Did Justin Bieber apologize to Selena Gomez through his song?
Justin Bieber's "Sorry" was one of the biggest songs of 2015, and a verified banger.
It's also one of multiple songs on Purpose rumored to be about his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez. Of course, when some of our favorite recording artists release tracks that seem so inextricably linked to events in their own lives — even if they aren't the ones who wrote them — we can't help but wonder what the other parties referenced think about the whole situation.
The song was actually written by Justin Tranter, who is also the mind behind hits by Selena and other artists like Nick Jonas. In a recent interview with CBS, he opened up about how he handles writing and releasing songs about what's happening in a pop star's life. To make a long story short: he called Selena to warn her when he found out the song would be released.
"I never met Justin Bieber. Just knew that the session was for him specifically," he began. "Sometimes you can use what is happening in pop culture to affect a song. So obviously what we are talking about in 'Sorry,' everyone has experienced that moment like 'OK, wait I actually need to apologize.' So that is a very universal feeling but also being aware of how pop culture was viewing him as in that moment, I knew an apology would be good." It's notable, then, that Justin doesn't reference Selena at all in his inspiration for the track, but instead took Justin's then-shaky public image and gave the apology theme a romantic spin, resulting in a really catchy, really relatable track.
He went on to explain that he knows Selena very well, and that they are "close friends and collaborators." (He's worked on a number of her own hits, like "Hands to Myself," and "Good for You.") When asked whether or not it was awkward writing for both her and Justin, he said: "When we knew ‘Sorry’ was happening and when it was official and Justin cut it, we called her and said, ‘Just so you know, this song’s coming out,’ because these are real people’s lives. This is real life, and you have to be real with your friends.” He likely knew exactly where the public's mind would go when they heard the song, so she could brace herself accordingly.
