Justin Bieber had been widely reported in the previous years not for his music but for the antics he engaged in since he entered his late teenage years. With issues involving his romance with Selena Gomez to international authorities chasing after him, the Sorry singer made headlines almost every day. However, the What Do U Mean star eventually moved on from his teenage misdemeanors and is now in the process of rebuilding his image.
While the success of his efforts is yet to be determined in the next years, Bieber has been steadily rising in the music industry to regain his vacated spot. Before achieving these changes, though, the Love Yourself singer had everyone worried over his behavior. According to Scooter Braun, he reached a point where he feared for Bieber's life. The star's manager admitted that he became convinced that the notorious behavior of the Canadian singer will eventually lead to his demise.
"As I started to see it going in the wrong direction, I started to prepare," shared Braun, according to the New York Times. The star's manager added, "I put deals in place where he was protected for the long run. And I started to prepare my company to scale, because I was not going to let him work. [After Journals, Bieber's 2013 digital compilation,] he wanted to tour, and I honestly at that time felt, if he toured, he could die." Fans saw no tour from Bieber following the release of his Journals album. At that point, the Canadian star was believed to be in hiatus from the media and the public. However, he eventually turned his life around.
At the moment, the Boyfriend singer is battling it out with the likes of British boyband One Direction, Adele and Taylor Swift for the top spot in music charts. His latest album, Purpose, gained worldwide popularity after its release. In fact, stars like Ariana Grande and Ed Sheeran also promoted Bieber's comeback album via social media.
Braun said of the regained fame of Bieber, "I know people have seen the marketing and the A&R and everything we put together, and they're like, 'Wow, great job!' But I want to be really clear: I was trying to do that job for a year and a half, and I failed every single day." He added, "It wasn't until something happened that it clicked for him. He made the conscious decision as a young man: 'I need to make a change in my own life.'"
As for the romance department, Bieber is said to be fighting for Gomez's love. His alleged rival is One Direction star Niall Horan, who has been repeatedly photographed with the Disney star.
