Justin Bieber’s emotional song grows 1,400% in sales following Diddy’s sex trafficking arrest
Justin Bieber’s song Lonely saw a major increase in sales after the arrest of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs for sex trafficking.
Amid reports that the pop star, 30, is deeply ‘disturbed’ by the harrowing allegations against his former mentor, 54, his 2021 song Lonely, which details the dark side of childhood stardom, has a ‘1,400% experienced an increase in pure purchases” in the span of just a few days,” according to Forbes.
Per Luminate, the second single from Bieber’s sixth studio album, Justice, “sold nearly 1,500 copies last week.”
This is a steep jump from a week earlier, when the single sold fewer than 100 copies.
The increase in purchases comes after fans began claiming that Lonely’s lyrics may have hinted at what might have happened between him and Diddy when he was underage.
Justin Bieber’s song Lonely has seen a major sales increase following the arrest of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs for sex trafficking; seen in 2021
In the song Lonely, Justin sings “And everyone saw me sick/And it felt like no one cared/They criticized the things I did like an idiot child.”
Add: What if you had it all/ And it felt like no one could call you? Maybe then you would know me/Cause I’ve had everything/But no one listens/And that’s just lonely. I’m so lonely. Only.’
Days after Diddy, 54, was arrested in New York during a sex trafficking investigation, fans began questioning the troubled rapper’s relationship with Justin when he was still a minor, labeling images of them together as ‘creepy’ .
‘No one protected him. Not even his family. I absolutely love this song,” one fan wrote, “but the words have always stood out to me. I hope he can heal with time.”
Diddy is 24 years older than Justin and videos of Justin – then 15 years old – have surfaced online in which Diddy documents his ’48 hours’ stay with the singer.
In the resurfaced clip, Diddy stands next to teenager Justin and tells the camera, “He has 48 hours with Diddy, where we hang out and what we do we can’t really reveal.”
Diddy continued, “But it’s definitely a 15-year-old’s dream. I was given custody of him. He signed with Usher and I had legal custody of him [Bieber] but for the next 48 hours he’s with me and we’re going crazy.’
In the clip, Justin is seen smiling and looking up at Diddy as he speaks, adding comments like “yeah” and “totally crazy.”
Amid reports that the pop star, 30, is deeply ‘disturbed’ by the harrowing allegations against his former mentor, 54, his 2021 song Lonely, which details the dark side of childhood stardom, has a ‘1,400% experiencing an increase in pure purchases ‘in just a few days’ according to Forbes (pictured in 2010)
Fans called the clip “disturbing” and “creepy,” adding that “these videos need to resurface to expose P Diddy’s disturbing behavior around 15-year-old Justin Bieber.”
Khloe Kardashian recalled crossing paths with Justin Bieber at one of Diddy’s star-studded bashes, where she revealed that “half the guests were naked.”
The reality star, 40, made the comments on a 2014 episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, which resurfaced in the wake of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ arrest on sex trafficking charges.
In 2020 the song Lonely was released, co-written by Justin, Blanco Blanco and Finneas.
Justin was discovered at the age of 13, which brought him worldwide fame.
In 2019, Justin reflected on the dark parts of his life, growing up in the spotlight.
He was arrested in January 2014 on suspicion of drink driving and arrested again in September 2014, charged with assault and dangerous driving.
Per Luminate, the second single from Bieber’s sixth studio album, Justice, ‘sold nearly 1,500 copies last week’
Justin said he was “using drugs heavily” and “abusing all my relationships” at age 19, which he shared on his Instagram in 2019.
‘I became resentful, disrespectful to women and angry. “I became distant from everyone who loved me and hid behind the shell of a person I had become,” he wrote.
Justin turned his life around, marrying Hailey Bieber in 2018 and welcoming their first child together in August 2024: a son named Jack Blues Bieber.
A clip of teenager Justin and Diddy resurfaced in March, shortly after Homeland Security raided Diddy’s properties in Los Angeles and Miami.
Justin was 16 at the time and Diddy asked him why he didn’t talk to him as often.
‘What’s up man, are you okay? Selling out arenas and stuff?’ Diddy asked the teen.
“You’re starting to act different, aren’t you?” You haven’t called me or hung out like you used to.”
Justin seemed concerned in the clip, telling him, “I mean, you’ve been trying to contact me all my… and what not… but you never got my number. I’m going to tell you my number.’
A source recently told DailyMail.com that Justin was “thrown” by the allegations against Diddy and “isn’t willing to process or discuss it, so he has kept his mouth shut.”
The increase in purchases comes after fans began claiming that Lonely’s lyrics may have hinted at what might have happened between him and Diddy when he was underage.
In September, Diddy was arrested and was soon denied bail by a judge after using both his and his mother’s homes in Miami – worth $50 million – as collateral.
The rapper lost an appeal to overturn the decision and will remain in custody pending trial.
Sean “Diddy” Combs is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn following his indictment for sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
The indictment against Diddy unsealed this week alleged that federal raids on his mansions in Miami and Los Angeles led to the discovery of more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lube.
It is alleged that the rapper would coerce and manipulate victims into participating in days-long sexual performances, which he called “freak offs.”
Diddy’s associates allegedly gave the victims drugs to keep them compliant and made threats against anyone who refused to cooperate, in claims similar to those in a civil lawsuit filed by Diddy’s ex-girlfriend Cassie last year.
These allegations were critical for prosecutors who filed sex trafficking charges against the producer, with observers noting authorities are increasingly expanding the law to suit their cases against powerful defendants.
An increase in federal sex trafficking charges was passed by Congress in 2000 as an intentional step to eliminate prostitution rings and pimps, but the evolving nature of the charge has recently seen it used to ensnare the likes of Keith Raniere .
In the song Lonely, Justin sings ‘And everyone saw me sick/And it felt like no one cared/They criticized the things I did like an idiot child’
Notably, Diddy has hired the same attorney, Marc Agnifilo, who previously challenged the government’s increasing use of federal sex trafficking charges in Raniere’s 2019 trial, which led to a 120-year prison sentence.
Raniere was the leader of the NXIVM cult, a self-help pyramid scheme that served as a front for his various crimes, including sexual assault, sex trafficking, child pornography and forced labor.