Justin Bieber has a message amid these hard times: ‘hold on!’ In the music video for the newest single from his next album, Justin plays a boyfriend who is pushed to dangerous measures to save his lover.
A year after going through Changes in 2020, Justin Bieber has unleashed “Hold On,” the latest song from Justice, his upcoming album. The music video for the song out today (March 5), sees Justin in a heartbreaking situation: his on-screen love interest develops a serious illness, and the couple can not afford treatment. Out of desperation, Justin’s character decides to do a bank heist that results in a wild motorcycle chase.
“Hold On” was released a week after Justin announced his new album. “In a time when there’s so much wrong with this broken planet we all crave healing and justice for humanity,” he said in a press release and on his social media challenges. “In creating this album my goal is to make music that will provide comfort, to make songs that people can relate to and connect to so they feel less alone. Suffering, injustice, and pain can leave people feeling helpless. Music is a great way of reminding each other that we aren’t alone.”
“Music can be a way to relate to one another and connect with one another,” he added. “I know that I cannot simply solve injustice by making music, but I do know that if we all do our part by using our gifts to serve this planet and each other that we are that much closer to being united. This is me doing a small part. My part. I want to continue the conversation of what justice looks like so we can continue to heal.” While the exact tracklisting is unknown, it’s presumed that Justice will collect his previously released singles “Holy,” “Lonely,” and “Anyone.”
It’s unclear if this album would exist if not for the COVID-19 pandemic. Bieber started his 2020 by releasing his R&B album, Changes. The related tour was canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak, giving Justin plenty of time to stay at home and work on this new collection of music. Oddly enough, the only time Justin topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2020 was with “Stuck With U,” a COVID-19-themed collaboration with Ariana Grande.
Not everyone was thrilled when Justin announced his new album. Justice’s font drew comparisons to that of Grammy-winning electronic duo Justice. Both Justin’s Justice and the band’s logo emphasize the “T” in the word, marking it as a cross/crucifix. Bieber, a vocal Christian, probably wanted to emphasize his faith with this new logo, but Justice’s reps — Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay – called foul on the design. “Bieber’s team emailed us in May of 2020, asking to be looped in with Justice’s graphic designer to discuss a logo,” the band’s management told SPIN.
“We tried to set up a call between Bieber’s team and our designer, but the call was never completed and the conversation ended there. No one ever mentioned an album called Justice or a logo that says Justice. The first time we saw anything about it was the announcement,” the band’s management added. The band’s label Ed Banger poked fun at the “controversy” by reposting Justin’s Instagram Story where he shared the “original sketch I designed for the Justice artwork.” “
Ed Banger records appoints Mr. Justin Drew Bieber as Art Director,” the label’s IG post, penned by label head Pedro Winter, reads. “We would like to thank Mr So Me for all his work since 2003. with love (and lots of fun).”