Meaning of Maria by Justin Bieber
Maria was released on 15 June 2012 as part of the Deluxe Edition of the Biebs third-studio album, Believe. Justin wrote this song with his celebrity manager Scooter Braun, August Rigo and Rodney Jerkins, aka Darkchild, who is also the producer of the track.
The Backstory
At the time this song was dropped Justin Bieber, who got started early in the game, had recently turned 18. Via the release of his first few albums, studio and otherwise, by this time he had already established himself as a multi-platinum artist. As such, the Biebs had to deal with the kind of drama that is part and parcel of enjoying such a status, i.e. being the type of person that others may be compelled to come after more so than the average man.
One such individual, according to Justin himself, was Mariah Yeater. According to Yeater, who’s a couple of years older than Bieber, he impregnated during a chance and very-brief sexual encounter circa early 2011, when she was 19, and he was 17. And her claims were obviously credible or at least interesting enough that they made tabloid headlines, and she proceeded to file a lawsuit.
Mariah’s case seemingly came apart (according to some sources) shortly thereafter when another man, i.e. her actual boyfriend, asserted that he was actually the boy’s father. But the whole experience shook Justin nonetheless, as he was but a lad who was not yet accustomed to being the victim of celebrity-targeted scandals.
His mentor, Usher, who has been active in the game since before Bieber was born, schooled him on the fact that if he wanted to remain a music star, then he would have to be prepared to deal with these types of situations throughout his career. And yes, Justin did consider quitting yet ultimately decided to stick it out. But the whole Yeater experience traumatized him, self-admittedly being the “first time” he had to contend with a MeToo moment, so to speak.
So the Biebs has never actually confirmed, though did imply, that Maria is about Mariah. And Scooter Braun did point out that in composing this track, he, Justin and Darkchild used Billie Jean (1982), the Michael Jackson classic, as inspiration. That’s the song whereas the King of Pop vehemently denies paternity of the addressee’s child. And to note, MJ’s piece is also widely believed to be based on one of his real-life experiences.
The Lyrics to Maria
Accordingly, we see that the lyrics of this song start off with a mock interview whereas Justin denies impregnating or even knowing Yeater (presuming that she is the subject throughout, even though her name is never mentioned). However, the first verse paints a slightly-different picture, of “Maria” being someone whom the vocalist has at least interacted with. More specifically, what’s being implied is that she’s a persistent groupie or, put even more directly, a stalker who, as expressed in the pre-chorus, ‘wants all’ of the Biebs “attention” and “affection” and is not privy to taking no for an answer.
Then, it’s in the chorus where Maria really reads like Billie Jean, whereas Justin expresses a lack of understanding concerning why this lady ‘wanna do him like that’. This is besides the singer doubling down on the fact that her baby (though identified as a girl, whereas in reality, Yeater gave birth to a son) “ain’t” his own.
Bieber then goes on to lament that “Maria” has more or less achieved her goals, as now, being “crazy in love”, she has become famous off of such accusations, i.e. Justin fathering her child. Or put more bluntly, Maria’s claim to fame is the result of her saying bad things about the Biebs which aren’t even true. So it’s as if she’s prosperous off of his unjust suffering.
And that’s basically the gist of this song, with the singer also going on to reiterate that he doesn’t personally know “Maria” and that he did not inseminate her. So as far as these lyrics go, Bieber does come off as an innocent victim, one who, without committing any crime so to speak, fell prey to the cunning and obsessed “Maria”. And as far as the real-life case is concerned, it’s not clear how the matter between Justin and Mariah Yeater was ultimately resolved, as the dispute was expeditiously moved out of the court. But all lyrics considered, it doesn’t appear that the potential monetary aspect of what went down is what bothered Bieber. Rather it was the fact that this lady who, as presented, he has nothing to do with still succeeded in tarnishing his name.
