First, let me just take a moment to commend JBiebs on this new record. You go, Justin Bieber. I will be the first to admit that I have not been your number one fan over the last year or two. I have watched you, along with the rest of the world, make some pretty monumental mistakes on live television and on the nightly news. We started to hear less and less from you, even being told you were retiring from music for a while. I started to think of you as a teenage punk who let his fame go straight to his head, and, for the last two or three years, I think it did.
I think you’re back now, however, and I love it. Your new album entitled "Purpose" has been long anticipated and highly touted all week by endorsements from major stars and television appearances, but I think you’re genuinely proud of it as well. You should be proud of it because it looks like you are finally doing the music that you like to make, learning how to be a better person, and figuring out how to connect with fans with your personality instead of some inflated ego.
Now, to convince all of you. These songs have more depth to them than any of your other music created, and that comes with age and having more experiences to sing about. It also comes with going through a breakup which is clearly a common thread throughout most of the songs on this record. Some of the released singles that had fans buzzing before the release of the album on Nov. 13 are "Sorry," "What Do You Mean" and "Where Are Ü Now." These songs are all pretty upbeat and have fans dancing, and it was definitely a smart move to release them ahead of time to get fans excited about the album release.
"Sorry" is one of my favorite songs on the album because it is fast-paced and the beat has a Latin vibe, which I suspect sparked a collaboration with Spanish singer J. Balvin to create a Latino Remix to the popular track. This remix has all of the same hallmarks as the original, but also has a Latin flare when Balvin sings and raps in Spanish in the middle of the song.
Each song on this record has something to do with either Bieber’s life in the spotlight, his past relationships — AKA Selena Gomez — or direct messages to his fans, the Beliebers. He collaborates with some headline names on this record such as Big Sean, Halsey, Skrillex, Nas, and Travis Scott. Skrillex and his electric, digitized sound are found throughout the majority of the songs, but it is not overbearing and still is mastered in Bieber’s usual crooning, smooth style.
A few of my favorite tracks on this album are "Love Yourself," "I'll Show You," "The Feeling," "Been You" and "Get Used To It." "Love Yourself" is quite obviously about Selena Gomez. Forget cryptic message, Bieber should have just mentioned Selena directly in the song because it is clearly about their relationship. He says the following lines:
“You think you broke my heart, oh girl for goodness sake
You think I'm crying, oh my oh, well no I ain't
My mama don't like you and she likes everyone
And I never like to admit that I was wrong
And I've been so caught up in my job, didn't see what's going on
And now I know, I'm better sleeping on my own”
Also included in the chorus is the line, “If you like the way you look that much/ you should go and love yourself.” Maybe this is unrelated, but Gomez came out with a smash hit earlier this year entitled "Good For You" which is about her desire to look beautiful and great for her significant other, singing, “I just wanna look good for you, good for you/ Let me show you how proud I am to be yours.” I think it’s safe to say Bieber is trying to send a message with these lines.
His track with Halsey, "The Feeling" pairs the two vocals well together and again harps on love and relationships. I’m biased because my love for Halsey runs deep, but this is surely one of the better tracks on the album.
I can’t say that I am in love with every song on this record because there are a few that just don’t move me or some that I feel are out of place. I think his collaboration with Big Sean would have been better if the song was a bit more fast-paced and fun, like his duet with Nicki Minaj several years ago on "Beauty and a Beat." Another song, "Children," is randomly placed in the list of songs when it starts talking about the future of the world and how we must take care of the children in the world. Great message, but it sticks out from the rest of the songs.
Overall, this is the comeback album of Justin Bieber and it is a massive success. It’s obvious that most of these songs have something to do with his relationship with Gomez or with love, but why not use a publicized relationship create music and make a few bucks? I think good music is good music and although I think Bieber has a long way to go to turn his public image around, he can sing and his songs are catchy, true, genuine, and enjoyable to listen to. The album is out now on iTunes, or you can catch a few of the released singles on YouTube.
