‘Justin Bieber: Never Say Never’ Changed The Music Documentary 10 Years Ago Today

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never premiered ten years ago today, and the world of music documentaries has never been the same since. The film, which follows the musician at the height of Bieber Fever — a much more favorable global pandemic, was better than anticipated and than it ever had to be, likely due to director Jon M. Chu. But it also laid down a new blueprint many of the major pop music documentaries have followed throughout the last decade.

Never Say Never intersperses live concert clips between an intimate and behind-the-scenes look at Bieber’s life. It starts with a quick primer of how he rose to fame via uploading videos of himself singing covers of popular songs on YouTube, getting discovered by manager Scooter Braun, and becoming an overnight sensation. The film simultaneously tries to make sense of it while also convincing viewers he’s a totally normal teen. This is documented by contrasting clips: first of screaming fans and then of a screaming Bieber as he runs around playing sports with his fellow teen pals. He takes us back to Stratford, Ontario where his family still lives. We see the hustle, that he’s been performing his butt off to explain how he was then facing down sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden. Of course, this is still a movie and there needs to be drama for a third act, and so our hearts break along with Bieber’s as he falls ill and must cancel tour dates. The documentary introduces us to those in his inner circle: personal, professional, and those that entirely blur the lines.

Since then, nearly all marquee music documentaries have followed the exact same recipe: brief recap on the rise to fame, behind-the-scenes look at the artist being both career-focused and goofy as hell, meeting the inner circle, traveling back home to see the “real” them, breakdown of health (physical and or mental), build up to a big concert moment, all ending on a positive note and uplifting live clip. Katy Perry’s Part of Me (2012), One Direction’s This Is Us (2013), Shawn Mendes’ In Wonder (2020) are all similar. Hell, even Bieber tried it all over with 2013’s Believe.

Another key element to these docs is that the artist and the management serve as producers on the project, which means gone are the days of really digging down and exposing any juicy scandals in their careers, though that doesn’t mean there aren’t vulnerable, genuine tears and other awkwardly honest moments. In the case of Never Say Never, the film took place before Bieber got caught demonstrating any less than squeaky clean behavior, and much of his recent YouTube series have addressed his past discretions; but don’t be fooled, he’s still in control.

And I, for one, am not really mad about it. I’ll sit down and watch a documentary about a ’70s band that hated each other and partied their faces off any day. But I’m also ok with one that wants to feed me the narrative that Braun made dreams come true every night by upgrading fans’ tickets within the arena. I will say NEVER when it comes to never not having chills when Bieber brings that adorable little blond fan on stage and sings to her, complete with a bouquet of red roses. I eat that shit up, the way Bieber wishes he could eat chicken nuggets even when his throat is swollen. This documentary was made specifically for the fans and to celebrate the fans and perfectly captures what that experience feels like. Few artists before Bieber had blown up the way he had due to his popularity on the internet, and this movie felt like the biggest star in the world saying, thank you and I see you: and isn’t that all we want as Beliebers?

We never really know what is going on with an artist at any point in their career: what trouble they’re getting into, what their label is controlling, how fulfilled they actually are. So if they want to get together with their management and a trusted director to point some cameras at the good parts of their day during a uniquely successful juncture in their career, I’m here for it. Never Say Never documented a moment that was so specific: to that time in 2010, to that time in Bieber’s career, to that time in pop culture; and figured out a way to capture that infectious energy and have it translate flawlessly through the screen. It was fun to watch in theaters and it was fun to watch now, on my computer, at my desk at home — and yet I still felt like I was in MSG, screaming and jumping and singing along with “Eenie Meenie” and “Baby.” And for the record, I very much was singing and dancing along from home when I rewatched this movie. Every time I rewatch this movie. Like Bieber himself, Never Say Never is fun and exciting and is guaranteed to make you feel so happy — and isn’t that the point of music after all?

Stream Justin Bieber: Never Say Never on Prime Video