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Justin Bieber's new song with Chance the Rapper tackles love in the time of corona

They grow up so fast.

Justin Bieber, who has gone from bubblegum pop to gospel in 10 years, dropped his new single, "Holy," on Friday. The track features Chance the Rapper, and singer Ryan Destiny and actor Wilmer Valderrama appear in the music video.

The 5 ½-minute video — which Bieber is calling "a movie" — follows the on-screen relationship of the singer, who plays an oil plant worker, and Destiny, who plays a hospice caretaker.

Directed by Colin Tilley of recent "WAP" fame, the short film-turned-music video depicts the young couple surviving loss, helped along by Valderrama ("NCIS"), who plays a soldier arriving home.

"'Cause the way you hold me," Bieber croons in the chorus, "feels so holy."

"I know we believe in God," Chance the Rapper adds in his verse. "And I know God believes in us."

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#HOLY OUT NOW @chancetherapper

A post shared by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) on Sep 17, 2020 at 9:02pm PDT

Chance, who has referred to himself as a "Christian rapper," returns to music after releasing his debut studio album, "The Big Day," in July 2019 after a handful of mixtapes. (He has since canceled "The Big Tour" twice to spend time with his young daughter.)

Bieber, for his part, seems to have circled back to spirituality. The former teen heartthrob described himself as a devoted Christian in 2010, telling Billboard that God was "the reason I'm here."

The singer's most recent album, last year's "Changes," veered away from his onetime bad-boy image and toward descriptions of marriage sung in a laidback R&B style.



The new music video also alludes to the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent economic downturn: Bieber's fictional boss is forced to shut down the plant. "Due to the current and ongoing global situation," the character says. "There is simply no way that we can keep afloat."

Both Bieber and Destiny portray essential workers, and the message is clear: "Holy" wants to thank God for love and silver linings.