Justin Bieber’s appearance at the Wednesday taping for Thursday’s edition of The Ellen DeGeneres Show to surprise the just turned 57-year-old host for her birthday, saw a very different Biebs to old.
Less confident and eager to please, Justin’s turn on the taping prompted the superstar to tweet shortly afterwards that he was “nervous,” before later posting a video apologizing for what he called his “arrogant” and “conceited behavior” over his turbulent 2013-14.
The 20-year-old singer, who has mercifully switched his bleach blond hair for a darker hue, walked out on set bearing flowers and Calvin Klein underwear for Ellen. Despite his tweet about nerves, he came across as sincere and a little shy – although he was helped by the comic-host who kept the interview pace at a sprint.
Footage of the heartthrob’s sit-down on arrived online at the Ellen show website, after the singer’s confessional video , and it definitely informs how you watch the program clip.
Near to the start of the interview, DeGeneres reminded Justin that his first major television appearance was on her show when he was 15. Meanwhile, the singer stated a number of times during the interview how “nervous” he was as he hadn’t “been on TV for a while.”
The Biebs explained that his nerves surface “in front of crowds when I’m not singing” as he “naturally a performer.” But it’s just as probable that the singer’s confidence has taken a hit after nearly two years of unparalleled cyber hate, mocking and tabloid media focus .
After banter about onstage extroverts being offstage introverts, Ellen revealed she turned down to chance to roast Justin after she was invited by his manager Scooter Braun to join a line-up at the singer’s upcoming Comedy Central date, as she doesn’t like being “mean.”
Asked why he wanted to do the roast, which will also mark his 21st birthday, Justin replied, “I think it’s just cool to be able to laugh at yourself.”
“I’ve done some things that might not have been the greatest,” he continued, prompting a wide-eyed quip from DeGeneres and studio laughter. Bieber added, “I just wanna be able to laugh about it and own up to some of the things.”
For her part, Ellen gave the singer props for the reported positive changes he has made in his life, telling him.
“I know you’ve been taking care of yourself and you’re doing really, really good — and I’m proud of you. I know you’ve straightened up a lot, and you look like it.”
As mentioned, Justin got up close and seemingly real after the taping, when he spoke to his fans in a heartfelt clip which was shot in shadow.
This is the full transcript of Justin’s mea culpa video diary, which he shared on Fahlo and Facebook, with the caption, “Here we go.”
“So, I just wanted to make a video because I wanted to express how I feel right now. Uh… so today… I was on Ellen and it was a lot of fun. She’s amazing. It was her birthday. Happy Birthday, Ellen!”
“But I was really nervous, and I think I was nervous because I’m just… I was afraid of what people are thinking about me right now.”
“It’s been a minute since I’ve done a public appearance and I didn’t want to come off arrogant or conceited or basically how I’ve been acting the past year, year and a half. And I was, I’m not who I was pretending to be.”
“Why I say pretending is often, we pretend to be something we’re not as a cover up of what we’re truly feeling inside.”
“And there were a lot of feelings going on in there. Um, just being young and growing up in this business is hard. Growing up in general is hard, but um, yeah, I just felt awkward up there.”
“I felt people were judging me and I really want people to know how much I care, how much I care about people, and how I’m not that person to say ‘I don’t give a f***,’ you know? I’m not that kid.”
“I’m a person who genuinely cares and although what’s happened in the past has happened, I just want to make the best impression on people and be kind and loving and gentle and soft and although people can call me a ‘softy,’ that’s how my mom raised me.”
Fans of the singer quickly trended #WeDontJudgeYouJustin and #DearJustin on Twitter and posted messages and support.
As the Inquisitr reported, the singer’s apology and Ellen appearance comes amid an anti-Bieber climate.
But, perhaps after watching Justin’s emotional confessional, some may think back to their own youths and imagine how hard it must be to be flamed constantly for teen-antics, that only received warping attention because of his fame?
[Images via Ellen Degeneres Show]