What did we do to Justin Bieber?

Since the Free Britney movement we as a society have reevaluated fame and if it really is the teenage dream that it’s marketed as, and we’ve settled on a resounding no. However, I don’t really hear Justin Bieber’s name come up in a lot of these talks and I wanted to discuss why that is - especially since Bieber is the blueprint of what it means to become famous via the internet.

In this video essay I argue that Bieber was the first child star born from the digital age and perhaps the last global super star of the millennial generation, and perhaps ever.

I also delve into Bieber’s personal life and how the dream he was living was in fact, a nightmare, and how he’s coping with being a former teen icon and idol.

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro
2:57 Who Is Justin Bieber? And His Rise to Fame
8:33 The Scandals
16:42 The Purpose Re-Brand
19:50 His Current State
25:22 The Evolution of Online Fame: From Singing to Influencing
27:43 The Last Global Superstar?
30:13 Justin Bieber as a Social Experiment That Should Never Be Done Again

Video Sources:

Never Say Never (2011)
Believe (2013)
Our World: Justin Bieber (2021)
YouTube Originals:
Justin Biebers: Seasons
Justin Bieber: Next Chapter | A Special Documentary Event (Official)

Articles:

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My last three videos: (◕‿◕✿)

[colie]

As a former huge Justin Bieber fan, I laughed so hard when she said Justin Bieber’s dads name was JACK💀💀💀💀 it’s Jeremy 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[haileybalmer]

I have very strong feelings about this. I do not like Justin Bieber's music. I do not like him as a person. But he was a child, and he's a human being, and he's been through a lot. The number of people I've met who feel that celebrities are not entitled to any kind of personal life is sickening. We can collectively decide that we don't like the way he behaved, but we all did this to him. At his worst, he was a mirror of everything we put on a pedestal. I'm glad he's getting some healing, and I hope he continues his healing journey. I'm so sorry that fame happened to him.

[blue______]

He cried talking about Billie Eilish. He said that he feel like he has to protect her because he see her as a mirror of him when he was younger. Her amount of fame, talent and the same age. They are friends so I hope their friendship turns out into something good for both of them

[ojiilemon]

I really hope the trajectory of adults treating children like humans and not things continues. Childhood trauma ain't a joke. Celeb or otherwise. To be unheard is... Honestly the worst. I speak from experience.

[empatheticrambo]

This has made me reflect on how me and other young boys at the time policed masculinity by saying things like “Justin Bieber isn’t a man, he’s so girly, ” whatever. Which in hindsight is really gross of course, but it says something about masculinity among boys

[clarityvee]

I still have VERY vivid memories of interviewers asking Justin Bieber at age 14 if he got gifted bras and panties from fans and they judged him for saying he threw them away. Even back then I thought that was so weird and inappropriate to ask him. I just hope he’s doing way better now behind the scenes.

[yvonneewing]

Justin was definitely the kpop idol equivalent in the US

[harriyanna]

tbh, i can't help but feel bad for this man. i remember that era of when everyone was saying he was a brat but he was literally a teen and he literally was the one bringing in all the money for his family. so many people used him.and i am not defending him for all the wrong he had done because NO but also i can not deny that he needed help. its just, sad.

[sharaineroberts]

I think you made some valid points. Here in the US, we have child labor laws that are enforced except in the entertainment industry for the most part. My son is a drummer. He has been drumming since 10 years old. However, when producers or industry people offer him jobs I always explain to him that it means he would be working a job like me and not have free time to do what he wants. I made a point to introduce him to successful musicians and singers so he could hear and learn what it means to work in the industry. I did that for every career he claimed he wanted to do. The other day he said he had a great childhood but he also realized unfortunately to be successful in the entertainment industry you give up your youth or work at a young age. It's the proverbial saying stuck between a rock and a hard place. Which is sad.

[FaiaHalo]

I really like this video. Children should always be treated with respect and we should respect their boundaries. And I appreciate you said this is not an apologetic video for him, because he did and keeps doing harmful and awful stuff that never, ever gets taken accountable as he keeps getting support, money and huge platform that keeps justifying his behavior. PS: much love from Latin America!

[MISSMADISONMEDIA]

I used to think Justin was so lucky, and now this whole story breaks my heart. He was so obviously exploited. The executives chose the most impoverished, naive, and blindly religious family they could find. They knew exactly what they were doing. In retrospect, Patti was a very lost young mother. This was all honestly by design. It’s so sad.

[Tylalala]

His career up until the end of the Purpose era was such an iconic era in my own life. Multiple fan accounts, staying up late for his birthday, many other weird and unnecessary things 💀 all happy memories though! A legend for sure, at least for me

[zoegarden]

I loved Justin growing up being around 4th and 5th grade when my world & my world 2.0 came out. Being an adult now at 24, it’s insane to see how much was on his shoulders at such a young age. Purpose is still a bop album, but I haven’t rly listened to him since that came out.

[nuclearseahorse]

It never occurred to me that he was literally 12 when he started becoming famous. He's older than me so I wasn't old enough to realize that he was so young. Ik that if he had debuted now I'd be pissed off like i am with all the kpop groups debuting middle schoolers

[emily]

Justin actually has a song on his Believe album called “Maria” who was an insane stalker he once had. Mind you he was only 17/18 at the time and having to deal with that as well. This video really made me feel for him. Thank you for humanizing him. Nobody is perfect and everybody makes mistakes, that’s not an excuse for his behaviour. I can’t even imagine the pressure he was under at such a young age, and having your every move under a magnify glass..

[InThisEssayIWill...]

With regards to the parallels between Burnham and Bieber I think it's important to note that their similarities start and end at being kids on the internet Bo graduated with honors from a private school with a loving family... Bieber's education sounds like it ended when he became a star at 13 and if his mother was urging him to pursue a career that young.. and willing to hand him over to a production team I think it's fair to speculate that learning was probably never a main focus in his house growing up. "Bo is an intellectual" because he was given an opportunity to learn "Bieber took a lot longer to reach self awareness" because he had to build it from the ground up, no examples to look up to.. and no feedback but the tabloids. Honestly I think he's done as well as can be expected given his circumstances and I'm glad he made it through alive.
I'm not a big fan of his music but he still deserves my compassion... I have a teen son and I could NEVER... It's just heartbreaking.

[adam-l]

It’s difficult because not only was he a child on the receiving end of world wide fame but also huge amounts of bullying that people justify as “well he’s a public figure so this is what he gets” but so much of that came from people who were not his target audience and really just enjoyed saying hateful things. I think so many people have been raised and entertained on internet bad faith criticism that we just normalize hatred and looking down on entertainment we have no business consuming. Like if you feel like you’d be embarrassed if people knew you liked Twilight or Justin Bieber then maybe you should also avoid bullying it’s fans and creators under the guise of “critiquing” it.

[shanechristiana]

I'm glad you mentioned about the hate JB got from jealous men. I truly believe its this hate that drove him to the state he is at. Not just his other actions. Especially for a 16 year old kid, getting approval from men is a thing hence why he acted like a vandal. I went to a school where if you were a guy that liked JB, you'd get bullied ruthlessly. Jealous men are truly a threat to society and ruined a talented young life like Justin. I feel like the same hate goes towards other guys like Harry Styles, except Harry is confident and isn't bothered at all.

[longlivebeans]

Idk what it’s like to be a rich former child star turned bible thumper but I do know what it’s like to experience your whole body deteriorate from trauma & drug use so I empathize with JB. When he started physically falling apart, I felt that shit on a deep level & just wanted to give him a hug.

[krysnb]

Yeah I hope there won’t be another Justin Bieber, just for that child’s sake. I wish that kind of exploitation wasn’t so important for some families to get out of poverty.