Justin Bieber's 'Believe' director Jon Chu speaks about the young artist's struggles this year and how the film reflects that

Justin Bieber's life has been in the spotlight for a while now as he went from Usher's young protégé and YouTube sensation to one of the most famous pop stars of our time, if not the most. His journey was documented in 2011's Never Say Never, directed by Jon Chu, and in the follow-up Believe, out Christmas Day, it documents the even further stages of stardom since the last.

The film, primarily narrorated by Bieber shows the good and the bad about being such a prominent figure, his struggles with paparazzi, privacy and the general unique experiences that come with being so well-known. Chu spoke out to The Hollywood Reporter about how the film came together, and how it went from more of a concert film to a documentary about his life.

"It had these mini-stories because it was a very interesting year for him," Chu said. "At a certain point, we looked at the movie and were, like, this movie can take another step, to let people look at how we know Justin -- that he's a kid, that he was struggling with these things. If you knew how he saw it, it would be a lot more interesting.

Chu discusses the concert aspect of the film, how important it is for Bieber to put on a spectacular show. With lighting, stage design and other aspects, the pop star wants it to be the very best, and he knows that for some young people, this could very possibly be the very first show they've ever been to.

When it comes to bad publicity or getting to some forms of trouble, which are inevitably all over entertainment news and social media, Chu says that this film makes it more clear that Bieber is a young guy who struggles with these things just like anyone else would.

"When you're behind closed doors, Justin is very open about where he's at and what's going on," Chu explained. "Sometimes he makes excuses and you can see through it and then he'll fess up to it right after. All those little things are what make him a kid that is like your nephew or your cousin and I think that's a compelling thing to see: to see him not as an object for us to judge, harp on and destroy, but somebody who we have responsibility for because we ultimately put him there."