If last summer was all about being a “brat”—as in, Charli XCX’s album about going out clubbing, doing drugs, and flirting with boys—summer 2025 is all about being a mope. The album of this summer is Lorde’s Virgin, which is all about recovering from a brutal breakup, questioning her gender, and “crying on the phone / Swearing nothing’s wrong.”
It’s part of a bigger trend in music and beyond . . .
The Rise of Enterpainment
The mental state of Justin Bieber is fast becoming a special interest of mine, which is why I’m happy to report that, late last week, the pop star dropped a surprise album. It’s called Swag, and has 21 tracks, three of which are just minute-or-so-long chats, between Bieber and the comedian Druski, about the album, and how Bieber flipped out at the paparazzi a few weeks ago. He wants to talk about it all: his marriage, fatherhood, and his own, internal battles. One of the tracks is called “Therapy Session” and in it, Druski acts the part of a cigar-pushing Freud.
“That’s been a tough thing for me recently is feelin’ like, you know, I have had to go through a lot of my struggles as a human, as all of us do, really publicly,” waxes Bieber. “It starts to make me feel like I’m the one with issues and everyone else is perfect.”
Druski takes that in. “See, that’s why I say, I’ma be your counselor,” he tells his friend Justin. “I’ma tell you, you start smokin’ these Black & Milds with me, bro, you gon’ feel way better.”
This is the national anthem of a country where everyone is having therapy, out loud and in full view, on television or online, for other people’s amusement. Call it enterpainment.
