Somedays, we write the headlines. Somedays, they write themselves. Here’s an instance of the latter, in which so many worlds collide into such an unlikely mashup that you can’t help but wonder if the RELEVANT street team is out there artificially engineering these events just so we have something to write about. But nope, what you’re seeing here is just a blessed collision of a global pop superstar, his new wife and Dr. Barry Corey, president of Biola University, who appears just as surprised this is happening as you are to be reading about it. (That is according to author and former Biola staffer Brett McCracken and several students):
.@TMZ captured “Random Guy” (@BiolaU’s @PresidentCorey) and the Biebers sharing a moment in Beverly Hills last night… https://t.co/JHijoo3cJC
— Brett McCracken (@brettmccracken) January 3, 2019
Hey, @TheCut, this is Dr. Barry Corey, the president of my alma mater Biola University in La Mirada, CA. You can get any @biolau student or alum to confirm this, because they're currently freaking out on every social media platform. https://t.co/S5WxvYlA0t
— Nicole Foy (@nicoleMfoy) January 3, 2019
It looks like JB and Haley Baldwin were leaving a fancy hotel and Bieber was moved to break into “Sexual Healing,” first serenading his wife (which makes sense) and then Dr. Corey (which …sure!). The video was picked up by TMZ who referred to the distinguished president of one of the nation’s most revered private Christian universities as “a random guy.”
The Cut went one more, attempting to sleuth for themselves who Bieber’s “mysterious ‘Sexual Healing’ Duet Partner’ was. “It is this man I would like to know more about,” marveled The Cut’s Ella Cerón. And well, what do you want to know? He has a B.A. in English and biblical studies from Evangel College, and a Ph.D. in education from Boston College. He was a Fullbright scholar and is the author of 2016’s Love Kindness: Discover the Power of a Forgotten Christian Virtue. He is a married father of three. This is admittedly getting sort of dully biographical but everyone is asking who this guy is, and now they know! It is, to iterate, the president of Biola University.
Nevertheless, there are still many questions that remain unanswered. For example, is this the first time Dr. Corey has been sung to by Justin Bieber? One would have to think so, but his effortless calm suggests that he is no celebrity serenade novice. Behold his supreme chill as he whips out his phone for a quick selfie like one channeling the spirit of Marvin Gaye himself. Also, note the ease with which he then manages a whole family photoshoot. As a father himself. Correy’s is doubtless an experienced hand when it comes to these sorts of things, and let us hope he brings that same measured leadership to his professional life as an educator and administrator.
But again, this is all just conjecture. What we know for sure is that Justin Bieber sang “Sexual Healing” to Hailey Baldwin and Biola University’s Dr. Barry Corey. 2019 is shaping up to be that kind of year.
