Justin Bieber: Defying Odds
January 6, 2016
By Sarissa Volin
If you have listened to the radio within the past couple months, you have most likely been aware of the artist who has been buzzing everywhere: Justin Bieber. Bieber, who claimed in January on Instagram he would make 2015 his year, can certainly say he has achieved that. From his first single of the year, “Where Are U Now,” featuring Skrillex and Diplo, to his new raved album Purpose, Bieber’s new music is a hit. It’s hard to a picture a time when it was socially accepted that Bieber was a punk. In reality, Bieber found himself in trouble with the law more than once and received an overwhelming amount of negative comments. His arrogant, sassy remarks to the press left him with an unlikeable reputation. With all his returning success, better image, and the past two years behind him however, it’s safe to say Bieber has stuck by his word by making a comeback in Hollywood.
By mid-2014, it looked like Bieber had caught famous fever and was diagnosed with being the latest teen pop singer to have a meltdown. After creating $20,000 worth of damage by egging a neighbor’s house in early January of 2014, he followed it up by receiving a DUI on January 23, as well as speeding 50-60 mph in a 30 mph zone. It looked like he had hit his tipping point; his image in the media was trashed and all seemed lost for Bieber. Most people hated him, his new album was not doing as well as previous ones, and his reputation was horrible. Just when we thought he would never recover, he started to find his faith.
Bieber, who is publicly a major follower of Christian faith, owes a lot of his recovery to pastor Judah Smith and good friend and spiritual leader, Carl Lentz. After attending a week long Christian conference and spending time at Smith’s house, he developed his own relationship with God which he now credits his recent success to. He says about his spiritual journey, “Developing my relationship with God has been the coolest thing I’ve experienced, to know that I’m not alone and I don’t have to live in fear.” After coming to the realization that he wasn’t living in a lifestyle he wanted, he vowed to turn his life around. He started taking the necessary actions to turn his life around in the right direction, starting by cutting all the negative influences out of his life. Next, he pulled something that nobody really ever expected from him; he apologized.
His first official public apology, as well as first public interview in months, was on The Ellen Degeneres Show in January 2015. Admitting he had an “arrogant” personality and “conceited” behavior, he displayed a new, more mature image and owned up to his mistakes. He started to turn his life around. As Bieber got his act together, he finally decided to get his music together as well.
In February 2015, Bieber was featured on the single, ‘Where Are U Now.’ This first single was a hit, earning a spot in the Billboard Top 10 and winning two American Music Awards. Today, the song has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the ‘best dance recording’ category. His career only went up from there. His highly anticipated single ‘What Do You Mean’ was announced on July 29th that it would be released 30 days later on August 28th. With the help of his huge celebrity filled countdown on his Instagram, his first single earned the number one song on the charts. This was his first number one hit on the Billboard 100, making him, the youngest male recording artist to ever debut at number one.
After all the success with his two singles, it caused the public to anxiously wait for his new album, Purpose, which was set to release on November 13. Due to the excitement for his music, Purpose sold 522,000 copies within his first week of releasing in the United States, in pure album sales. Purpose also broke Spotify’s global and national record for most streams in an album during its first week with a whopping 77 million streams in the U.S, while globally being streamed 205 million times. On top of this, Bieber was able to pull off breaking a 54 year old record previously held by The Beatles and Drake, who were tied with fourteen songs on the Billboard 100 at the same time. Seventeen of Bieber’s songs held a spot on the Billboard 100 at the same time, which had previously never been achieved.
Coming with these fantastic accomplishments is a great deal of pressure and press. Bieber has spoke about his depression with the paparazzi and media. He shares how starting to think about it in the right mindset helps with his daily struggles. Even with that, he is still making some mistakes, like recently flipping a chair at a restaurant in France or leaving the stage in Germany when he wasn’t being respected. People were quick to judge and automatically assumed he was up to his bad ways, but he assured everyone that he has grown. He says, “I just want people to know I’m struggling. I’m human.” He goes on and talks about how he isn’t always going to know what the right decision is and is going to be making mistakes.
Overall, Bieber isn’t perfect. He has his own issues just like everybody else. He also has something special, a ginormous platform and millions of fans. Now, Bieber is preparing for his Purpose World Tour, which is selling out within minutes. From being in such a negative place to where he is today, his progress in how quickly he is turning his life around is incredible. Sure he still is making mistakes, but the difference is that now he is taking responsibility for them by owning up to them and apologizing after a wrongdoing. This suggests that he has been growing as a person, getting better, and learning along the way. Nevertheless, Justin has defined the odds losing to fame but instead being able to rebound and take over the music industry.
Citation:
http://www.complex.com/music/justin-bieber-interview-2015-cover-story
http://www.nme.com/features/the-justin-bieber-experience-nme-meets-a-pop-star-on-the-cusp-of-re
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/13/justin-bieber-egg-throwing-felony_n_4588702.html
http://www.billboard.com/articles/6457837/justin-bieber-apologizes-ellen-arrogant-behavior-video
