Has Justin Bieber’s penitence mission been enough ahead of ‘Purpose’?

TORONTO – Three years after the platinum success of “Believe,” following a slew of controversies and a seemingly endless string of mea culpas, Canadian pop superstar Justin Bieber releases his much-anticipated new album on Friday.

But has he rehabilitated his damaged reputation enough for mass audiences to come around and for the new “Purpose” to be a success?

Or, as the 21-year-old sings in his new single, is it too late to say sorry now?

“He’s halfway there, but he can slip really quickly,” says Howard Bragman, a longtime Hollywood crisis expert and chairman/founder of Fifteen Minutes Public Relations in Los Angeles.

“I know Scooter (Braun) his manager and other people in his life have really had a lot of talks to him and really tried to get him to understand what’s going on and why he needs to change.

“I give them credit for having the tough discussions, and I give him credit for listening.”

Between his Comedy Central roast in May and subsequent pleas for forgiveness, Bieber’s been publicly atoning for his problems, of which there are many — including public urination caught on tape; pleading no contest after being accused of egging a neighbour’s house; pleading guilty to misdemeanour careless driving and resisting arrest charges in Miami Beach; and this June, pleading guilty to assault and careless driving in his hometown of Stratford, Ont.

Such issues have sullied the image of the pop star, who shot to fame as a fresh-faced 16-year-old YouTube star with a closet full of hoodies, an influential comb-over and Usher as an ally.

“He was increasingly a trainwreck,” says music historian and Canadian radio personality Alan Cross.

“You have to understand that this kid has been in the public eye, he’s been in the bubble since he was in his early teens and it’s very difficult. He has not lived a life like you or I, and there are mishaps along the way.”

As CTV “eTalk” co-host Ben Mulroney puts it, Bieber “had a one-way ticket to being the mayor of Doucheville.”

But, like Cross, Mulroney also notes the singer was under “a tremendous amount of pressure.”

“When you think about the financials involved, the amount of people involved, the emotional attachment that his fans have to him — there is no way that we can take our lives, extrapolate them to the size of his and say, ‘OK, now I understand it,’” says Mulroney.

“It’s alien, it’s foreign, it doesn’t make any sense to us. So I think we have to be a little more forgiving. And the lengths to which he went to seek that forgiveness is impressive.

“And I think that, in and of itself, earns him a second chance.”

Besides the pivotal roast, in which Bieber admitted he “turned a lot of people off over the past few years,” he’s also brought his contrition mission to several other platforms.

On “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” earlier this year, he conceded he had “done some things that might not have been the greatest,” and he cried onstage at the MTV Video Music Awards in August.

Meanwhile, in the new issue of Billboard, Bieber says he was “close to letting fame destroy” him.

“He says the right thing, and that’s the first part, is talking the talk,” says Bragman. “Now we’ll see if he can walk the walk.”

There have been recent stumbles.

Last month, Bieber walked out of a Spanish radio station interview because he didn’t like the line of questioning. He also stormed out of a concert in Norway because fans got in his way as he tried to wipe up liquid off the stage floor.

“Walking out of an interview, no matter how dumb the questions are, abandoning a show, no matter how things are going — these are things that have to be overcome if you’re going to be a long-term professional,” says Cross.

“He’s made strides but he’s not there yet.”

His new singles, however, have already hit the mark.

The critically praised “What Do You Mean?” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and “Sorry” debuted at No. 2.

He also had success with the summer anthem “Where Are U Now,” produced and performed along with Diplo and Skrillex.

“Win, lose or draw, it’s good that we’re finally talking about his music again,” says Bragman.

The new tunes have taken Bieber in a more electronic dance music direction that appeals to a more mature audience.

“I’ve heard it in places I’ve never heard it before, specifically the radio,” says Mulroney, noting Bieber’s demographic isn’t one that often listens to music through traditional media.

Cross notes this is a “major, major fourth-quarter release” for Bieber’s label, Universal Music.

“They need this album to do well so they can hit their targets and … if he ends up blowing it, there are a lot of people at the label level that are going to be in trouble.”

While it may not be too late to say sorry, it’s too soon to say if Bieber has changed, says Cross.

“I think the next year to 18 months is going to tell us whether or not he has matured as a person and as an artist and is able to maintain his career without self-destructing.

“This is only the prologue of the next book in the series.”