One shirtless livestream, a glitchy unfollow, and 90,100 new followers on Instagram later – welcome to Justin Bieber’s latest digital rollercoaster.
The singer, who had fans clutching their phones on March 29 after an impromptu Instagram Live, is back in the headlines for a follower surge that’s equal parts puzzling and paparazzi gold. In the livestream, Bieber rapped, blinked slowly, and looked generally… dazed. That was enough for Beliebers to spark everything from wellness check hashtags to conspiracies involving aliens, edibles, or both.
And just like that, his follower count – which had been tanking since January – shot up. According to research by Didgeheads, the pop star gained over 90,000 followers in the 48 hours following the Live. For context: he lost 228,000+ between March 2 and 28 alone. Overall, Justin’s still down 489,361 followers in 2025, but this recent spike is giving fans some serious whiplash.
Also giving everyone whiplash? The latest chapter in the never-ending “Are Justin and Hailey OK?” saga. Right after Justin deactivated and reactivated his account post-Live, fans noticed that Hailey Bieber – yes, the wife – was no longer following him. Cue the meltdown. Was it drama? Divorce? A joint decision? Nope. Hailey blamed Instagram… calling it a glitch.
According to Didgeheads, that “glitch” turned out to be a marketing win. When Hailey followed Justin again on March 31, she gained over 23,000 followers – her biggest daily boost in a month. Overall, she’s up 304,777 followers in 2025. Justin may be losing numbers, but Hailey’s trending up.
For the record, this isn’t the first mysterious unfollow. In January, Justin unfollowed Hailey… and said he was hacked. They’ve both had suspicious fingers on the unfollow button this year, but each time, it’s been someone else’s fault – hackers, glitches, Mercury in retrograde, who knows?
Since his March 29 Live, Justin’s been uncharacteristically active – 13 posts and a bunch of stories in under a week. For a guy who usually prefers low-key cottagecore vibes with Hailey in the background, this sudden surge in content has fans both excited and concerned.
Jessica Redman, CEO of Didgeheads, summed it up: “When someone like Justin, who’s known for disappearing off social media, suddenly starts posting nonstop – it raises eyebrows. Especially when it follows a string of odd behavior and ongoing speculation about his marriage.”
Redman adds, “Whether it’s genuine re-engagement with fans or part of a larger personal struggle, the numbers speak for themselves – people are watching, closely.”
So is Justin back? Is Hailey staying? Is Instagram just trolling all of us? One thing’s for sure: this story isn’t over, and neither is the follower count refresh.
