Justin Bieber apologizes for his past and explains his plans for the future with new 18-track album, Purpose.
Justin Bieber’s new album proves the pop star has a true purpose in the music world.
Purpose reveals a lot about Bieber. The teenage-heartthrob has always released songs about his relationships with love and girls. This album is no different, but it seems to be coming from a wiser perspective than his “One Less Lonely Girl” era.
Bieber also confirmed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that about three of the songs on this album are about his ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez. However, it appears that a few more than just three songs could be about Bieber’s first love, but who knows?
Purpose is not strictly a pop record. Bieber proves he has the musical talent to dabble in genres such as electronic dance, R&B, hip-hop and soul.
To go along with the 13 original tracks, Bieber released a music video for each song featuring a lot of dancers and, unfortunately, not a lot of The Biebs himself.
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The album begins with “Mark My Words,” which Bieber told DeGeneres was about Gomez. The song features a lot of layered vocals with a simple beat, and it is a good warm up to set the theme and tone of the rest of the album. The song made me excited to keep listening.
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Skrillex, EDM producer and DJ, was a co-producer for several songs on this album, including the emotional tracks “I’ll Show You” and “Children.” Both of which seem to lyrically explain how Bieber is realizing his role in society and how he wants to be perceived. Skrillex’s presence is very obvious in these songs, as the beat is complex and somehow makes the listener feel sad but still want to dance.
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Skrillex also co-produced the trifecta of the hit singles off the album, “What Do You Mean?,” “Sorry” and “Where Are Ü Now.” The three songs include electronic dance beats that pair well with Bieber’s voice. “What Do You Mean?” and “Sorry” were, according to Bieber, the other two songs about Gomez.
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This album includes a lot of famous features, such as Big Sean in “No Pressure.” Bieber’s vocals are reminiscent of Chris Brown, and Big Sean’s verse is amazing. The message of the song appears to be telling a girl that there is “no pressure” in their relationship, which seems to oppose the message of “What Do You Mean?,” in which Bieber asks a significant other repeatedly to basically make up her mind about several aspects of their relationship. I guess girls are confusing, Bieber, it’s OK.
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Travi$ Scott is featured in another hip-hop track “No Sense” that I cannot stop listening to. Bieber’s hook is so catchy, and he really shows off his vocal range in this song. It’s a shame that this song didn’t come out before Magic Mike XXL was released, because it would have fit perfectly with the rest of the movie’s soundtrack. Also, just imagine Joe Manganiello dancing to this song.
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Rising pop-star Halsey is featured on “The Feeling,” a melancholy song in which the two singers’ voices melt together to add to the dreamy sound. It’s definitely a contrast to the two hip-hop songs that preceded it, but “The Feeling” really shows Bieber’s ability to be diverse.
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“Love Yourself” is like a throwback Bieber song with a modern twist. The song was co-written by Ed Sheeran, and his influence is very prevalent in the acoustic track. Despite the light-hearted sound, the track is actually a diss to a girl. Bieber sings lines that shows his resentment toward an ex, such as, “And I didn’t wanna write a song/ ‘Cause I didn’t want anyone thinking I still care/ I don’t but, you still hit my phone up.” I can imagine Bieber made some ex-girlfriend pretty upset when she heard this.
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In the deluxe version of the album, there are five additional tracks, including a track featuring rapper Nas called “We Are” which sounds like it could’ve been written by Jamal Lyon from Empire.
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The best deluxe track is definitely “Trust” because of the soulful feel of the song, and it gave me Jamal Lyon feels just like “We Are.” This love song, when compared to a song such as “Baby,” really shows how far Bieber has come, both lyrically and musically.
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The regular version of the album ends with the title track “Purpose.” This emotional ballad appears to be about a relationship on the surface, but when examining the lyrics, it is apparent that Bieber is talking about his relationship to God. It features a spoken part where Bieber shares some inspirational words about life in general and “giving it all (you) got” according to the singer. The song is an emotional way for Bieber to say he’s found his “purpose” in life through faith.
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I have never really considered myself a “Belieber” before this album came out. I found it refreshing to hear Bieber’s introspective thoughts, and I am excited to see what else he has to say in the future. After listening to nothing but Purpose since the album came out Friday, I can now proclaim that I have full-fledged Bieber fever, and I am proud of it.
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Purpose is available on Spotify or can be purchased on iTunes.
Rating: 5/5
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