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Plugged In Pick, Music: Ghost

blog top 11-12 Justin Bieber standing on beach from Ghost music video

We’re generally not big on ghost stories here at Plugged In. But this ghost story—as told by Justin Bieber—is something else again.

The track “Ghost” is really about sadness, not specters—how the memories of those who’ve died can haunt us, hurt us and ultimately (as Adam Holz writes in his review) “bring joy and a smile.”

Bieber lost his grandfather unexpectedly earlier this year. Many of you reading may have suffered a bitter loss, too. Bieber’s song acknowledges the pain that comes with loss, but it reminds us that, on the other side of our grief. And while the song does have a couple of questionable lyrics connected to it, “Ghost” is generally a lyrical rumination of something all of us must deal with.

paul-asay
Paul Asay

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

One Response

  1. -For a moment I thought you meant “Ghost” the band (whose lyrics and image have been controversial due to Satanic elements), which I got really confused on. Leader Tobias Forge had some unpleasant experiences with Christianity growing up (https://www.revolvermag.com/culture/ghosts-tobias-forge-path-satanism-why-jesus-was-kind-chill-dude), which broke my heart, and I hate that (even though his views of Jesus seem largely positive if not quite orthodox) his image of Christianity had be shaped by such negative experiences.