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5 ideas for Justin Bieber’s 2025 comeback

Please don’t go country.

January 23, 2025
5 ideas for Justin Bieber’s 2025 comeback Photo by Ignat/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

The word on the street is Justin Bieber is making a comeback.. Industry insiders Puck reported that he’s prepping his first new music in four years. And recently, Bieber shared a snippet of something he’s been working on during a drive. Let’s be kind and say it seems he, too, is a fan of Playboi Carti.

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It wouldn’t be totally inaccurate to say Bieber’s music career has hit a lull. After transitioning into a more grown up sound on 2015’s Purpose (boosted by production from Skrillex and Diplo), his 2020 record Changes was probably most memorable for his uncomfortable attempt at a slow jam, “Yummy” (sample lyric: “I'm elated that you are my lady”). Bieber’s last studio album,Justice,which included both “Peaches” and “Ghost,” was received well by critics and seemed to show that Bieber had found a lane that suited him. But since then it’s been quiet on the music front. A world tour in support of the album was cancelled twice, first in 2022 and again in 2023. And the disclosure of his diagnosis with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome and his split from Scooter Braun, his longtime manager, seemed to signal turmoil behind the scenes. Any momentum built up by Justice has since flattened, and it’s raised the question of just what kind of artist Bieber wants to be.

Recently, however, things have been looking up. Last year, he and Hailey Bieber welcomed their first child, Jack Blues Bieber. With Bieber now a father and no longer tied to Braun, it feels like a good time to be redefining himself musically and building on his strange stardom, both ubiquitous and yet unknowable. After all, there’s expectation or precedent behind him right now. So, if he’s open to it, we had a few ideas on what we’d like to see from a Justin Bieber comeback in 2025 (and no, lightskin Bieber is not on the list).

1. More interesting collabs

Speaking in a NYT profile last year, Mk.gee revealed he is working with Bieber on new material. “Anything that comes out of his mouth: That’s pop music,” Mk.gee said. “You can really do pretty wild stuff behind that, just because it represents something.” He has also been photographed with Eddie Benjamin, a producer and songwriter with whom he has worked before.

Working with someone as exciting and (relatively) underground as Mk.gee feels like a notable seachange for Bieber, whose previous albums are filled with fellow Scooter Braun clients or rappers used as shortcuts to credibility. Working with Mk.Gee could be seen as a similarly cynical move but at the very least it will be interesting.

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2. Get out of your lane

Nobody is desperate for Bieber to try his hand at sexy drill but it would be refreshing to hear him experiment with different sounds as he looks to establish where he feels most comfortable. While Bieber has perhaps been guilty of jumping on trends a little too often, making an unnecessary remix of WizKid’s great “Essence” in 2021, the whole Purpose era came about through an unexpected move to electronic pop that immediately consigned his earlier material to history. Could the same thing happen if he tried a similar pivot now? Whatever you do, Justin, please don’t go country.

3. Leave God at church

If there are two things Bieber enjoys singing about this decade it’s been God and his wife, Hailey. The former brought about that 2021 EP Freedom which dealt almost exclusively with his faith (except one song that bizarrely was about cancel culture). Bieber’s faith obviously plays a huge part in his life but it hasn’t made for his most compelling music. Instead of writing songs like “Where You Go I Follow” or “God Will Make A Way,” he should return to the kind of personal writing that made songs like “Ghost” (about death, mourning) and “Hold On” (about self-worth and perseverance) big hits.

4. Be smarter about touring and stay healthy

In 2017, Bieber found himself in a castle in Ireland and yet was utterly miserable. “It’s over this beautiful body of water,” he told GQ, “And I was sad inside.” Bieber pulled out of that tour.

Touring is obviously an important part of being a musician in 2025 (though not essential) and Bieber is reported to need the money. But instead of embarking on a punishing tour schedule, he should work on creating a truly impressive live show and perform at a rate that suits him — maybe that means playing more dates in one city or a limited tour schedule. “I’m desperate to see Justin Bieber live” is better PR than “I had Justin Bieber tickets and he canceled AGAIN.”

5. Forget the Beliebers

“Everybody saw me sick, and it felt like no one gave a shit,” sang Bieber on “Lonely.” It was a lyric that confirmed something he’d been emitting via vibes for a while: Bieber, who took a break in 2019 for his mental health, doesn’t actually enjoy being a pop star.

That may well be the case! There are many of his peers who have said the same thing. But he doesn’t have to wrestle with the machine in the same way now. Artists like Chappel Roan and Doja Cat have shown that pop stars can do things on their own terms, and it might do Bieber some good to push back in similar fashion. If Chappell can say no to creepy behavior then so can Justin.

5 ideas for Justin Bieber’s 2025 comeback