Musically, Bieber had more than redeemed himself—though music was never his issue. He performed at the
Grammys in 2016 and won one for the first time, for Best Dance Recording for "Where Are Ü Now."
And since March 2016, minus some time off in December and January, he's been on tour.
Roberto Serra - Iguana Press/Redferns
In addition to hearing screaming just about anywhere he goes, let alone when he's onstage, the "Let Me Love You" singer's use of social media to maintain a tight bond with the Believers became its own 24/7 side gig—one that has been rewarding, in the form of his fans' corresponding loyalty, and constrictive, in that a lot of his fans also approach him with a sense of ownership.
Bieber once estimated that he'd probably posed for hundreds of thousands of selfies over the course of his career—a number that presumably contributed to him informing people via Instagram in May 2016 that he was "done taking pictures."
"It has gotten to the point that people won't even say hi to me or recognize me as a human. I feel like a zoo animal, and I wanna be able to to keep my sanity," he wrote. "I realize people will be disappointed, but I don't owe anybody a picture. And people who say, 'But I bought ur album,' know that you got my album and you got what you paid for… AN ALBUM! It doesn't say in fine print whenever you see me you also get a photo."
Words that now, especially when considering his still-tender age, almost bring us to tears. Sure, Bieber theoretically has some obligation to his fans to interact in some form, considering he like most pop super-stars is nothing without them; but all this time he's still just been a kid, with not too many years, if any, separating him from the most avid Beliebers.
Something else the Beliebers made sure to stay on top of over the last few years was the state of his relationship, or lack thereof, with Selena Gomez. For awhile after their initial breakup in 2012, they continued to hang out off and on—a relating spate of behavior that certainly took its toll on her, and seemingly did the same to him (though he has dated a lot in the meantime).
And plenty of folks, presumably some Jelena shippers among the bunch, took it so far as to criticize his relationship with Sofia Richie when he dated her last summer.Their decidedly unsupportive comments prompted Bieber to delete his Instagram account and stay off the platform for months. He spent the fall of 2016 primarily in Europe on tour, where attempts at talking to his audience about his feelings were met with boos at a couple of shows in England, causing him to briefly leave the stage.
"I appreciate the support, I appreciate the kind things...but the screaming during these breaks has got to stop, please and thank you," Bieber tried to engage in Manchester. When they started booing, he added, "I don't think that's necessary. I want to be able to say something, when you guys are screaming it's hard to..."
They didn't really let him finish. But he tried again, after singing "Purpose."
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"I'm not quite sure why you guys came tonight. Hopefully it was to enjoy my company as well as invite me enjoying your company. I feel like I want to connect, you know?" he told the crowd, which despite the boos also never stopped hooting with delight, either.
"My point of the 'no screaming' thing is when I'm looking you in the eyes, you can actually know that we're having a moment, having a connection, right? So it's not me trying to be an a--hole, it's simply me wanting to have a moment. Manchester, you guys are awesome. I appreciate you. But then there has to be all these, I just...I'm just going to quit talking, alright? I'm just not going to talk the rest of the night. We're just going to do the music...because obviously Manchester can't handle it. So we're just going to do the music."
Before ending the show with "Baby," he tried to explain himself again.
"The only reason why I was getting upset was because I traveled across the whole world to come here," the young man said. "I don't just have a quick flight, come in and out, I dedicated my life to this. I dedicated my life to performing. I dedicated my life to try to bring smiles to these faces and I feel like people are just not giving me the same respect back is all, it hurts a little bit. So that's why. I appreciate you guys coming out."
With that sort of reception, who needs people who aren't your fans?
His touring schedule wasn't quite as jam-packed in 2017, but he had been on the road off and on since February before announcing today that his July 2 show in London's Hyde Park was it for the Purpose World Tour. He's also currently featured on the No. 1 single in the U.S., Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito," which has been atop the Billboard Hot 100 for 11 weeks—and he was on the No. 1 single before that, DJ Khaled's "I'm the One."
TMZ caught up with him in Santa Monica on Monday afternoon after the news broke and Bieber, clad in sweatpants, T-shirt and a baseball cap, assured the reporter, "everything's fine."
"I've been on tour for two years," he added by way of explanation. Asked if he was looking forward to getting some down time, he said, "Yeah, just resting, getting some relaxation. We're gonna ride some bikes." To the fans, "I love you guys, I think you guys are awesome. Sorry for anybody who feels disappointed or betrayed, it's not [what's in] my heart or anything, and have a blessed day."
Not exactly an Adele-caliber show of sentiment like the one she displayed when she was forced to cancel the final two shows of her tour due to vocal issues, but at this point it's entirely understandable if Bieber got home from England earlier this month and lost sight of his purpose. "Betrayed" is a strong word, however, one that he probably didn't entirely use haphazardly. May the Beliebers understand that he is, in fact, just as human a being as they are and that, just because they all more or less grew up together, he can't exist only for them. In June, a concertgoer threw a water bottle at him in Stockholm when he refused to sing "Despacito." Then, just days ago, after a fan inquired why he had no local shows coming up, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture stated that the "controversial young foreign singer" wasn't welcome in China.
"In order to maintain order in the Chinese market and purify the Chinese performance environment, it is not suitable to bring in badly behaved entertainers," the statement continued. "We hope that as Justin Bieber matures, he can continue to improve his own words and actions, and truly become a singer beloved by the public."
As for the rest of the world, though some people sounded pretty miffed to be missing out, most of the reactions on social media to the cancellations absolved Bieber of any wrongdoing, with fans voicing concern about his health and understanding that he needed rest. Crying memes abounded.
"@justinbieber we will love you forever!" tweeted one loyal fan. "I love you the same way that I loved you in 2009, we stay together #purposetour."
So, while Bieber may need a little time off to fall back in love with his public and performing, he can rest easy knowing that this sort of love is usually loud enough to drown out any boos.
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