All eyes were on the bottle blonde pop star as he entered the jam-packed arena on his skateboard, surrounded by a team of bodyguards. Clad in an oversized gray tee, leather pants, gray baseball cap and sneakers, he seemed unfazed by the overwhelmingly high-pitched shrills of his adoring fans. The Staples Center was filled three times on Friday, November 13th, for an intimate “Evening with Justin Bieber” to celebrate the release of his fourth studio album, Purpose.
Bieber was joined on stage by his manager, Scooter Braun, and his pastor, Judah Smith. The evening started with a prayer and a moment of silence for the tragedies that had taken place in Paris earlier in the day. Answering questions from the audience and doing tricks on his skateboard, Justin appeared to be at ease and surprisingly well adjusted.
After two years of tabloid scandals (attacking the paparazzi, making young fans wait two hours for a performance, sneaking out of a Brazilian brothel, egging his neighbor’s house, disrespecting the attorney in his deposition, his tumultuous relationship with Selena Gomez, countless drug possession charges, and his recent Miami DUI arrest), Justin is projecting a new image to the world. He claims that he has grown closer to God in the past year, and called his faith an “anchor” that brings him a sense of stability.
When asked by an audience member what his #purpose is, he answered, “to be on this stage, to entertain, to be your amusement.” Before wrapping up the Q&A and performing acoustic renditions of his songs, Justin offered advice to his fans: “This world isn’t meant to be overanalyzed, it’s meant to be lived.”
Justin delivered strong vocal performances of his new hits “Sorry”, “Love Yourself”, and “What Do You Mean?” along with old favorites including “Boyfriend”, “One Less Lonely Girl”, and “Home to Mama.” Thanking his fans for their unwavering support, Justin left the stage and debuted his short film “PURPOSE: The Movement” which features some of the best dance crews in the world.
Whether you are a Belieber or not, there is no denying Justin’s vocal talent and the loyalty of his fanbase. Following the release of his album Purpose, Justin took over the top 10 slots on the Billboard + Twitter Trending 140 Chart, and the album is currently #3 on iTunes. Bieber is back.
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