How Did Justin Bieber Stage Such a Successful Comeback?
You might have noticed, but Justin Bieber dropped his new single "What Do You Mean?" last week and everybody loves it—in fact, it's the No. 1 song in the country right now. From high-brow culture blogs to J-14, people are giving rave reviews and full-on supporting the tropical-yet-melancholy dance tune, amounting to the best press the once-troubled pop star has gotten in a hot minute. So, how did the biggest teen idol get to a point where the hipsters and the kids are giving the dude his props?
Flashback to January 2014, when Bieber essentially stripped away the last of his pure image when he was arrested for drunk driving in Miami. It wasn't his first run-in with the law (he had legal drama for reckless driving and vandalism in the previous two years), but it was the beginning of a slew of slip-ups and stumbles. It began overshadowing his actual career.
Months before the arrest, Bieber embarked on the ambitious one-song-a-week Journals project that showcased his sentimental, R&B tendencies and produced some of the best tracks of his career. His music video for the Chance the Rapper collaboration "Confident" came out that same month, but few could tell you about it. The year didn't get better for him as more legal issues, celebrity feuds, public stripping, and nasty old videos came his way—no one was really digging Biebs, but no one really had a reason to be digging him either.
1h 7m
23m
2m
20m
1m
2m
1m
21m
9m
8m
20m
1m
2m
10m
59m
44s
1m
10m
1m
49s
9m
9m
1m
1m
24m
1h 16m
41m
20m
4m
6m
6m
24m
43m
1m
21m
20m
22m
20m
1h 25m
1h 42m
20m
20m
1h 39m
47m
20m
1m
2m
9m
42m
22m
21m
14m
2m
1m
20m
44m
23m
20m
1h 37m
2m
22m
14m
2m
9m
5m
20m
1m
20m
45m
20m
21m
2m
2m
3m
2m
1m
20m
2m
6m
2m
54s
22m
4m
20m
20m
2m
5m
23m
23m
48s
20m
51s
1h 39m
21m
10m
9m
2m
1m
2m