Rebecca MacFarlane
Beliebers all over the world were devastated recently by the news that Justin Bieber had abandoned his world tour and cancelled the remainder of his appearances. Understandably, fans are feeling let down and disregarded. After all, they paid for tickets and marked out the day they would get to see their idol live in the flesh. To hear that isn’t going to happen is a major disappointment to say the least.
But let’s look at it from his perspective for a moment.
Most of us don’t consider the negative side of fame and its consequences. We see it as glamourous- all about fast cars, expensive designer clothes and all night parties in Las Vegas. Everyone knows who you are and everyone wishes they were you. Amazing, right? Well maybe it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be after all.
In a rather lengthy insta-letter, Bieber apologised to fans and stated his reason for cancelling the tour was that he needed some time to find himself and become the person that he wants to be. This is a concept I think all of us are familiar with. We get so wrapped up in our jobs, relationships and daily demands that somewhere along the line, we start to forget who we originally set out to be in life. This is through no fault of our own. I guess it is just something that happens in amongst the chaos of life.
It can be overwhelming even for us with the demands we are expected to meet daily. We have to consider who our friends want us to be, who our family want us to be and who are boss wants us to be and strive to live up to their desires. It can feel like an awful lot of pressure, and there are times where we want nothing more than just to break away from all of that and take some time out to figure things out for ourselves to understand who we want to be.
So if this is even overwhelming for us at times, just imagine experiencing this thousands of times over and before the eyes of literally the whole world. When the entire world seems to have a steak in who you should be and has all of their own sets of demands for you- it’s no wonder it is so difficult to figure out who YOU want to be as a person.
There is an awful lot of pressure on celebrities to uphold a certain image and meet the demands of their fans. After all, their fans are the ones who support them. What with overzealous paparazzi, each and every move you make is put under the magnifying glass and broadcast internationally. Every step you take, you are being watched and judged for. The clothes you wear, the people you see, the places you go and the food you eat is not only your private matter- but the business of the whole world. You will either be praised or mocked by millions.
As much as we do not like to admit it, there are very few of us who would be able to cope with and actually enjoy a life such as this. It is a life that is full of constant demands and very little room for making your own decisions and living a private life. It is a life where you have to be who the fans want you to be, regardless of whether that fits in with who you really are as a person.Justin Bieber was thrust into a life of fame from a very young age. He has endured public humiliation and negative judgements equally alongside all of the praise and love from fans as he has grown through his teen years into adulthood. As he was so young when he was first pulled into the spot light, he barely had a chance to live a normal childhood and discover for himself who he would have wanted to be away from the red carpet and flashing cameras.
Many would say the money and high-society lifestyle are more than enough to make up for this occasional ill-treatment and inconvenience- but is it really?
Celebrity burnouts seem to tell us otherwise. Justin Bieber is by no means the first one to cave under the pressures of fame. And his decision to remove himself from a world tour seems rather tame in comparison to other celebrity outbursts we have witnessed in the past. Britney Spears’ infamous 2007 breakdown that saw her shave off all of her hair and commit other questionable public acts is one that has stuck in the minds of many. Other Celebrities have turned to drugs and alcohol to ease the pressures of fame, and this has also seen major impacts on their personal lives as well as their careers.
It is these pressures that bring to light the darker side of fame and celebrity lifestyle that many people do not consider. Perhaps his decision to cancel the remainder of his world tour is the best that Bieber could possibly have made for himself as a person at this point in his life. We certainly do not want to see him go down a path to an even worse breakdown in the future.
I for one wish Justin the best in his endeavor to discover himself, rejuvenate and become the person that he truly wants to be. Current disappointments aside, I am sure we can expect many great things from Bieber in the future that will make up for this misstep.
