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Justin Bieber drops 'Lonely' starring Jacob Tremblay, a look at his evolution from teen star to pop hitmaker

Justin Bieber shows his vulnerable side in the track as he sings about his rise to fame as a teenager but also talks about suffering from feelings of isolation

Justin Bieber has released the music video for his new single 'Lonely'. Made in collaboration with producer Benny Blanco, 'Lonely' is the second time the duo has teamed up since 2015's mega-hit 'Love Yourself'. The music video, which has been directed by Jake Schreier, stars 'Room' actor Jacob Tremblay as a young Bieber.

Announcing the release of the video, Bieber tweeted, "'Lonely' is out now with Benny Blanco. To be honest, the song is hard for me to listen to considering how tough it was to get through some of these chapters. I believe it is powerful to express vulnerability and that’s why I believe this song is so powerful." Talking about Tremblay's performance, Bieber then wrote, "Jacob Tremblay is so talented. It was emotional to see him play me from the outside looking in."

In the music video, Tremblay is alone in a backstage room before heading out. Once he gets on stage, the venue is empty and then piano notes kick in. Bieber starts to sing about his past perceptions and criticisms while he was a teen pop star. He sings about his feelings of isolation and having no one to confide in. Bieber sings, "What if you had it all, but nobody to call? / Maybe then you'd know me / 'Cause I've had everything, but no one's listening / And that's just f***ing lonely / I'm so lonely." Tremblay, the younger version of Bieber, looks all around the empty room before seeing the sole audience member: the present Justin Bieber. The pop star had earlier shared a snippet of the song via Sounds; Snapchat's new music feature.

Check out the 'Lonely' video below.

The Evolution of Justin Bieber

One of the richest and most popular musicians on the planet, Bieber has had an impressive career, to say the least. Born on March 1, 1994, in Ontario, Canada, Bieber learned to play the piano, drums, guitar and trumpet at an early age. His interest in music was clear as day right from his prepubescent years. His mother, Pattie Mallette, used to post videos of her son on YouTube, such as his cover of Ne-Yo's 'So Sick' and various other R&B songs. Initially meant for their family and friends, Bieber's YouTube uploads grew immensely popular on the website.

The breakthrough

Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive of So So Def Recordings, accidentally came across one of Bieber's 2007 YouTube videos. Impressed by Bieber's skills, Braun tracked his school and finally contacted Mallette. According to an article in The New York Times on December 31, 2009, Mallette was initially reluctant because of Braun's Judaism and prayed saying, "God, I gave him to you. You could send me a Christian man, a Christian label! You don't want this Jewish kid to be Justin's man, do you?"

However, after church elders convinced her to let Bieber go with Braun, the 13-year-old went to Atlanta, Georgia, to record a demo. Soon, Bieber began singing for Usher. He was then signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher. According to an MTV report, Justin Timberlake was also trying to sign Bieber but lost the bidding war to Usher.

Bieber was signed to Island Records before moving to Atlanta with his mother. Braun then became Bieber's manager (and remains his manager to this day). Soon, while still recording his debut album, Bieber's first single, 'One Time', was released. It reached No. 12 on Canadian Hot 100 charts and later peaked to No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 'One Time' was certified platinum in Canada and the US, and gold in Australia and New Zealand.

His first release, the EP 'My World', spawned singles 'One Less Lonely Girl', 'Love Me' and 'Favorite Girl'. All three charted within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. To promote the album, Bieber appeared on 'The Today Show', 'The Wendy Williams Show', 'Lopez Tonight', 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show', 'Good Morning America' and 'Chelsea Lately'.

Chart-topping hits

In January 2010, 'Baby' was released from his debut album 'My World 2.0'. The song, which featured Ludacris, became an international smash-hit charting No. 5 on Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on Canadian Hot 100. 'My World 2.0' debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making him the youngest solo male act to top the chart since Stevie Wonder in 1963. The music video for 'Baby' surpassed Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance' as the most-viewed YouTube video ever. Bieber soon appeared on Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people in the world and Forbes list of Highest Paid Celebrities under 30.

On November 1, 2011, Bieber released 'Under the Mistletoe', his second studio album, which debuted No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The following year (2012), he released his third studio album 'Believe' which incorporated elements of dance-pop and R&B. On 'Believe', Bieber collaborated with producers such as Darkchild, Hit-Boy, Diplo and Max Martin. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. This time, Bieber topped Forbes magazine's 30 Under 30. He also released a surprise album titled 'Journals', his fourth studio album, only available on iTunes from December 23, 2013, to January 9, 2014.

New avatar

By 2015, after being away from the scene for a while, Bieber returned with the song 'Where Are Ü Now' with Jack Ü. It won a Grammy for Best Dance Recording at the 2016 Grammy Awards. Then, he released a new single titled 'What Do You Mean?' as the lead from his fourth studio album 'Purpose'. 'What Do You Mean?' became his first No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100.

He then released the album's second single, 'Sorry', which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. A few weeks later, 'Sorry' became Bieber's second No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 followed by 'Love Yourself', which also reached No. 1. This made Bieber the first male artist in almost a decade to have three No. 1s from the same album since Justin Timberlake's 'FutureSex/LoveSounds' in 2006/2007. 'Purpose' debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and was the fourth best-selling album of 2015.

In 2016, his collaborative track 'Cold Water' with Major Lazer and MØ debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Soon, he appeared on DJ Snake's 'Let Me Love You' which peaked at No. 4. He also appeared on the song 'Deja Vu' from Post Malone's album 'Stoney', and the remix of the smash-hit 'Despacito' by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee. Between 2017 and 2019, he appeared on numerous collaboration tracks such as DJ Khaled's 'I'm the One', which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Bieber's fourth song to top the chart.

A week later, 'Despacito' topped the chart, making it the first mostly Spanish-language Hot 100 No. 1 in more than 20 years. This became Bieber's fifth No. 1 single, making him the first artist ever to have new No. 1s in back-to-back weeks. He appeared on DJ Khaled's 'No Brainer' and sang alongside Ed Sheeran on the 2019 single 'I Don't Care'. Later, Bieber and Dan + Shay released '10,000 Hours' which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

'Changes' and other hits

Before the release of 'Lonely', Bieber announced his fifth studio album 'Changes', after a gap of five years, with the release of the single 'Yummy'. By this time, Bieber was married to Hailey Baldwin with by now, he had changed his personality as well as appearance. He later released the tracks 'Get Me' featuring Kehlani and 'Intentions' featuring Quavo. 'Changes', just like all his previous albums, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. In 2020, Bieber released the single 'Holy' – which he dubbed the start of a new era – with Chance the Rapper. Earlier this year, he appeared on Ariana Grande's 'Stuck With U'.