Justin Bieber is never saying never to music as the pop star has finally ended the drought of his new music by surprise dropping Swag last week.
After a four-year hiatus, the Baby singer, 31, who was battling several health issues, including Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, got back to making and releasing music. But things were different this time.
Swag debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, as per The Hollywood Reporter and Rolling Stone, finishing only behind Travis Scott’s JackBoys 2, which ruled the top position. This was a first for the prince of pop, who never debuted outside of the top spot until now.
Bieber’s six-album streak of No. 1 debuts finished with this start. Still, Swag is performing respectably fine with 163,000 units according to Luminate.
But Bieber had the best-streaming week of his career with Swag, grabbing 198.77 million streams per Luminate.
Whatever it may be, 16 of his 21 songs made their way to the Hot 100 this week, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Swag’s surprise release came days after the singer posted a photo of himself in a studio, sparking rumors of a potential album.
While Bieber’s musical career seems to be getting back on track with a good start to Swag, given it was a surprise release, some of his old songs continue to climb the charts.
The Baby hitmaker’s personal life has seen the same ups and downs as his surprise album Swag. The Grammy winner has been making headlines for his alleged troubled relationship with his wife, Hailey.
Amid the never-ending divorce or possible separation rumors, the Rhode founder, in a recent interview with Vogue Italia, has called her marriage to Bieber a “crazy life”.
What makes it even more difficult, according to Hailey, is having to deal with it after postpartum.
Hailey, who shares an 11-month-old son, Jack Blues, with Bieber, told Vogue Italia that the time period after giving birth was “the most delicate period I’ve ever been through in my life.”
“Having to do all this while constantly reading falsehoods on the internet like, ‘They’re getting divorced’ or ‘They’re no longer happy together’ is something that really drives you crazy,” she said while adding, “I’m not even sure I can explain it. It’s a crazy life.”
She went on to dismiss the rumors of trouble in their marriage as she gushed about him being an ‘extraordinary’ father, ‘a natural’, and ‘seeing her as a goddess, a superhero’.
Bieber’s life seems to be surrounded by controversies. As if his personal life wasn’t enough to garner him some unwanted — or maybe not — attention, his fallout with his manager, Scooter Braun, cost him something bigger — $31.5 million.
The financial dispute that happened over the cancelled Justice tour was settled after two years. While the dispute and their professional journey have ended, Braun believes their relationship may not be.
In the July 17 episode of the Question Everything podcast, Braun hinted that their relationship is far from over.
“That’s what happens with relationships like that. They ebb and they flow. They go up and down. Sometimes, they go in one direction and sometimes they go another, but you always keep your heart open to the fact that that’s family and you have each other’s back in the end,” Braun said, as reported by E! News.
Meanwhile, Bieber’s suspicious behavior has left fans puzzled. From changing his Instagram name to getting pictured solo after frequent spa sessions, people are dishing out all possible theories.
In yet another solo outing, Bieber was photographed looking tense as he walked out of a day spa in West Hollywood on Wednesday, according to Daily Mail.
He was seen sporting a blue hoodie, bright tie-dye shorts, neon green socks, and black slides, putting on a disheveled appearance, something which he had frequently been accused of in the past.
Earlier this year, the Peaches singer was on the radar of many for appearing disheveled while on an outing with Hailey.
His looks have been, more often than not, tagged as bizarre, but they do seem to appear artful, if not anything else.