Rascal Flatts’ Joe Don Rooney: Justin Bieber’s “got a huge future ahead of him”!!

Rascal Flatts Week continues here on BAM’s Blog. The country band, which includes Picher-bred guitarist Joe Don Rooney, is officially ending its “Nothing Like This Tour” Saturday at Oklahoma City Arena. Luke Bryan and Chris Young are special guests on the tour.

Also on Saturday, the band’s new TV special “Rascal Flatts: Nothing Like This” will air at 8 p.m. on ABC (KOCO-5 in Oklahoma City). The special will feature concert clips from St. Paul, Minn., along with behind-the-scenes footage of the band and appearances by special guests Natasha Bedingfield and Justin Bieber.

Rascal Flatts became part of the phenomenon known as Bieber fever when the country trio agreed to collaborate with him on a rendition of “That Should Be Me” for the teen pop sensation’s new album, “Never Say Never — The Remixes.” The remix record also features Bieber’s collaborations with Kanye West, Usher, Chris Brown, Jaden Smith and Miley Cyrus.

“We had a blast with him,” Rooney said. “We heard the song, and we loved it. We thought, ‘Man, yeah, why not?’”

A singer/songwriter/musician with a huge (mostly young female) fan base, Bieber celebrated his 17th birthday on March 1.

“It was really fun. That kid is something else. I hate to say the word kid ‘cause he really carries himself like a young adult, not like most 16-year-olds. But it was really cool,” Rooney said during a phone interview from Nashville, Tenn., the day before Bieber celebrated his 17th birthday.

“He’s a very talented guy and he’s got a huge future ahead of him if he really wants it. He just has to continue cutting great songs and just honing his craft. He’s really talented. I didn’t realize he plays so many instruments as well as he does. I mean, he can dance, the kid can act, he can sing his butt off. So, everything is there for him. I’m just really proud of him, I really am, and I’m proud of this little song we did together. It turned out great.”

On Saturday’s TV special, Bieber will appear in a never-before-seen clip of the music video for “That Should Be Me,” as well as in behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the video. Bedingfield, who recorded the ballad “Easy” on “Nothing Like This,” also will appear on the special, which will feature concert footage from the band’s tour.

“You know, you always wonder what it’s going to be like working with a really young artist like that … but he was very professional. And his team around him is very professional. I just see great things happening for Justin, man. He’s got just a heck of a fan base right now, just unbelievable what’s going on in the social networking world with Justin. He’s kind of broken all the rules and he’s got his own little world going on. So it’s really cool to have tapped into that and kind of share each other’s worlds together, for sure,” he said.

Source: BAM