In the last 2 years, Justin Bieber has appeared from virtually no-where, to become one of the biggest names in music. His first album was released in March 2010, and since then he has had his face on every piece of merchandise possible, released a film, toured the world, notched up over 23 million Twitter followers, and his debut video ‘Baby’ has been viewed over 749 million times on YouTube. Even if you hate him, you cannot deny that Bieber has worked relentlessly for the past 2 years, and his new album Believe proves that he still has time to make great music. In fact, despite many people thinking he is a precocious child, this album is his best yet, and should not be sniffed at by anyone.
The 16-track deluxe edition of the album has such a wide array of sounds that it’s like an audio variety pack. Tracks like ‘All Around The World’ and ‘Thought Of You’ are huge dance tracks whereas ‘Be Alright’ is an intimate, acoustic number. Some huge names feature on the album including Nicki Minaj, Drake, Ludacris and Big Sean. The result is a much more mature sound than his 2 previous albums, My World and Under The Mistletoe, and consequently he has made a great pop album. First single ‘Boyfriend’ is one of the weaker tracks on the album as he tries to achieve a Timberlake-esque sound, but this is pulled off more successfully on the cheesy ballad title track ‘Believe’ which wouldn’t sound out of place on an N*Sync album. ‘Be Alright’ is a much more intimate track as he acoustically serenades a chorus of “everything’s going to be alright”.
One of the more upbeat tracks is ‘Beauty And A Beat’ which features Nicki Minaj doing, possibly her worst ‘rap’ to date as she warbles “Buns out/ wiener/ but I gotta keep an eye out for Selena”. Poor effort Minaj. Despite this, Bieber’s voice is second-to-none, creating a super catchy track on which he sings that he wants to “party like it’s 3012 tonight”. Second single ‘Die In Your Arms’ is arguably one of his best songs as he swoons “If I could just die in your arms/ I wouldn’t mind”. It’s cheesier than an Aqua album, but his silky smooth voice makes this a track which will make teenage girls around the world go weak at the knees. ‘Maria’ is Bieber’s very own ‘Billie Jean’, written about Mariah Yeater who, last year, claimed Justin was the father to her child. The track is like a musical version of a Jeremy Kyle storyline, but it has a memorable chorus and high pitched backing vocals of “that ain’t my baby/ that ain’t my girl”, sounding much like Jackson’s “the kid is not my son”.
Believe proves that Justin Bieber is a real musician. His impressive vocal talents are displayed well on this record with several really great pop songs. Despite some weaker tracks such as ‘Take You’ and ‘Boyfriend’, Bieber shows everybody that he is serious about music, and this album is a must-listen if you like pop music, whether you are a “belieber” or not.
8/10
