From the moment Justin Bieber, a braces-wearing YouTube musical prodigy from Canada, first appeared on the public radar in 2009, he was the kid you wanted to root for. His music (mostly amateur covers of his idols, Chris Brown and Usher) was bubbly and earnest, his appeal rooted in the fact that he was not a product of the music-industry machine. And to his ever-growing legion of devotees (later, Beliebers), the singer presented himself as a wholesome, faith-based young man whose story was one of hope, persistence, and dedication.
But like so many child stars before him, it wasn't long before the money poured in, his team of yes-men grew rapidly, and the façade of Bieber as the lovable young kid began to tarnish. And his rap sheet began to grow: In March 2013, Bieber clashed with paparazzi in London; a few months later he was videoed urinating into a mop bucket at a New York nightclub; that November, he was caught sneaking out of a brothel in Brazil; in January 2014, his Calabasas, Calif. neighbor called the cops after the pop star allegedly egged their house; and, in perhaps his biggest slip-up yet, the "One Less Lonely Girl" singer was arrested later that month in Miami for reportedly drag racing while intoxicated.
All these misdeeds, coupled with the fact that he had yet to put out much in the way of commercially successful music since 2012's Believe, led many to wonder whether the singer had flown off the deep end. Would he soon fully descend into irrelevance?
Then something surprising and miraculous happened: At the start of 2015, Bieber began to apologize. What followed, over the course of the next 11 months, was without question one of the most miraculous career recoveries by a celebrity in recent memory. "I'm so proud of him. Talk about a comeback," his longtime stylist, Karla Welch, tells ELLE.com. "He went through his thing, which, by the way, every teenager goes
through, but he had to do it front of everyone and it was magnified. Now, he came back...and he has amazing music."
Yes, on November 13, Bieber released his long-anticipated fourth album, Purpose, and with a slew of hit singles including "Where Are Ü Now," "What Do You Mean?" and "Sorry," the 21-year-old chart topper is more widely adored than ever. And, in a curious twist, he's now the subject of many highbrow culture examination pieces. Here, we take a look back at the singer's perfectly orchestrated road to redemption (not included: buying shots for an entire bar of rowdy college students). Follow along closely–it was quite the ride.
1. January 28, 2015: "I'm Not That Kid"
By January 2015, Justin Bieber is better known as overly-confident,
heavily-tattooed wiseass. And, for the most part, people have moved on from celebrating his musical talents. But on January 28, following an awkward appearance on Ellen–his first public interview in more than a year–the singer begins the reparations process. That evening, a cryptic-looking video suddenly appears on the singer's official Facebook page: "I'm not who I've been pretending to be," he says in the spot, his face all but obscured by darkness. "Often we pretend to be something we're not as a cover-up of what we're truly feeling inside. And I really want people to know how much I care about people and how I'm not that person to say,'I don't give a f–k.' I'm not that kid."
2. February 14, 2015: A Grand Gesture
It's Valentine's Day 2015 and Bieber no longer has a main squeeze. So what does a young man deep in the throes of public apology do? Shells out $200 so that five of New York's finest can chow down at midtown Manhattan eatery Comfort Diner, that's what. How do we know this? The pop star cleverly posts a picture of the well-fed cops to both his Twitter and Shots accounts complete with a "#NYPD" caption. The story of the good deed is then picked up by news outlets everywhere.
3. February 27, 2015: An EDM Endeavor
Music has the power to change the dialogue around an artist and, to that end, when Bieber teams up with EDM super-producers Diplo and Skrillex–who together form the duo Jack Ü–for "Where Are Ü Now," it proves to be a stroke of genius. The track is a radio smash, gives Bieber much-needed artistic credibility, and introduces him to a previously untapped dance-music fanbase. "It opened my eyes to a whole new audience, a whole new platform," Bieber tells The New York Times in the wake of the song's viral success. "I'm just breaking through as being accepted by the masses and not necessarily a young generation."
4. March 30, 2015: Redemptive Roast
Bieber asksto be the subject of a Comedy Central Roast, a move that indicates not only self-awareness but also a recognition that reparations are desperately in order. And the roasters–including host-comedian Kevin Hart, Snoop Dogg, Martha Stewart, and more–don't treat the 21-year-old like a child. "You have released so many horrible and unwatchable videos, you should change your name to Vanilla ISIS," Snoop Dogg ribs. Bieber's response to the comedic torture? "What do you get when you give a teenager $200 million? A bunch of has-beens calling you a lesbian for two hours." Point, Bieber.
5. May 20, 2015: The Corden Clause
A few weeks after the roast, the singer appears in an installment of "Carpool Karaoke" on The Late Late Show With James Corden. Between rocking out to his own songs, taking selfies with middle-aged male fans, discussing the merits of fondue, and displaying his mad-quick Rubik's Cube skills, Biebs shows he can still be playful. Ah yes, and the sometimes-model also reveals to Corden that he wears a pair of Calvin Klein undies only once before chucking them in the trash. Spoiled? Sure. Honest? Most definitely.
6. June 2015: "I Was Disappointed in Myself"
By mid-2015, Bieber's "apology tour," as many critics dub it, is in full swing. Things switch into high gear when Biebs begins opening up to the press. His first significant print interview is with Seventeen, and Bieber does not hold back. "I was getting cockier and cockier," he admits. "I looked back and I was disappointed in myself. ... You have to own up to the mistakes. You have to say, 'I'm sorry if I've let you down.'" Sure, this rhetoric is more or less a rehash of his January Facebook confession (and a sneak peek at the lyrics of his forthcoming megahit, "Sorry"), but the hat-in-hand approach certainly recalibrates the headlines.
7. August 28, 2015: A Showstopping Single
In late July, Bieber stops by On Air With Ryan Seacrest to announce he has new music coming: a single by the name of "What Do You Mean?" Though the public will wait nearly a month to hear it, the popster pulls off one of his most calculated redemption moves yet: In the four weeks leading up to the song's release, Bieber enlists 77 celebrities–from Mariah Carey to Kendall Jenner to Matt Lauer–to promote the track. The countdown culminates with the release of a mini-film featuring an intense make-out sesh with Moldovan model Xenia Deli. Bieber continues to speak openly while assessing his own career. "In the past I've recorded songs that I didn't like, that I wouldn't listen to, that the label was telling me to record," he tells Billboard. "I'm self-expressing with this album." The new music connects with audiences in a major way: "What Do You Mean?" becomes his first Number One on the Billboard 100.
8. August 30, 2015: "It Was Real"
Two days after the release of "What Do You Mean?" Bieber has his most
high-profile moment of the year at the MTV Video Music Awards. He treats the audience to a pair of songs—"Where Are Ü Now" and "What Do You Mean?"—while levitating above the crowd. Then, at the end of the performance, the camera zooms in on the singer, who appears to be visibly shaken and crying. A few days later he appears on The Tonight Show and opens up to Jimmy Fallon: "I've worked so hard at this album. I've worked so hard at becoming the man I want to become, and then stepping into situations [like that], you can't help but feel judged," he says. "So I was feeling judged and wanting to win so badly, and wanting to do what I love so badly, that I just put everything on the line. And I think that was what was so special about the emotional moment at the end—it was authentic. It was real. I was really wanting it so bad."
9. October 22, 2015: A New Sensibility
In October, Bieber makes one of his boldest moves yet by handing the creative reins to a relative unknown for his Purpose music videos. He enlists Parris Goebel, a Kiwi choreographer, to create and choreograph dance-centric music videos for every track on the LP. The first result of the collaboration is the stunning–and refreshingly off-the-cuff—dance video for the Skrillex-produced "Sorry." Featuring Goebel's team of young dancers from her home studio in New Zealand, the energetic video, which has racked up more than 214 million YouTube views, is completely Bieber free. "There wasn't too much conversation about it," Goebel tells ELLE.com. "The first conversation we had was to just go for it and to do my thing and that I had full creative freedom with it."
10. November 13, 2015: Release Party
By the time Purpose finally drops, both "What Do You Mean?" and "Sorry" are firmly entrenched in the Billboard Hot 100's Top Five. But with One Direction releasing a new album the same day, industry tensions are high. Fear not: Purpose takes the top spot on the Billboard 200, outselling1-D by more than 200,000 units. It marks the biggest first-week sales of 2015 and of Bieber's entire career. Afterwards, for seemingly the first time all year, Bieber lets his success do the heavy lifting: "Thank you for
making #PURPOSE the #1 Album," he tweets to his followers. After a yearlong mea culpa, he need not say anything more.
