Justin Bieber - Hold On (Montage)

What this video is

Released March 5, 2021, 'Hold On' arrived at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic's second year, a cultural moment saturated with collective grief, illness anxiety, and themes of perseverance. As the fourth single from Justin Bieber's sixth studio album Justice — an album explicitly framed around healing, justice, and solidarity — the video's narrative of a man committing a desperate crime to fund a partner's cancer…

Why it matters

A landmark example of the 'narrative blockbuster' music video format dominant in early-2020s mainstream pop, 'Hold On' demonstrates the full industrialization of cinematic storytelling in the music video medium — complete with credited director, production company, cast, stunt coordinators, and a…

The director

Colin Tilley (born June 27, 1988, Berkeley, California) is a Grammy-nominated, self-taught American music video director, commercial director, and filmmaker. CEO and owner of Boy in the Castle Productions, he has directed more than 300 music videos for…