Voices Behind

Hero Magazine

Are you spending a lot of time in the studio at the moment? Is it long days and nights or are you quite strict with keeping a regular working day?

Justin Bieber

I’ve been spending a lot of time in the studio. It’s definitely long days and nights – not normal business hours, nine to five or anything – but I try not to go too late into the night. It depends on who I’m working with because you need to find a time to work where everyone is at their most creative. I love being in the studio and writing and recording – it’s a great way to clear my head and express myself. “I’m nervous whenever I put out new work because it’s such a personal journey, but I try to remember music is meant to be enjoyed – so I try to roll with it.”

Hero Magazine

What do you think are the main differences between now and the last time you were working on an album? Do you feel lots of pressure, does it make you nervous?

Justin Bieber

The biggest difference is that I’m older, I was 17 when I recorded most of my last album and I’m 21 now. I’ve been through a lot in a public way which gives me a much different perspective on things. I am working with producers like Kanye [West] and Rick Rubin who have influenced me and the music I listen to in a big way. The creative process this time around is more personal, when was younger I would take other people’s experiences, now I have my own to draw from and it makes all the difference because it’s a release. It’s amazing because I’m able to really work out anything I am feeling in my music. I’m nervous whenever I put out new work because it’s such a personal journey, but I try to remember music is meant to be enjoyed – so I try to roll with it.

Hero Magazine

It must be tough having lots of things you do taken out of context. Do you get used to it, does it affect the way you act and talk in public?

Justin Bieber

It’s definitely hard having so many people judge you from a distance. Sometimes you just want to explain yourself, but then that’s giving into gossip and it makes things worse. It’s a tough line to walk.

Hero Magazine

I guess you could have decided to take your success and not work again, but instead you’ve chosen to push yourself and produce something new, focusing on music. So you spent a bit of time apologising, on your own YouTube channel, on Ellen and on the Roast… do you feel like it was received well? Do you feel people believe you mean it?

Justin Bieber

I hope people felt the sincerity in my apologies. There are a lot of things that have happened in the last couple years that I’m not very proud of and I feel a responsibility to my fans and to the public who believe in me to make it right. I hope everyone believed it – because it was honest.

Hero Magazine

After so many does it feel like you have any secrets or personal mental space left, or has it all been probed?

Justin Bieber

It’s been thousands probably over the years. There are some things I try to hold sacred and personal and not talk about, you have to have some stuff that’s just for you.

Hero Magazine

At the Roast nothing was off limits. Did it feel different watching the final edit compared to living through it?

Justin Bieber

It was good fun. Everyone on the dais gets roasted on those things, so I was just grateful that everyone was willing to go through that alongside me, I was nervous to watch it but it was really funny.

Hero Magazine

Back to the music. When does a song click for you, when do you know it’s finished? What can you do to make sure the music is striking and makes a bold, opinionated statement, when perhaps in general you might feel like you need to be cautious with what you say at the moment?

Justin Bieber

I never feel it’s finished but at a certain point you have to let it go. I’m a perfectionist and this is my art, and so I’m always going to feel like I can make changes. Honest music is always going to feel bold, I think now more than ever it’s important that I make honest and meaningful music. “There are a lot of things that have happened in the last couple years that I’m not very proud of and I feel a responsibility to my fans and to the public who believe in me to make it right. I hope everyone believed it – because it was honest.”

Hero Magazine

Is there a lyric that you’ve grown really attached to, that you’re proud of?

Justin Bieber

I have a song out right now with Jack Ü called Where Are Ü Now. The lyrics to that song are very meaningful to me on several levels. There are a bunch of songs I’ve written for the new project that mean a lot to me as well – but I’m not ready to share those yet.

Hero Magazine

I wanted to ask you about social media. It’s a big concern for a lot of actors and musicians, most see it as a burden or intrusion or something to stress about. But you were discovered that way and have always embraced it. Are you quite business-like about it? Do you feel a responsibility in what you post, and do you think it shapes your own image of yourself – the way you perceive yourself?

Justin Bieber

I wouldn’t say I’m business-like about it. I feel a responsibility in what I post in the same way I feel a need to act responsibly now. I think that what I post is a reflection of my life. So my perception of myself and my experiences shape my social media content more than it being the other way around.

Hero Magazine

So, what new kinds of fans are you hoping to reach with your new music?

Justin Bieber

There’s no particular type of person I aim for my music to reach. Just fans of music I guess. I want to make great music.

Hero Magazine

Do you feel like you’ve missed out on anything growing up in the industry?

Justin Bieber

Of course there are things I missed out on, but my life has been incredible so far and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.