I cried for Justin Bieber today.

I cried for Justin Bieber today.

I didn't expect to. I don't know him, and I've never met him, but somehow his story has been part of my life for so many years. I grew up listening to his songs. I watched him go from this young kid with a dream to one of the biggest pop stars in the world. We saw so much of his life unfold online that, in a strange way, he became familiar.

Like a friend you've never actually met.

Maybe that's why reading about the things he went through hit me harder than I expected. I can't claim to know everything that happened behind the scenes, and I wasn't there for any of it. But seeing what has been shared publicly about the abuse and the difficult experiences he endured is heartbreaking.

What gets to me most is remembering how young he was when all of this began. While so many of us were simply growing up, he was growing up in front of the entire world, surrounded by fame, money, expectations, and people who had access to him at an age when he should have been protected.

It makes you look back at the boy behind all those songs differently.

I've always thought of his music as part of my younger years. There were songs I played over and over, moments I associate with certain albums, and memories that somehow have his voice in the background. So even though I've only ever known him through music and the stories shared with the public, I think a little part of me has always been rooting for him.

And now, more than anything, I'm glad he has a strong woman in his life who seems willing to stand beside him and protect the family they've built together. Someone who can give him the space to be vulnerable, to step away from the noise, and hopefully to heal from things he has carried for years.

After spending so much of his life being watched, judged, and expected to perform, I hope he has found a place where he doesn't have to be Justin Bieber all the time. Where he can simply be Justin. A husband. A father. A person who can have bad days, rest, laugh, feel safe, and slowly put the pieces of himself back together.

I think that's what I wish for him most.

Not another hit song. Not another comeback. Not another chapter for the world to consume.

Just peace.

It's funny how someone you've never met can become part of your memories without you realizing it. You grow up, your life changes, and somewhere along the way, the songs remain.

So today, I found myself crying for someone who doesn't know me and probably never will.

But maybe that's the beautiful thing about music. Sometimes, people who are strangers to us still leave a little piece of themselves in our lives.

And when you hear that they've been hurting, you care.

I hope Justin gets the chance to heal quietly, surrounded by people who genuinely love him, and to finally experience a life that feels safe and truly his own.

Fair question. I don’t speak Korean.

"Bakit ka nakikinig ng K-pop? Hindi mo naman naiintindihan.”

Fair question. I don’t speak Korean, and I definitely can't tell you what every line in a BTS song means. There are probably lyrics I've been singing incorrectly without realizing it. But I still listen. In fact, sometimes I think not understanding everything is exactly what makes listening to K-pop so enjoyable for me.

I'm an overthinker. My mind is constantly analyzing things: conversations, situations, decisions, even things that probably don't need that much thought. I replay things, read between the lines, anticipate what might happen next, and try to make sense of everything. My brain is rarely quiet.

That's why I appreciate music that I don't completely understand.

When I listen to a song in Korean, I’m not automatically processing every sentence or trying to figure out what the artist means. I can simply listen to the melody, the rhythm, the vocals, and the emotion behind them. There’s no pressure to interpret every word. For once, my brain doesn't have to do the work.

BTS is a good example of this for me. There are songs I've listened to countless times without knowing the exact meaning of every lyric. I know the melodies, the changes in the music, the voices, and the parts that give me goosebumps. I may not understand every Korean word, but I can still recognize the feeling of a song. I can tell when something sounds hopeful, comforting, nostalgic, or heartbreaking.

Of course, curiosity eventually gets the better of me. There are BTS songs whose translations I've looked up because I wanted to understand the story behind them. And sometimes knowing the lyrics makes a song even more meaningful. A song I already loved suddenly has another layer to it.

But I don't always need that layer.

Sometimes I just want to listen.

I think that's something we underestimate about rest. We usually think of resting as doing nothing, but sometimes our minds need a break from constantly processing information, too. We're always reading, watching, responding, planning, remembering, and making sense of things. Even entertainment can require our attention and interpretation.

Listening to K-pop gives me a different kind of experience. For a few minutes, I can simply follow the music without trying to solve anything. I don't have to figure out what a lyric means or search for some deeper message. I can just let the song exist and allow myself to feel whatever it makes me feel.

Maybe that's why music can cross a language barrier so easily. Your heart doesn't need a translation for everything. You can recognize emotion in a voice, feel comfort in a melody, or become attached to a song because of a memory connected to it.

Over time, BTS became more than just a collection of songs for me. Certain songs remind me of particular moments, moods, or memories. Some make me happy, some comfort me, and some simply make an ordinary day feel a little lighter. Those feelings aren't always something I can explain through lyrics anyway.

So, bakit ako nakikinig ng K-pop kahit hindi ko naman naiintindihan?

Because sometimes, understanding isn't the point.

As someone who spends so much time inside my own head, I appreciate having something that lets me step outside of it. I don't have to analyze the music. I don't have to translate every word. I don't have to find an explanation for why a particular song makes me feel the way it does.

I can just listen.

And maybe that's what I love most about K-pop... not that I understand every word, but that for a little while, I don't have to understand anything at all.