Nearly two years have passed since 21 year-old Canadian pop artist Justin Bieber has released a full-length album. Within the past month, three of Bieber’s new songs have already hit the iTunes top ten before the release of his new album. Justin Bieber’s new album, “Purpose,” had finally been revealed this past Friday, Nov. 13. The full album features 18 new songs including the hits “What Do You Mean?” and “Where Are U Now,” which together have over half a billion views on YouTube.
Justin Bieber was first discovered on YouTube at the age of 13 by his current manager, Scooter Braun. In October 2008, he was then signed to Island Records recording label and began working on his debut album, “My World.” His first single from the album, “One Time,” topped charts in many different countries, including the United States, Canada, and New Zealand. After the success of “My World,” Bieber released a follow up album, “My World 2.0” which hit number one on the Billboard Top 200. Justin Bieber took his two albums on his first world tour, selling shows out in a matter of minutes. In the documentary “Never Say Never,” manager Scooter Braun comments that they sold out Madison Square Garden in less than 22 minutes. From here, Justin Bieber’s success kept growing, earning him many awards at various award shows, two top selling autobiographies, and two popular documentaries. In 2012, Justin Bieber released his third studio album, “Believe,” which sold over 300,000 copies in the first week and eventually went platinum. He then had a follow up tour to promote the album, the Believe Tour, in which he performed over 150 shows.
Justin Bieber’s success didn’t last for as long as fans expected. In 2013, Bieber started getting accused and charged on different assault and vandalism charges. Some included egging his neighbor’s house, allegedly assaulting his drivers, and even abandoning a pet monkey in Germany. In December of 2013, Bieber released a third album, “Journals,” being his only non-charting album. The downward spiral continued as Justin Bieber was arrested and fined in early 2014 for allegedly drag racing and driving under the influence in Florida. He was released on a $2,500 bail.
In June of 2015, Justin Bieber began hinting at the release of a new single, even adding a countdown to his Instagram every day. The countdown featured dozens of well-known celebrities, including Ariana Grande, Ben Stiller, and many others. Justin Bieber even made his first appearance onstage in nearly three years at the MTV Video Music Awards in August performing
“Where Are U Now” and “What Do You Mean?” Soon after, Bieber released two more songs off of his new album, all leading up to the release of “Purpose” this past Friday. In less than eight hours, the album sky-rocketed its way to number one on the iTunes top album charts. In a recent radio interview with “Zach Sang and the Gang,” Justin notes that this is his most personal album to date. He was “excited to release something so personal and for people to hear his story.”
On top of all the news surrounding Bieber and his “comeback,” last week on the Ellen Degeneres Show, Justin had announced that he will be taking his new songs on tour beginning in the next few weeks. He will be performing at cities such as Houston, Atlantic City, Los Angeles and even Philadelphia. Presale tickets will start this Monday, Nov. 16, and tickets for the general public will go on sale Friday, Nov. 20. Fans and Beliebers everywhere can now say Justin Bieber is finally back to doing what he loves: making music.
Alyssa Thomas is a second-year student majoring in theatre. She can be reached at AT824712@wcupa.edu.