Justin Bieber

As the sun rose over the tropical paradise of Panama on Jan. 25, 2014 Justin Bieber sat in
the sharp morning light pondering his life.
The young superstar was one of the best-known people on the planet. A veritable pop hit
machine worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
He would not even be 20 for another two months.
Yet his shocking arrest just days before in Miami Beach for drag racing, driving under the
influence and resisting arrest seemed to signal a turning point.
For most of the previous two years, Justin had glided from one scrape to the next but his
Teflon-coated reputation always emerged intact. A wink or aw shucks smile could will
the critics away.
But Justin’s bad behavior was escalating. His mother, Pattie Mallette, manager Scooter
Braun, mentor Usher and scores of others were beginning to fear the young pop star was
heading down a very dangerous road.
In music history, that drug- and alcohol-littered laneway was tragically well known.
It included names like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison and
countless others. That unfortunate group was also known coldly as the 27 Club – the age
the stars died at.
Those closest to Bieber were ready and willing to do anything to prevent him from
becoming a rock and roll casualty.