Pop star Bieber brings cheer in typhoon-hit Philippines

TACLOBAN, Philippines (AFP) ― Pop megastar Justin Bieber hugged, sang to, danced and played with young survivors of the Philippines’ deadliest typhoon Tuesday, bringing cheer to the disaster zone amid an international relief effort.

Bieber flew unannounced to the central city of Tacloban just over a month after it was devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan and sang Christmas carols to children at a heavily damaged local school amid tight security.

“He sang ‘Holy Night’ for the children,” said Kate Donovan, a spokeswoman for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), one of three aid agencies expected to benefit from Bieber’s charity work.

During the performance, a boy hopped on the improvized stage and danced to the 19-year-old Canadian superstar’s lead, an AFP reporter saw.

Bieber also played basketball at an improvized sandlot court with some of the young boys, later hugging some of them and posing for photos.

“Most touching trip of my life,” the singer said on Twitter, also describing the performance as the last stop and “the most important one” of his global “Believe” tour.

“I saw the devastation first hand today. They need our help,” he added.

Prior to visiting the Philippines, Bieber had posted a message on fund raising website Prizeo.com urging his millions of fans to donate to the victims of the typhoon, the strongest to ever hit land.