Beatles or Bieber?

Inthe 2014 documentary “Justin Bieber’s Believe,” footage of the Beatles and their Beatlemaniacs is intercut with the teen singer’s fans, known as Beliebers. Is the comparison fair? Bieber and the Beatles (in their early days) share an interest in love as a subject, and say “baby” a lot. Bieber and the early Beatles alike earned the scorn of music critics — “Newsweek”called the Beatles’Ed Sullivanperformance “a near-disaster … guitars and drums slamming out a merciless beat.”

We talked with Beliebers who — on a scale of 1 to 10 — love Justin “infinite times an infinite amount of infinity,” and with Beatlemaniacs who swear loyalty to the end: “When I’m laid out in that little old coffin,” says one fan, “I’m going to have Beatles music playing in the background. No hymns, just Beatles. EspeciallyRevolver.”

Produced by Paul VanDeCarr

(Originally aired February 2014)