Frankie Valli was a superstar of his generation, but how does he compare to today’s pop stars? The Jersey Boys cast weighs in.
Justin Bieber and Justin Timberlake may be the flavors of the month (or, the last few years), but will their music be around decades from now? The cast of the new Clint Eastwood-directed Jersey Boys talked to MTV about the staying power of JT and the Biebs.
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“I don’t know if we’re going to be singing Justin Bieber songs 20 years down the line,” said actor Erich Bergen, who plays band member Bob Gaudio. “We may be, but I can tell you that ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,’ and ‘Sherry,’ and ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ — how many years has it been? These songs hit in the early-to-mid ’60s. We’re still singing them all over again, and I think great songs will always outlast the artist.”
Jersey Boys is the film version of the Broadway play of the same name, and follows Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons through their rise to fame and their struggles. Although many of the real-life band members spent time in jail, it was before the internet and the paparazzi, and their lives remained mostly private. Bieber is no stranger to controversy, but the cast said he doesn’t compare to Valli.
“Justin Bieber’s crime doesn’t even compare to this kind of crime,” John Lloyd Young, who plays Valli, explained. “These guys went into the slammer and did hard time. Justin Bieber peed in a bucket. Come on.”
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Young added that the band members are probably more like today’s hip-hop stars than any pop stars.
“I think that’s probably a closer analogy now,” Young said. “A rough upbringing, and getting huge success in music. The hip-hop world is probably more of a parallel to these guys.”
Jersey Boys will be in theaters June 20.
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