For someone who earned a reputation for being hours late taking the stage at his concerts in Dubai and elsewhere, the pop star Justin Bieber has decided to be early when it comes to calling time on his career. At the advanced age of 19, Bieber announced his retirement in a December 24 tweet that, depending on one's assessment of the Canadian teenager's talents, was either devastating or the best kind of early Christmas present.
Nobody yet knows whether this Twitter announcement will prove to be true – Bieber himself was vacillating about the issue in later tweets. His recent conduct has prompted questions about his emotional maturity and stability, while some suspect that the financial temptations of touring will mean he will end up out on the road for longer than even the Rolling Stones – but it raises an interesting juxtaposition.
It is fair to say that Bieber's fan base is primarily comprised of young girls not yet in the workforce. By the time most of them reach their sixties, retirement will not exist in the way it did for their grandparents' generation. As they work into their dotage, they will be able to remember how devastated they had been way back in 2013 when Bieber announced his retirement. Then they will probably buy tickets for his revival tour.