Bieber almost pulled single

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Justin Bieber 

Justin Bieber doubted whether he should release latest single Lonely because he's "never been this raw" on a song before.

The emotional new track was recorded with Benny Blanco and Billie Eilish's brother and collaborator Finneas, with its lyrics addressing the star's journey to stardom and his mental health issues early in his career.

According to Benny, the track was recorded earlier this year, before the pandemic, but Justin almost didn't go through with releasing the single because he couldn't get through recording the emotional tune.

"I've been in the studio with Justin when we're singing the song down and he can't get through it," he tells Zane Lowe on Apple Music. "He was real nervous. He was like, 'S**t. Should I be putting this out into the world?'"

"He's raw on this song. This song brought us so much closer together. And it was just he's really opening up on this and he's super vulnerable. And he was like, 'Look, I don't know what people are going to think about this'."

As Justin battled his doubts, Benny assured his pal it's OK to show a different side to his personality and be open about his experience.

"There's this weird stigma and this thing where men are supposed to be like (a superhero). And it's like, 'No, I want to be vulnerable. I want to cry. I want to have a good cry'," he continued.

The single, which was released on Friday, became even more significant in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, and Benny added it "took on a whole new meaning."

"Everyone's lived in this different life and it doesn't matter," he said. "We've seen all different types of people. We've seen athletes, actors, actors that had Covid. Covid isn't scared of anyone. It's coming after anyone. And it's like we're all in this pandemic and everybody's in it together.