bieber, the web has proved to be a double-edged sword. He has been at the centre of vindictive campaigns on blogging sites and facebook. The ‘I hate Justin Bieber’ group has more than 180,000 members. Non-Beliebers fabrications have even caused online rumours that Justin had died, joined a cult and that his mother was offered $50 thousand to pose topless for Playboy magazine. And a search filter has been created that blocks any mention of him when you browse online.

But if Never Say Never is anything to go by, Bieber is completely undeserving of these attacks. Yes, he has swishy hair and the charisma of a highly attractive Christmas elf, but the fact is – he can sing.