Justin Bieber, Ramsay Hunt syndrome and the new rules of communication- breaking latest news

If Justin Bieber’s 240 million followers were a nation, they would be the fifth most populous in the world after China, India, the United States and Indonesia. So when Bieber, who is the head of state of this giant transnational entity, fell ill, has chosen total transparency: a story on Instagram. I have this virus attacking my ear nerve and my facial nerves, and it caused paralysis of my face – says Bieber, 28, in the impressive video, with half face blocked, one eye that closes and opens out of control -. As you can see, on the side of this eye I can’t move the eyelid. I can’t smile on this side of my face. This nostril remains stationary. I have to cancel my tour dates: obviously, I’m not physically capable. This is Ramsay Hunt syndromeexplained the singer (it is caused by the Herpes Zoster virus responsible for chickenpox which remains dormant for years and can, later in time, reactivate and trigger these symptoms).

The new rules of communication

To whom it seems strange that a musical artist beloved by his public (150 million records sold) chooses a 100% unfiltered way of announcing a serious illness, we must remember that the rules of communication – for everyone: companies, singers, sportsmen, politicians – have changed radically in the last decade with the advent of social media, and that especially a character who came out of YouTube like him could not, cannot, manage communication as his colleagues did in the last century. Bieber bypasses very expensive PR agencies, avoids image consultants, picks up the phone and tells about himself – in this case his illness – as the absolute protagonist of his career reality show, bypassing traditional media. used to doing it alone: ​​Canadian, of humble origins, as a child he sang in the street in Stratford, Ontario, twenty thousand inhabitants, and played the guitar (There is a famous photo of the little busker in the yellow shirt and a blue baseball cap that is too big). He always sang and danced: in his bedroom, in the dining room. Pattie Mallette, single mom – she had Eighteen-year-old Justin, after a teenage years of abuse and addiction problems – she filmed everything and uploaded to YouTube. A few months later Scooter Braun, manager of talents such as Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato, took him with him to America, had him record One Time, his first success, and from there began one of the fastest careers in the history of pop music.

The addiction problems overcome with the help of the wife

Once upon a time critics wondered if success would hold up the passage through puberty and the change / lowering of the voice, not understanding that octaves and vocal range are an old parameter. Bieber would also get around that obstacle, continuing his career with a different voice from the one that made him famous, and always recounting himself live, the addiction problems overcome with the help of faith and his wife Hailey (model and granddaughter of Alec Baldwin), as he explained last year with the usual frankness a GQ American: I had the feeling of wanting more and more, without brakes, because despite having achieved all this success, I still felt sad and was still sick. And I still have these unsolved problems. I thought that success would change everything for the better and for me the drug was a tranquilizer, a way to keep doing it … how much is all the success in the world worth if in the end you always feel empty inside ?. There is a Bible verse that often quotes: Truth Set You Free, John, 8:32.