DOWNTOWN — You gotta Beliebe.
Hundreds of Justin Bieber fanatics descended on J&R in Lower Manhattan Tuesday for a chance to get the Canadian teen idol's autograph — with some waiting overnight and coming from other states to catch a glimpse of the pop sensation.
Four hours before Bieber was scheduled to appear to sign his new CD, "Believe," the line outside J&R Electronics on Park Row already stretched onto the next block, with smiling girls and moms decked out in their finest Bieber gear.
Elena Acosta, 36, of Washington Heights, was the first in line. She volunteered to wait in line for her daughter, Amanda, 4, and Angel, 10, and had been there since 9 p.m. Monday. She said passed the time with "chit-chat, taking pictures, walking to Dunkin Donuts to use the bathroom."
"We [went to Bieber's concert on] the 'Today' show [Friday]," she said, "And they slept on the sidewalk on air mattresses, so I didn't want them to have to do that again."
Acosta said it's her younger daughter in particular who is the Belieber — the moniker given to Bieber's legions of fans.
"She loves him," Acosta said. "She had surgery, she had appendicitis. It almost burst on her. And the only thing she was happy about [in the hospital] was Bieber. She had the iPad with his videos, she had the PJs."
Acosta also admitted she was letting her girls "play hooky" from school Tuesday. "The school knows," she said. "I told them this was a once-in-lifetime opportunity...the same thing I told them last week!"
"I don't regret it," she asserted. "I wouldn't give up this opportunity. I would do it again."
Nicole Lopez, 12, of White Plains, and Alexa Barattini, 9, from Yonkers, also didn't mind missing school to get a chance to see the Biebs. Their moms, Micky Lopez, 47, and Michelle DeVito, 28, were also decked out in Bieber attire as they waited.
"We were forced to be Bieber fans!" said Lopez, smiling, as she showed off her small purple "JB" ring on her pinkie finger.
Kim Mitchell, 42, arrived with her daughter, Alexa, 12, and Alexa's friend Taylor, 11, at 6 a.m. from Philadelphia.
"We left at 3:30 am," Mitchell said. "We were supposed to leave at midnight, but I needed to sleep more!" she joked.
Chelsea Wynter, 15, from Nanuet, New York, said it was "definitely" worth waiting in line since 10 am to see Bieber. "I'll probably tell him about my best friend," she gushed. "Cause she loves loves loves him, but she never gets to come to these things."
"I'll probably be too nervous [to say anything]," said Alyssa Oosman, 15, who was also with Wynter.
"I have Bieber fever!" shouted Shantel Morales, 14, of Hackensack, NJ. She said she was "playing hooky" from school today. "My teachers don't know," she said. "Only my mom knows."
Selin Oral, 13, of Istanbul, Turkey, was next to Morales in line. She said she and her parents had come to New York for reasons besides just seeing Bieber, but, she said, "for Justin we do both."
One of the most vocal fans in line, Micaela Robinson, 15, from Orange County, said "I tweet to [Justin] about 50 times a day. Everything revolves around Justin," she said. "Today is like, my biggest dream come true. Finally getting to meet Justin. Hearing his voice, seeing his smile, looking into his eyes."
Robinson said she didn't know what she would say when she met Bieber. "I feel like I'm going to sing to him or something. I don't know, I'm just so excited. It's crazy."
Bieber was scheduled to appear at 2 p.m.
