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Justin Bieber has been making headlines lately for everything but his music. That all changed on Thursday afternoon, though, when news broke that the Grammy-winning pop star would be releasing a surprise album the very next day, marking the end of a four-year hiatus.
Titled “Swag,” Bieber’s seventh studio album is his first full-length project since 2021’s “Justice.” A lot has changed in his world since then. Just last summer, he and his wife, Hailey Bieber, welcomed their first child together. Before that, the “Peaches” singer parted ways with his longtime manager, Scooter Braun, the man who discovered him as a teenager. But those aren’t the only major shifts in Bieber’s life. The past few years have actually been quite turbulent for him.
In June 2022, after postponing several dates on his Justice World Tour, Bieber revealed via Instagram that he had been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a condition that affects facial nerves and caused partial paralysis in his face.
Since then, Bieber has seemed to recover physically and has stayed mostly out of the musical spotlight. Despite this, though, recent headlines surrounding his behavior have sparked concern among fans.
It all started earlier this year when a representative for Bieber dismissed “exhausting and pitiful” rumors that he was using drugs amid growing concern over his health. Shortly after, Bieber shared cryptic messages on Instagram about feeling like he was “drowning” and “unworthy,” further worrying his fans.
In April, Bieber made headlines again after being spotted smoking what appeared to be weed next to his teenage brother at Coachella. A source close to the singer told People, “Justin is having fun, vibing out, and yes, he smokes weed like everyone else. But everything he does is being weaponized against him.”
The insider also shut down rumors of marital issues between Bieber and his wife, insisting, “Hailey is not on the verge of wanting a divorce or leaving him. It’s just completely untrue. If anything, she’s sad about how hard everyone is being on him now that he finally is coming back out of his shell.”
Still, the scrutiny persisted as more concerning social media posts — including one in which Bieber called for the paparazzi to stop following him — fueled speculation about his well-being. At the same time, Bieber’s name was dragged into the media circus surrounding former friend Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial, though Bieber’s rep denied rumors that the singer was one of Combs’ victims.
But more controversies have kept Bieber in the news.
In May, he faced backlash after sharing — and later deleting — an Instagram caption saying he once told his wife she’d “never be on the cover of Vogue” the same day her Vogue cover was revealed.
Later that month, fans were unsettled by Bieber’s surprise appearance at Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s Grand National Tour stop in Los Angeles, during which he closed his eyes and swayed through a duet of “Snooze” with SZA. Then came his viral run-in with paparazzi — “It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business” — last month, which is still making the rounds online.
Clearly, there’s been a lot going on with Bieber, but he tries to clear up some of the confusion on his new album. Most of the tracks reflect on his marriage, fatherhood, his paparazzi moment (the “Standing on Business” interlude) and his state of mind lately — the latter more prominently in an interlude titled “Therapy Session” featuring comedian Druski.
“That’s been a tough thing for me recently, is feeling like I have had to go through a lot of my struggles as a human, as all of us do, really publicly, and so people are always asking if I’m OK, and that starts to really weigh on mе,” Bieber explains. “And it starts to make me feel like I’m the one with issues and everyone else is perfect.”
On his track “Walking Away,” the singer also shares insight into his relationship with his wife as he sings, “Girl, we better stop before we say some shit / We’ve been testing our patience / I think we better off if we just take a break / And remember what grace is.”
He continues, “Baby, I ain’t walking away / You were my diamond / Gave you a ring, I made you a promise / I told you I’d change / It’s just human nature / These growing pains.”
Despite Bieber’s recent behavior, his “Swag” album — which features artists like Sexyy Red, Gunna and Cash Cobain — has gotten positive feedback from fans so far:
yall see how justin can drop an album
outta literally NOWHERE and still able to break the internet? thats a real pop boy legend behavior pic.twitter.com/PRfiunUBHq
— anny ⭐️ (@eternallyanny) July 10, 2025
This Justin Bieber album is exactly what I thought it was gonna be . They were in that studio cooking .
— ★LÓR (@writtenbyalor) July 11, 2025
I’m 5 tracks into Justin Bieber album and idc man.. this is album of the year
— The Hood Therapist (@OhhMar24) July 11, 2025
I just came back to say that Justin Bieber’s new album is fire. That’ll always be the IT boy of my lifetime.
— ۟ (@headnavy) July 11, 2025
There may soon be more music coming from Bieber. According to HITS, sources said that “Swag” is setting the singer up to release a “proper pop album” later this year or in early 2026.
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It’s unclear if it’ll be as introspective as his latest offering, but at least now, fans have a better idea of what’s been happening behind closed doors lately.
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