Justin Bieber, One Direction square off for pop-music dominance

ONE DIRECTION pays tribute to the fans.

FOR MONTHS now, bad boy Justin Bieber has been wooing his dwindling Beliebers to guarantee the success of his comeback bid—and it looks like his blitzkrieg of fan-courting tricks is working—with some help from his celebrity friends:

In the run-up to its much-speculated release, “What Do You Mean?,” the first track from Bieber’s fourth studio album, got an extraordinary push from the stellar likes of Mariah Carey, Ariana Grande, Alanis Morissette, Britney Spears, Ed Sheeran, Chris Martin, Ryan Seacrest and even Martha Stewart—and became Justin’s first No. 1 hit on the Billboard 100!

Even without the start-studded endorsements, however, Bieber’s tantalizing musical slow-burner is worthy of the acclaim it’s getting—it’s a smooth and summery single that recalls the soothing smolder of Omi’s “Cheerleader” that just might be Justin’s answer to former girlfriend Selena Gomez’s revealing tune, “The Heart Wants What It Wants.”

In his self-penned song, the 21-year-old pop wunderkind sings about a volatile relationship with a woman he can’t figure out. She keeps contradicting herself—and wants so much more from him: “You nod your head, but you wanna say no/ Don’t know if you’re happy or complaining/ You want to make a point, but you keep preaching/ Trying to compromise, but I can’t win/ Better make up your mind!”

‘Drag Me Down’

When Bieber’s upcoming collection is released on Nov. 13, he goes mano-a-mano against another phenomenal fan favorite, the boys of One Direction, who will “take a long break and pursue solo careers” after the release of their fifth studio album, “Made in the A.M.”—released on the same day as Justin’s latest disc! —Who will emerge victorious in this anticipated faceoff?

Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Niall Horan take turns singing the album’s electrifying carrier single, “Drag Me Down,” the group’s catchy first release since Zayn Malik’s departure in March, which pays tribute to the fans who stood by them through their ups and downs, and made them realize that “these lights can’t blind me.”

The midtempo pop-rock track debuted at No. 3 on the singles chart, but broke records of its own—it generated 4.75 million global streams on Spotify in one day!

Can the album stir up enough fan-hooking excitement and record-shattering sales to ensure that the quartet doesn’t fall victim to the potent power of Bieber Fever?

Meryl Streep goes Gaga

What can’t Queen Meryl Streep do? Nothing—as the soundtrack of her latest film, “Ricki and the Flash,” proves. Her classically placed musical-theater trills in  “Into the Woods” and “Mamma Mia” have been replaced by—head-banging grunts and growls!

As a seasoned rock star in the movie, the 66-year-old acting legend turns Bruce Springsteen’s “My Love Will Not Let You Down,” U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” Tom Petty’s “American Girl,” Sam the Sham’s “Wooly Bully” and Neil Young’s “For The Turnstiles” into veritable rock anthems.

Utilizing a lived-in singing style that cleverly blends rock, folk and pop, Streep lets her hair down further when she renders the dance hits of Lady Gaga (“Bad Romance”) and Pink (“Get The Party Started”) as if they were written specifically for her! Ga-ga-ooh-la-la, indeed!