Justin Bieber’s new docuseries, Justin Bieber: Seasons, premiered on YouTube on Jan. 27. The episode was filmed in 2019, after Justin decided that he was ready to get back in the studio to record his first album since 2015. He and his wife, Hailey Baldwin, took a trip to Justin’s hometown in Canada to check out the local sights. “He went through so much in the last three years, four years, since his last album came out and he came out on the right side of some really dark times,” Hailey said. “He still is who he is and that’s why people are drawn to him — because he has a story to tell.”
The ‘dark times’ that Hailey is referring to include Justin’s battle with anxiety, which caused him to cancel the end of his Purpose world tour in 2017. “I freaked out when Justin said he wanted to cancel the tour,” Allison Kaye, a member of Justin’s management team admitted. “Performing is the thing that he loves most in this world, so hearing him say he didn’t want to do it….” It wasn’t until two years later that Justin finally felt ready to put himself back out there, and it all started with a surprise Coachella performance in April 2019. Justin hit the stage with his longtime friend, Ariana Grande. They sang his 2015 hit, “Sorry,” and the crowd went wild.
“As he walked offstage after the Ariana performance, he was ready to get back out there,” Allison explained. “He was like…I want you to schedule me. I want to go into the studio, I want to dance, I want to go to the gym, I want vocal warmups in there. He wanted me to build him a rolling itinerary like I do when he’s working. The second he asked to actually put the time in, I was like, ‘Okay, we’re ready.'”
Since then, Justin has been hard at work on his new album, which is expected to be released in 2020. “My life is changing a lot,” Justin admitted. “Getting back in the studio, talking about getting married and writing about the process and being creative with being in this new chapter and being happy with what I’m doing…I’m just in a better headspace. I think that’s what’s been challenging over the years — a lot of times, I’d make music, and it’d be for me. When the focus and goal is about yourself, you lose your purpose in that. I think the older that I get, the more I realize, I’m utilizing my gift for the right reasons. This isn’t about me — it’s about helping someone who’s going through whatever they’re going through and being able to talk about that thing.” He also added that he feels like he’s the “best” he can be while in the studio or onstage.
Of course, it’s helped to have Hailey by his side this time around. “I love to see him do what he loves,” Hailey gushed.”I feel like I’m here to cheer him on and support him. During the Purpose album, I was around for a lot of that, but definitely not as intimately. I love to see him do what he is good at. There’s a lot of pressure on artists and musicians, especially because people aren’t around for the full process. So, me being someone who isn’t a musician, and is not involved in that music in that way, I have a whole newfound respect for Justin, as well as other artist who put their blood, sweat and tears into their craft.”
Justin Bieber: Seasons will feature new episodes every Monday and Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. ET for the next five weeks. The show airs on YouTube Originals.