Justin Bieber is certainty not a “baby baby baby” anymore. His innocent grin, sideswiped bangs and playful lyrics seem to have permanently disappeared, vanishing perhaps as quickly as his rise to super-stardom. The arrest of Bieber last week seemed to solidify what many people predicted would happen early on in his career – that the money, fame and attention would go to his head faster than you can say “rehab.”

For many, the surprise element of Bieber’s arrest was simply not there; after all, he has also been in the news as of late for allegedly throwing eggs at a neighbour’s house, partying too loudly and assaulting a paparazzo. All of this in the mere seven years that the Canadian singer has been in the spotlight, selling millions of albums and winning dozens of awards in the process.

Then there are his fans, the “Beliebers” who have not left along with his innocence. There are people, in fact thousands of them, who support Bieber, defend him daily and stand unwaveringly behind him no matter what he is caught doing or found to be guilty of. One only needs to look at Twitter to see that much of his fan base is unquestionably unbreakable, like a mirror that, no matter how hard gets smashed, will never actually shatter into a million little pieces.

There are many who have speculated on Bieber’s future. He is only 19 and can comfortably never have to work a day in his life. However, even this last point now seems disputable. After all, several news outlets recently reported that Bieber dropped $75 thousand during one single night at a strip club. Over time, this habit could leave a large hole in his wallet, as will all the legal fees he incurs in an effort to stay out of jail. Perhaps what Bieber should do is return home to Stratford for a while, where he was reported as being as recently as Christmas. A large dose of his humble beginnings might be just what the doctor prescribes – along with an order to stay off all other prescription meds.

Though the innocence and even trademark hair of Bieber seems to be gone for good, the Canadian who made it big still has a lot of time to turn his increasingly bad reputation around. If he doesn’t, the impossible story of Justin Bieber will not actually appear as a story at all, but rather a disturbing example of how quickly someone can spiral out of control.