He’s officially made a comeback. Justin Bieber dropped his new music video for “What Do You Mean?” right after his performance at the VMA’s last year. The skateboard-themed video dropped first, then after the teaser and star-studded social media campaign, Bieber performed it live for the first time at the VMAs and broke down in tears in the process.
Let me just say that Justin is killing us with his new hairstyle in this video. It seems like his hair will always be his trademark. Despite troubling moments and a publicized break-up in the media spotlight, Justin is confident and brave enough to release his new music.
Directed by Brad Furman, in the video Justin is first seen handing a wad of cash to a shady man, played by John Leguizamo. Then, Justin is half-naked and having extended sultry make out sessions and intimate moments with former Playboy model Xenia Deli in a seedy, neon-coated motel room. Suddenly, a group of masked men kidnap the two of them, tie them up take them to a warehouse. Fortunately, Bieber is able to burn through the ropes restraining them with a lighter. He and his girl then decide to make a leap from the top of a high building into the blackness below. They each land on a massive air bag and proceed to an underground skateboard party. Later, it is revealed that Justin assembled the kidnapping to give his lady a thrill ride. The entire video plays out like a short film.
The story of the song is about a failing relationship where the girl can’t seem to understand what’s going on and can’t decide what she wants. Should they stay or should they leave? Should they use their hearts or their minds? Should they breakup or make up? But for me, the video displays a different twist, where no matter what happens, the most important thing is at the end they’re still there for each other.