Justin Bieber’s Twitch debut last October stirred interest, if not quite the chaos of his early internet-breaking days. Once able to crash entire apps just by joining, Bieber now enters platforms without much disruption.
His fanbase, while still loyal, has mellowed. Twitch’s servers stayed standing as Bieber launched his channel with a three-hour livestream. “We’re gonna be doing this pretty much every day”, he promised.
He didn’t.
Since then, his streaming schedule has been wildly inconsistent. At the time of writing, his Twitch following hasn’t even surpassed 400,000. But recently, Bieber made a push to get back into it. Over two consecutive days, he streamed live from what appears to be a giant creative warehouse — a mix of studio, band practice pad, and playroom. Fans got a glimpse into his laid-back world, complete with random live music sessions.
A comeback with Dre and drama
One clip from his recent stream quickly went viral. In it, Bieber raps Eminem’s verse from Forgot About Dre nearly word for word, right down to mimicking Hailie’s iconic “Dada?” ad-lib in a high-pitched voice.
The performance divided social media.
Some viewers applauded the crossover. Beliebers called it “unexpected but exciting”, praising the mash-up of two musical generations. Others praised his energy and willingness to be playful on stream.
But critics weren’t sold. “This is hilariously bad”, one commenter said. Others mocked the unclear delivery, calling it “gibberish”. Several questioned the point of the livestream altogether. One fan quipped: “What’s so funny is that he’s live-streaming his Coachella performance practice and getting paid for it lmao”.
Foreshadowing
This isn’t the first time Bieber has nodded to Eminem. He previously used an Eminem simile on his SWAG album and credited Marshall as a writer. That connection hints that “Forgot About Dre” may not be the only track he can rap from memory.
Still, the idea of a formal collab between the two remains a fan fantasy. While a few suggested the pairing could work, most dismissed the performance as light fun rather than serious rap ambition.
For now, it’s just Bieber rapping in a studio, sparking nostalgia and debate in equal measure.
