Let it be known now and for time immemorial that Karen Shouse and Caralyn Wichers love their children.
There is no other plausible explanation for why the two suburban moms spent Friday night in the Hard Rock Cafe listening to two dozen renditions, one after the other, of Justin Bieber's "Baby, Baby, Baby."
Thirty-one teenage girls and one boy vied for a chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to California to attend the Feb. 9 movie premiere of "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" — and possibly even meet the singer.
"Baby, baby, baby, oh," the contestants sang, "Like baby, baby, baby, no / Like baby, baby, baby, oh / I thought you'd always be mine, mine."
Ultimately, the moms' sacrifice was rewarded; after the last contestant had warbled the final "baby," a three-judge panel announced that 15-year-old Alyssa Shouse of Hamilton — she with the Justin Bieber stickers on her cheekbones and plastered on her jeans — would be making the trip to sunny Southern California.
But there's no reason to feel sorry for Alyssa's BFF, Elena Wichers, also 15, and a resident of Ellicott City. Contest rules stipulate that the winner in each of the roughly dozen cities nationwide where the competition is being held can bring three guests — and one of those coveted slots is going to the friend Alyssa has known since both were in preschool.
"We go to the same church," Alyssa said, "and our plan was that if one of us won, we would take the other."
Added Elena: "We decided that we'd be happy for each other."
The competition was sponsored by Paramount Pictures and was promoted locally by radio station WZFT-FM, better known as Z104.3. Executives fashioned the contest with some parent-friendly rules. For instance, camping outside before the contest in the January chill was strictly prohibited.
About 1,000 potential contestants registered online in the two weeks before the Baltimore competition, according to station program manager Mick Lee, but just 32 made it into the Hard Rock Cafe.
A dozen teens were "precertified" and promised a chance to compete. Officials speculated that those who didn't receive the waited-for phone call didn't realize they'd have a chance to sing for the judges if they showed up at the Inner Harbor restaurant.
But despite the smaller-than-expected turnout, the moms couldn't have had an easy time of it.
It wasn't that judges Paul Manna, Sarah Quackenbush and Lisa Matthews — veteran concertgoers all — asked midway through the evening to have the sound system turned down to lessen the assault on their eardrums.
It wasn't that the contestants, all ages 13 to 17, displayed varying degrees of skill. Some combined soaring vocals with maturity and poise, and seemed to enjoy their time at the microphone. Others not only hit the right notes, they bludgeoned them into submission.
It was that coaching an adolescent girl through a pre-performance attack of nerves will test any parent's courage, tact and endurance.
"Alyssa stayed up late and wanted to keep sleeping," Caralyn Wichers said, "and Elena changed her mind. She wanted to clean her room."
Right. Vaccuuming up every last pesky dustball usually comes in tops on a teenage girl's list of priorities.
Luke Weber, 14, of Nottingham, the only boy in the contest to compete, was a crowd favorite even before he walked out on stage.
With his hair cut long and brushed down his forehead, Luke looked scarily like a younger version of the singer, especially since he was wearing Bieber's standard performance attire: a black-and-white plaid flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow, skinny black jeans and a skinny tie loosely knotted at the neck.
"I go to Perry Hall High School, and my nickname is Justin Bieber," Luke said. "My guy friends criticize me, but I think Justin has a great voice, and he gets all the girls."
When Luke was asked which girl he would most like to date, he didn't hesitate.
"Justin already has her," Luke said, "but I wouldn't mind dating someone who looked like Selena Gomez."
Since Bieber himself couldn't attend the competition, the other contestants at the Hard Rock seemed willing to accept Luke as a reasonable substitute.
"Baby, baby, baby, ooh," he sang, amidst a crescendo of squeals.