Can everybody just leave Justin Bieber alone already???
There is a lot of fuss out in there on the internet about Justin Bieber canceling the last fourteen tour dates of his Purpose Tour, that began in March 2016. Take that in for a minute. The first tour date was March 9th 2016. I’m just going to let that sink in for a moment.
Okay time is up.
The kid has been singing and dancing all around the world, a couple of times over, for the past sixteen months. No wonder he’s tired. No kidding he’s “over it.” I don’t need to give you all the stats, they’re readily available on the internet, so if you’re feeling curious or you have some spare time this evening look it up, but it’s like 149 shows. That is so much “being up” for one person that I honestly can’t even. I know what YB feels like after seven months of walking in William Murdoch’s shoes, and “chatting” and being his best self all day every day five days a week making Murdoch. I can’t imagine the burden of being a Justin Bieber.
I don’t understand how musical artists do what they do. Yeah I get it, they make a small fortune. Yes they fly in private jets, and do get some days off between getting up and performing their hearts out in front of tens of thousands of people every single night, and when they do “work” some say it’s only for a few hours a day while they’re on stage.
But that’s not the case. It’s more than that. I’ve been friends with Rick Springfield for twenty-four years, and I watch what it takes for him to tour every single weekend. It’s the vocal training, or in many cases vocal rest that takes place hours and hours before they hit the stage. There are sound checks, sometimes there are last minute choreography changes, often there are minor injuries that need physio, acupuncture, and sometimes surgery. Being a solo artist means there is nobody else to fall back on. It means if you’re throat is a little sore you can’t have the rest of your group back you up and let you “be light” that night. It all falls squarely on the shoulders of Justin, or Beyonce, of Taylor; and it is a lot of pressure. It is a huge responsibility, and it must be exhausting. I don’t care how much money they’re making, at the end of the day, these solo artists are small economies, and they need to be preserved and protected.
We also need to remember that Justin is a human being. And he’s young. A lot of you reading this probably have kids his age, or older, and as a parent you and I know that our kids can barely manage a week of university finals without cracking, imagine a world tour that went on for almost a year and a half??? I cannot picture any one of my three girls performing in front of hundreds of thousands of people for sixteen months, night after night. Listen I can’t even go out four times in a week without wanting to stay in my pj’s for a few days straight not answering my phone or emails.
I get it Justin. I really do. And I support you, and your decision to put your well-being first. In a time when we’ve lost so many wonderfully talented and irreplaceable artists, shouldn’t we be patting this young one on the back for recognizing the need for self care? Isn’t it amazing that a young man is even in touch with what he needs to the point that he knows if he were to continue he would most likely do himself damage? I think it’s commendable. If I have to listen to one more person bring up the fact that he peed in a mop bucket at a restaurant when he was eighteen I might smack somebody. I will say this one last time: if there had been a camera on most of us between the ages of fourteen to twenty-one it would be ridiculously embarrassing for every single one of us. I think all the haters who are judging Justin, and being so incredibly cruel on the internet to him need to just f*#k right off. I think you need to take a good long hard look in the mirror and ask yourself if there’s any part of your being that could honestly say you would be able to do what he has been doing since he was fourteen years old. Give your heads a shake and imagine walking a mile in Justin’s shoes, and then maybe turn your judgement toward a more worthy foe like Trump.
This has been a PSA for a fellow Canadian talent. Thank you.
