Featured Image Credit: Cassy Athena/Getty Images
Topics: Justin Bieber, Music
Jen Thomas
Many people dream of being a world-famous singer, but Justin Bieber has opened up about the realities of the music industry and how he'd like to change it.
The singer shot to fame at a very young age: a then-13-year-old Justin was discovered on YouTube by marketing executive Scooter Braun, who signed him to Braun and Usher's joint label, RGMB, and then to Island Records.
His debut album, My World, was released in 2009, which peaked at 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, and from there, he released hit after hit, including 'Never Say Never', 'Baby', and 'Boyfriend'.
Now he is calling for the music industry to be made 'safer' and 'more honest'.
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His troubles have been well documented, and now a husband and father, he has opened up about his experiences on Instagram, crediting his Christian faith for pulling him out of the depths.
"I grew up in a system that rewarded my gift but didn’t always protect my soul," he wrote. "There were moments I felt used, rushed, shaped into something I didn’t fully choose. That kind of pressure leaves wounds you don’t see on stage. I’ve carried anger, I’ve asked God why.
"But Jesus keeps meeting me in the middle of the pain – not excusing what hurt me but teaching me how not to become bitter."
He continued to say that he isn't 'speaking as a victim still bleeding', but rather as 'someone restored', adding: "Because I’m healed, I can forgive. Not to pretend injustice didn’t happen, but so it doesn’t keep living through me.
"I don’t want revenge. I want redemption. I don’t want to destroy the industry. I want it transformed.
"What happened to me was real but it doesn’t get the final word. Jesus didn’t help me cope, he restored my identity. I’m not a product. I’m not what the industry demanded. I’m a son."
Bieber says he is speaking out to 'make sure it doesn’t keep reproducing itself through him.’
"I don’t want to burn the music industry down. I want to see it made new – safer, more honest, more human,’ he insisted.
Justin has previously been open about his struggles following his meteoric rise to fame, particularly surrounding his mental health.
He wrote on Instagram in 2019 about how 'being praised left and right' distorted his view on the world, adding: "I went from a 13-year-old boy from a small town to being praised left and right by the world, with millions saying how much they loved me and how great I was.
"You hear these things enough as a young boy and you actually start believing it."