Justin Bieber announced his upcoming single, titled “Lonely,” collaborating with the producers’ Benny Blanco and FINNEAS. The song, releasing on Friday the 16th of October, comes with a brand new music video featuring teen actor Jacob Tremblay.
“Lonely” is the second single off of Bieber’s upcoming sixth studio album. The song follows the lead single “Holy” featuring Chance the Rapper.
In the song, Justin Bieber talks about how he amassed fame and wealth at a very young age and how this resulted in him being isolated from reality. This includes his relationships with friends, family, and partners. This life of stardom also came at the price of sacrificing his privacy, which is never the best deal.
Watch “Lonely” Video by Justin Bieber
“Lonely” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
Verse 1
Justin Bieber is undoubtedly one of the biggest stars in music at the moment. He started his music career at the age of 13 and did not have the best of feedback initially. His 2010 single “Baby” was at one point the most-disliked video on YouTube, and currently the third most-disliked video on YouTube. However, he outperformed all the hate and negativity over time and rose to be one of the most popular and talented stars of this generation.
Justin Bieber has fans all around the world, in millions. However, he cannot help but wonder if the person he sees in the mirror is the person who he aspired to be. Did this fame and wealth come at a cost? Did it change him? He cannot help but dislike the person he has become. He thinks maybe time will resolve this. Maybe he will not turn into the person he aspired to be, but he might grow into accepting the sacrifices he had to made and who that turned him into.
Pre-chorus
In the pre-chorus of the song, Justin Bieber says that he has it all, but sometimes he misses someone to really open up to. Fortunately for him, he is a happily married man now. Else, these thoughts would be concerning.
Justin Bieber is possibly one of the most connected artists in the world. But none of these connections are able to help him have a real talk.
Verse 2
In the second verse of the song, Justin Bieber admits that in the process of him becoming one of the global superstars, he sacrificed his privacy. There is probably no instance where Justin Bieber went out on a date and was not photographed by paparazzi. This is a painful existence.
Justin Bieber also talks about how everyone judges everyone based on their appearances. This was quite apparent in the case of Chadwick Boseman, who was photographed being extremely skinny earlier this year and was labeled a drug abuser. However, not until his death on August 28, 2020, it was revealed that he battled with Colon cancer. The same thing happened with Justin Bieber when he was photographed looking pale and unhealthy and the media was quick to label him as a drug abuser. However, Justin Bieber revealed that he is struggling with Lyme disease.
Justin Bieber did not have the best character as a popstar at his young age. This leaves him in the unfortunate place of being stuck in a ‘glasshouse’ where he cannot point fingers at others. However, in the recent past, especially after his marriage to Hailey Bieber, he seemed to have turned a page in his life for the better.
So despite having millions of fans around the world and some of the biggest celebrities on his speed-dial, he still can feel lonely when it comes to the matters of the heart.
Catch the complete lyrics and further meaning breakdown on Genius.