Justin Bieber teased yesterday on Twitter that he'd be stopping by his old pal Ellen DeGeneres' show to make a major announcement. And now it's official: Bieber is headlining a U.S. stadium tour in 2017, which will kick off in August in Pasadena. This is Bieber's first-ever stadium tour, which should be an exciting moment for the musician, but it's actually the worst thing he could be doing right now, and here's why.
This year has been rough on all of us, but Bieber has had a particularly tough (and often times weird) 2016. Sure, he had a pretty stellar start to the year when he released his fourth studio album Purpose last fall and it was really well-received, seemingly shutting down many of the Bieber haters who'd dismissed him as an untalented punk destined to become a "where-are-they-now" teen star. But he's just coming off more than 100 shows on his Purpose World Tour, and it hasn't exactly gone well.
So when he announces that, instead of taking some time off to relax and just be a normal human being, that he's instead going on a massive U.S. stadium tour, well...I can't help but think it's a horrible idea. I don't know the Biebs personally, of course, so this is only an outsider's perspective, but I think what he desperately needs is time away from the stage, out from under the hot lights, if only for a little while.
In recent months, he's displayed troubling behavior and it seems like he needs a break from the public eye. There was the time last month he told a crowd in London that "Instagram is the devil." Then there was the time a few weeks before that when he walked off stage in Manchester because he was dismayed by the loud screaming and applause from the crowd of devoted fans.
Biebs has been fairly unkind to his fans as of late, a few months ago announcing he wouldn't take photos with them because he "feels like a zoo animal." This was after canceling meet-and-greets for his shows. Of course, I don't doubt that it can be extraordinarily tough having people feel like they can touch you against your consent or stare and take photos when they see you out in public, but is the answer really to keep adding more shows on to an already exhausting, chaotic schedule?
Bieber has exhibited some odd behavior also, like the time he inexplicably walked barefoot on the city streets of Boston and the time he donned a weird disguise in Amsterdam. It's worth noting that all of these aforementioned incidents have occurred within the past three months alone.
Aside from all of that, the star has seemingly lost the light in his eyes when performing, and perhaps that's the biggest reason why a tour of this scale isn't the best idea. Just two days ago he gave a performance at a radio festival in San Jose looking like he'd rather be elsewhere. He simply doesn't seem to be as engaged and excited about being onstage as he once did, and touring is a tremendously grueling prospect for any musician, especially for someone who's still only 22 years old and already burned out.
Of course, Bieber himself is the only one who knows what is best for him, and his fans have proven they'll still show up to support him on this tour and every tour he decides to embark on in the future. But it certainly seems like this decision is a bit misguided, and I hope he's doing what's best for him at this moment in time. His fans will still be there, excited to see him perform even if he takes some time away. We Beliebers are a dedicated and loyal bunch.