Where Has Bieber Been?
Our fourteen-year-old selves would have been absolutely freaking out right now. After a five year hiatus, Justin Bieber released his fifth studio album titled Changes, last Friday. The album’s primary subject of focus? Bieber’s new wife, Hailey.
A lot has changed with the world’s favorite superstar since he canceled his tour back in 2017, due to “unforeseen circumstances.” A lot has also changed since our middle school selves danced around our rooms, blasting One Less Lonely Girl, pretending he was right there singing to us. For all of you bandwagon Beliebers, here are the highlights of what your favorite pop star has been up to for the last half-decade:
Hailey Bieber
Boy-wonder is now an all grown up married adult it appears. This might be the most important highlight considering it crushed our last dwindling hope that we had a shot with this superstar.
Music
Aside from teaming up here and there with stars such as Ed Sheeran and Dan and Shay, Bieber hasn’t given his fans a whole lot to listen to since 2015. In 2017, he joined forces with Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee to release Despacito, arguably one of his most popular hits during his official break.
Clothes
In December 2018, Beiber released his own clothing line called Drew House. Adorned with black and yellow smiley faces and the word “drew,” the pieces are meant to be light and fun. The “About Us” section consists of a single image and phrase, summing up Bieber’s vision for the clothes:
Photo courtesy of the Drew House brand.
Mental Health
Before releasing his latest album, Bieber self-produced a docu-series called Seasons on Youtube in which he opens up about what led him to take a five year break from fame. He shares his struggles with drug abuse and anxiety, which lasted for most of his years in the spotlight. Family and friends open up as well, on camera, about Bieber’s struggles. Bieber himself, however, tells the world that his “security and stuff were coming into the room at night to check [his] pulse. Like, people don't know how serious it got. It was legit crazy scary." Throughout the series he lists the drugs he had experimented with and the few he came to rely on day-to-day. Bieber assures fans, however, that with the support of his new wife and the help of a team of doctors, he is getting the treatment he so desperately needed.
Physical Health
Another dimension of Bieber’s recovery has been his battle with Lyme’s disease. After speculation about his deteriorating looks, with some taking it so far to say he looked like he was abusing drugs again, Bieber took to Instagram to dispel rumors. This disease is a tick-borne illness and can negatively affect one’s cardiovascular and nervous system functions.
Even though our childhood favorite, Bieber, has been on quite a roller coaster, we are happy to have him creating again. We might even have to channel our inner middle school selves and blast his new album while dancing around our rooms.