Justin Bieber has been hinting about his anticipated musical comeback for a few months, most recently in a note to fans on Instagram.
Now, the 20-year-old singer has confirmed that he will be dropping a new album in 2015 .
It all happened on Twitter. Of course. Justin replied to a tweet from MTV, which asked him, Rihanna, and Miley Cyrus to release new music next year.
MTV tweeted: “Hi, Rihanna and Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus. Please bless us with new albums in 2015.”
The Biebs replied: “No problem.”
@MTV no problem
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) December 29, 2014
The Canadian’s Twitter exchange may have been short and sweet, but it comes after the heartthrob shared an Instagram message to earlier this week, explaining, “My break is for a reason. U will soon see ) thank u for your patience.”
And over at Billboard , the Biebs placed #3 on the music publication’s “30 Most Anticipated Albums of 2015” just behind Joey Bada$$ with B4.Da.$$ and Adele’s reported return.
More positivity came from the singer’s longtime manager, Scooter Braun , who tagged his first breakthrough artist into an inspirational Instagram post on Monday, (December 29).
Adding to the comeback talk, Business Insider recently included Bieber as one of “The 7 Biggest Comeback Brands of 2015.”
Jeetendr Sehdev, a celebrity branding expert and professor at the University of Southern California, notes the scandals, but argues the singer’s relatively lower profile this year and passionate fan base will fuel his comeback.
“There is only one Bieber , and his brand not only remains differentiated from a plethora of other pop stars but also is now more humanized than ever before,” Sehdev says. “Justin’s authentic persona is rewarded with Beliebers that are nearly three times as loyal as other fan followings.”
On Monday night, the singer’s fans got an unofficial surprise of three snippets of unheard music. No one seems to know the origin of the leaks, but such is the nature of leaks.
Further teasing of Justin’s new album came from Grammy-nominated producer SoundZ, a.k.a. Kenneth Coby — who worked on his 2012 Believe and 2013 Journals albums.
Last night, SoundZ tweeted the following.
this new jb album, now thats something I’m gonna be able to brag about! still working, its just getting warm. we got too much material
— SoundZ (@Soundzdope) December 30, 2014
Meanwhile, the singer has been getting the last bits of downtime in before the grind kicks in.
The singer was spotted skateboarding , and falling, in NYC on Sunday while trying to skate down the steps of Madison Square Garden, much to the delight of a mixed crowd of fans, onlookers, and the Biebs’ longtime pals Alfredo Flores and Hailey Baldwin.
The leather pants-clad, gray tunic wearing star proved perseverance is a quality he has in spades, even if he’s lacking in expert sk8rboi skills.
Bieber will undoubtedly find that helpful as he returns to the musical spotlight in 2015 with a new album.