Justin Bieber‘s manager has compared the pop star to Bob Dylan, saying he believes both artists have undergone similar transformations in their careers.
Scooter Braun, who also manages Ariana Grande and Martin Garrix, speaks about his most famous client in a new Billboard interview. Asked about Bieber’s current success alongside Skrillex and Diplo on their Jack U project, Braun explains how the ‘Where Are U Now’ single came to happen.
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“Justin laid down that vocal in the studio on a piano, and I didn’t know what to do with it,” he said. “I saw Diplo in a club and he told me he and Skrillex were working on this Jack U album. Those guys ran with it, and now they have this huge record all around the world.”
It is Bieber’s move away from the teen pop with which he made his name and more toward R&B and EDM that Braun sees as comparable to Dylan going electric in 1965. “It’s like Bob Dylan,” Braun states. “He pissed people off, but whenever he switched, he reinvented himself in a way that made him who he is today.”
However, Bieber’s attempts to move on to an entirely new chapter of his life continue to be held back by incidents from his past. Earlier this year he pleaded guilty to assault and careless driving charges related to an incident that occurred near his home last August.
A warrant for Bieber’s arrest in Argentina was also recently issued. A judge issued the warrant after stating that the singer failed to respond to a summons which related to an accusation of assault dating back to 2013.