Justin Bieber Says the ‘Older’ He Gets, the More He Realizes He’s ‘Not Utilizing My Gift for the Right Purpose’

“This isn’t about me, it’s about helping someone,” the singer says in the first episode of his new docu-series, Justin Bieber: Seasons

Justin Bieber is reflecting on his purpose.

In the first episode of Justin Bieber: Seasons released on YouTube Originals on Monday, the “Yummy” singer opens up about how much his life has changed since releasing his 2015 album Purpose, including becoming a married man to wife Hailey Baldwin and feeling ready to release new music again.

“My life is changing a lot,” Bieber, 25, says towards the end of the 11-minute episode. “Getting married, getting back in the studio, talking about getting married, talking about the process and just being creative with being in this new chapter and being happy about what I’m doing.”

“I think what’s been challenging over the years is a lot of the times I would make music, and it would be for me,” he continues. “When the focus and the goal is about yourself, you kind of tend to lose your purpose in that. I think the older that I get, the more I realize that I’m not utilizing my gift for the right reasons. This isn’t about me, it’s about helping someone who’s going through whatever they’re going through and being able to talk about that thing. That’s a really cool way to look at what I do.”

Justin Bieber. JUSTIN BIEBER/YOUTUBE

After a clip is shown of Bieber and Baldwin — who wed for the first time in a New York City courthouse on Sept. 13, 2018 and then celebrated their nuptials with a larger ceremony in front of family and friends in South Carolina on Sept. 30, 2019 — spending time together in the studio, Bieber says, “When you’re doing what you’re good at, you just feel like you’re where you’re supposed to be. I’m the best in the studio or on stage than I am anywhere else.”

And Baldwin, 23, couldn’t be happier to watch Bieber do what he loves.

“Honestly, I feel like I’m here to cheer him on and support him,” she says in the docu-series. “The last time around, when he was doing the Purpose album, I was around for a lot of that but definitely not as intimately. I love to see him do what he’s so good at. There’s a lot of pressure and there’s a lot of things on artists and musicians specifically that I think people don’t get to see because they’re not around for the full process. Me, being somebody who isn’t a musician and is not involved in music in that way, watching it I have a whole newfound respect for Justin as well as other artists who put their blood, sweat and tears into their craft.”

Earlier in the episode, Bieber takes Baldwin back to his Stratford, Ontario, hometown in Canada to show her the spot where he would busk on the sidewalk as a kid as well as the first apartment building he grew up in.

As he shows Baldwin around the apartment building, Bieber tells her, “I used to tell my friends because I was, like, ashamed that I lived in such low-poverty standards. I used to tell them, ‘Yeah there’s a bowling alley downstairs and stuff. It’s booked up right now…’”

Hailey Baldwin and Justin Bieber.

Bieber’s longtime manager, Scooter Braun, then details the moment when Bieber decided he “didn’t want to keep going” while on his “Purpose” world tour in 2017.

“He just wanted to get away and feel normal,” Braun says. “He just wanted a break from it all.”

Allison Kaye, a member of Bieber’s management team, is interviewed and says she “freaked out when Justin cancelled the tour.”

“Performing is the thing that he loves most in this world,” she says. “For him to say he didn’t want to do it, I knew it had to be pretty serious.”

GOTHAM/GC IMAGES

Ryan Good, Bieber’s friend and creative director/co-founder of his Drew House clothing line, says the star went through a “really dark” six-month period before finding hope after joining Ariana Grande on stage during her 2019 Coachella headlining performance.

“Justin was going back and forth whether it was the right time or not,” Good says. “I think Scooter was thinking he should have this opportunity to go out on that stage and remind himself who he is and what he does. It kind of seemed like a turning point for him where he was like, ‘I think I’m ready to do this again. I think I need to do this again.’ As he was walking offstage, he said to Allison, ‘I need to get back out there.’”

Ahead of the new year, the pop star seemingly did bounce back and announced a slate of new projects, including an upcoming album and his documentary series. In addition, Bieber will kick off his North American tour in Seattle on May 14, with 45 dates scheduled so far, leading to a New Jersey wrap-up on Sept. 26. A few of the tour stops include Las Vegas, Denver, Chicago, Cleveland and Toronto.