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Wait, Is Justin Bieber Retiring?

Wait, Is Justin Bieber Retiring?

Beliebers, you may need to sit down for this.

In light of the recent $200 million sale of his music catalog, coupled with tour cancellations and various health struggles, rumors have started to swirl that Justin Bieber might actually be planning to retire from the music industry.

Here’s what has led to the speculation:

Earlier this month, Bieber announced he would be cancelling the remaining 14 dates of his Justice World Tour. While no official reasons were given, Bieber has recently been open about dealing with multiple health issues.

Back in September, in a now-deleted video posted to his Instagram, Bieber opened up about his struggle with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a condition that has caused him facial paralysis. In the video, he revealed he would be heavily focusing on his health for the foreseeable future.

Following the video, Bieber announced he would postpone his tour to a later date in order to “make [his] health a priority.”

On top of those physical health issues, Bieber has also been open about struggling with a variety of mental health issues for years.

Back in 2016, Justin canceled meet and greets on his Purpose World Tour, citing the “pressure of meeting people’s expectations” was too much to handle.

“I enjoy meeting such incredible people, but I end up feeling so drained and filled with so much of other people’s spiritual energy that I end up so drained and unhappy,” he explained on Instagram. “Want to make people smile and happy but not at my expense and I always leave feeling mentally and emotionally exhausted to the point of depression .. The pressure of meeting people’s expectations of what I’m supposed to be is so much for me to handle and a lot on my shoulders. Never want to disappoint but I feel I would rather give you guys the show and my albums as promised. Can’t tell you how sorry I am, and wish it wasn’t so hard on me.. And I want to stay in the healthy mindset I’m in to give you the best show you have ever seen.”

 

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That was one of the first signs Bieber was needing to take a step back from things — until he then fully cancelled then Purpose Tour, too, saying he wanted his “mind, heart and soul to be sustainable.”

He shared on Instagram, “I’m so grateful for this journey with all of you.. I’m grateful for the tours but most of all I am grateful i get to go through this life WITH YOU. Learning and growing hasn’t always been easy but knowing I im [sic] not alone has kept me going. I have let my insecurities get the best of me at times, I let my broken relationships dictate the way I acted toward people and the way I treated them! i let bitterness, jealousy and fear run my life.!!!! … Me taking this time right now is me saying I want to be SUSTAINABLE.. I want my career to be sustainable, but I also want my mind heart and soul to be sustainable. So that I can be the man I want to be.”

 

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The expectations for artists can be overwhelming for anyone, especially young pop stars who grew up in a very public eye. At the time, media speculated Bieber was simply following a pattern set by other artists who took a small break before getting back in the studio.
But Bieber’s hiatus from music was seemingly much different than artists before him.

After going silent for a few years, Bieber was spotted in 2018 crying in a car with his wife, Hailey Bieber, an insider told US Weekly, “Justin has become a recluse and a changed person. He has no interest in being a celebrity and an artist. He has withdrawn again, much like he did a couple years ago. He started recording music, but just stopped.”

Bieber shared with his fans in March 2019 that while he was still working on his music, his health was his top priority. He shared he was “very focused on repairing some of the deep rooted issues” he had been struggling with.
“I’ve toured my whole teenage life, and early 20s, I realized and as you guys probably saw I was unhappy last tour and I don’t deserve that and you don’t deserve that, you pay money to come and have a lively energetic fun light concert and I was unable emotionally to give you that near the end of the tour,” he shared. “I have been looking, seeking, trial and error as most of us do, I am now very focused on repairing some of the deep rooted issues that I have as most of us have, so that I don’t fall apart, so that I can sustain my marriage and be the father I want to be. Music is very important to me but Nothing comes before my family and my health.”

Later that year, he posted a lengthy comment on his Instagram detailing his personal struggles with anxiety.

“I haven’t believed the truth about myself,” he wrote. “I haven’t believed I am loved. I haven’t believed I am forgiven. It’s a hard thing for me to wrap my head around. I hang my head in shame and I wallow in sadness about the the people who have betrayed me.”

 

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When he finally returned to music in 2021 with his new album Purpose, many fans believed it was a sign he had entered a new , healthier chapter of his life. But an insider told RadarOnline.com revealed that Bieber has continued to struggle with the pressures of the music industry.

“Justin hasn’t felt right with the world for some time, and his stardom weighs heavily on him,” the insider said. “Even his therapist says if what he’s doing makes him unhappy, he should make the hard decision to set it aside.”

And it seems like Bieber is gearing up to do just that. Earlier this year, Bieber officially sold his entire music catalog for a whopping $200 million — the largest sale of any artist of Bieber’s generation. Bieber sold his catalog to Hipgnosis, the music rights investment company.

Scoot Braun, Bieber’s longtime manager, said Bieber made the decision to “preserve and grow [his] amazing legacy.”

“For over a decade now Justin Bieber has entertained us and moved us with some of the biggest songs in the world,” Braun said. “I’m so proud of him and all those involved over the years in helping amass this incredible body of work. Justin is truly a once in a generation artist and that is reflected and acknowledged by the magnitude of this deal.”

And while plenty of artists have sold their music catalogs and continued to make music afterwards, Bieber’s years-long struggle in and out of the music industry have many people believe his music career might actually be in his rearview mirror — and that ultimately he could be much happier and healthier for it.

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