John Mayer Defends Justin Bieber's Decision To Cancel Tour In Light Of Recent Tragedies
MORGAN BAILA
JULY 26, 2017, 12:00 AM
PHOTO: KEVIN MAZUR/WIREIMAGE.
Early this week, Justin Bieber cancelled the remaining dates of his Purpose World Tour. The news shocked fans, and led to speculation that the singer was either too unhealthy, or too uninterested to see his tour through to the end. But in reality, the 23-year-old singer is taking time off because, quite simply, he needs to take time off. He has been on tour for nearly two years, playing 154 shows in stadiums across the world, in addition to hosting meet-and-greets with fans (although he cancelled them a few times along the way, and then permanently in March 2017). Meanwhile, he's also trying to live a normal (ish) life by going to church, and seeing his family and friends when he gets the chance.
His manager, Scooter Braun, apologized and defended the pop star's choice to slow down and not finish the tour on his Instagram writing: "To Justin who gave it his all night after night thank you. And to those that won’t be able to see it…on behalf of myself, Justin, and the team, we are sorry. That was never our intent. But a man’s soul and well being I truly care about came first.") And now, singer John Mayer is here to back up the "Sorry" singer, too. On Twitter, Mayer pointed out that Bieber's decision to stop touring could be in response to a larger, darker moment happening in the music world.
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Mayer himself took a break from touring in 2012 to address a serious medical issue with his throat, so he knows first hand how draining touring can be on the body, mind, and spirit. “When someone pulls remaining dates of a tour, it means they would have done real damage to themselves if they kept going,” Mayer wrote. In another he added: “We’ve lost so many great artists lately. I give Justin [two thumbs up] for realizing it was time to call it. You should too.”
In the past few months, two singers and friends, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, along with one former Disney star, Michael Mantenuto, have died by suicide. And if you remember, in 2016 Selena Gomez, Meghan Trainor, and Charlie Puth all canceled their tours to focus on health as well. Bieber is part of a group of artists who are deciding to take care of themselves the moment they start experiencing depression or any signs of being extremely overworked.