diff --git a/sanic/request.py b/sanic/request.py
index bca0cf27..d555b95f 100644
--- a/sanic/request.py
+++ b/sanic/request.py
@@ -7,7 +7,10 @@ from urllib.parse import parse_qs
 try:
     from ujson import loads as json_loads
 except ImportError:
-    from json import loads as json_loads
+    from json import loads as _json_loads
+    def json_loads(i):
+        i = i.decode() if isinstance(i, bytes) else i
+        return _json_loads(i)
 
 from sanic.exceptions import InvalidUsage
 from sanic.log import log