Justin Bieber Releases New Single "Friends" After Tour Cancellation

After taking a surprise break from touring, Justin Bieber is back with new music

By Corinne Heller Aug 17, 2017 4:44 PMTags

After taking a surprise break from touring, Justin Bieber is back with new music.

On Thursday, the 23-year-old pop star released the new dance single "Friends" with producer BloodPop, who co-wrote several songs on Bieber's 2015 album Purpose.

The song is about a breakup and contains lyrics such as "Girl, you wonderin' why I've been callin'? / Like I've got ulterior motives / No, we didn't end this so good / But you know we had something so good," and "So I'm wondering, can we still be friends? / Can we still be friends? / Doesn't have to end / And if it ends, can we be friends?"

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The single is the first solo single for Bieber since the his Purpose album track "Company" was released on its own in 2016. He was also a featured artist on DJ Khaled's single "I'm the One," DJ David Guetta's track "2U," and on a remix of Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi's song "Despacito," both of which were released earlier this year.

"Friends" was also released three weeks after Bieber angered many fans by cancelling the remainder of his Purpose world tour, citing, "unforeseen circumstances." A source later told E! News the singer was "burnt out" from his constant touring. Bieber told a paparazzo he was looking forward to "resting" and "getting some relaxation."

Earlier this month, Bieber wrote in a lengthy personal message to his fans that "Me taking this time right now is me saying I want to be SUSTAINABLE."

"I want my career to be sustainable, but I also want my mind heart and soul to be sustainable so that I can be the man I want to be, the husband I eventually want to be and the father I want to be," he said.