“Hold On” by Justin Bieber

The Biebs may be the prototypical example of a pop musician. But in more recent years he has really done well in terms of dropping songs with more meaning or inspirational messages.  And such is the case with “Hold On”.

The addressee of the lyrics is someone who has ‘lost their way’ and is suffering from the type of depression such a mindstate affords. And the singer knows, firsthand even, how such a disposition can have a devastating effect on the person suffering from it. He also understands that such people may need a shoulder to lean on at any given hour of the day. 

Moreover the addressee, i.e. the person who is currently feeling so, is someone whom the vocalist clearly cares about. So he is telling this person to “hold on” as opposed to being overcome by negative thoughts.

In other words, this individual should not think that what they are going through at the moment is something permanent.  Rather the overall implication in said statement is that they should maintain faith that things will get better.

But more importantly to the thesis sentiment at hand is the vocalist being willing to put his money where his mouth is, so to speak. That is to say that he is not just paying lip service. Rather he lets the addressee know that he is on call, even during the mid-night, to lend a helping hand. 

So not only does he feel that this person will overcome their current negative disposition, but he is also willing to help lead them out of such a state.

And coming from a more-personal standpoint, again the singer knows that he isn’t necessarily the one to serve as a mentor, so to speak. That is to say that, once again, he has had his own harrowing experiences in terms of feeling lost. But it is eventually overcoming such which qualifies him for the task at hand. However, even more so than that would obviously be his genuine concern for the person involved.

Conclusion

So conclusively, we can say that whereas the singer appears to be lending a hand in general, more specifically he idealizes playing an advisory role in this addressee’s life. The issue said individual is suffering from is a feeling of lack of direction in his or her life and the depression associated with such thought patterns. 

And again, the vocalist is going to help how best he can. But beforehand, his first instruction to the addressee is that he or she needs to “hold on” and try not to be overcome by hopelessness.

Music Video

The music video to this track co-stars an actress by the name of Christine Ko, who thanked the Biebs and co. for the opportunity to participate. 

Said clip is based on a storyline where the singer decides to rob a bank to pay for the medical treatment of his beloved. And it culminates (spoiler alert) with Bieber getting shot.

On the video Justin Bieber sports a jacket with a patch with an inscription that reads “Treat People With Kindness”.  This is actually a phrase that has been coined (and marketed) by British singer Harry Styles.

Release Date of “Hold On”

Being released on 5 March 2021, “Hold On” is the fourth single from Justice Bieber’s album “Justice”. And said project is a product of Def Jam Records. It’s singles are as follows:

• “Holy”
• “Lonely“
• “Anyone”
• “Hold On”

Did Justin Bieber write “Hold On”?

Yes, he did. “Hold On” was subsequently produced by Watt and Louis Bell.  And they also co-wrote the song along with Bieber and the following:

• Walter de Backer
• Ali Tamposi
• Jon Bellion
• Luiz Bonfá

More about Christina Ko

Christina Ko actually comes from a show-business family with her dad, the late Frankie Kao, being a well-known Taiwanese entertainer. She was born in Chicago and holds US citizenship but has spent significant time in Taiwan and is a citizen of that country also. Ko has been professionally active as an actress since 2012. 

As of the release of “Hold On”, her most-notable role has been as Emma on the CBS sitcom “The Great Indoors”, which ran from 2016 to 2017. And concurrently with the release of the track she portrays another character name Emma on a TV show called Dave and has been doing so since 2020.

More about “Treat People With Kindness”

“Treat People With Kindness” – or TPWK for short – is a phrase associated with Harry Styles. In fact he actually came out with a song entitled such on his 2019 album “Fine Line”. But even beyond that he has used the phrase as a slogan printed on merchandise which he himself sometimes wears. 

Additionally the phrase was used to promote the aforementioned album. Another purpose of the slogan has been to support a cause called GLSEN, which is a K-12 based LGBT rights’ organization. And it is such a badge which Justin Bieber is wearing on his video, which has been interpreted as an indirect shoutout to Harry Styles.