Justin Bieber - Purpose Review PDF

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An in-depth review of Justin Bieber's 2015 album 'Purpose'....

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‘Purpose - Justin Bieber’ Review Oh, so you like his music now? Artist Justin Bieber Producer Various Label Def Jam Genre Dance Pop Release Date 12th November 2015 Time 48:13 By William Widnell We thought we had heard the last of Justin Bieber as he signed off and retired from music after the release of his previous album ‘Journals’. The lack of commercial success from it, and subsequent off-the-rails behaviour, certainly raised questions as to whether Justin was done for and just another name to add to the on-going list of failed child stars. However, Justin has returned in fine form with his new album ‘Purpose’, as he takes a huge step away from pop and in to new grounds of dance, R&B and even hip-hop. ‘Purpose’ begins with ‘Mark My Words’, one of three songs he revealed are dedicated to exgirlfriend Selena Gomez. The two-minute-and-fourteen second song isn’t much to get excited about but does well to set up the album. Not only do you get the sense that it’s aimed at Selena, but also the general public who should recognise his new style of music and better that his new direction as a human being, which is a theme explored throughout the album and evidently in the second track ‘I’ll Show You’, which along with ‘’Life Is Worth Living” (track eleven), I found the lyrics too corny. What’s worse is the unnecessary Skrillex production, that doesn’t fit with the song’s serious subject matter at all. Then to the end-of-summer smash hit ‘What Do You Mean?’ and follow up single ‘Sorry’, which both really helped to instil the “new Justin Bieber sound”. They were both perfect successions to Justin’s feature on Diplo and Skrillex’s “Where Are Ü Now?” (track ten), retaining the 20-something-year-old listeners that once completely dismissed him as an artist. We then get a run of easily the best five tracks on the album, four of which have featured artists. Beginning with ‘Love Yourself’, unlike the majority of this album the production on this track is stripped back to only a guitar, a clear imprint from co-writer Ed Sheeran. The opening line of the chorus is ingenious: “My mamma don’t like you and she likes everyone…”. A real heart-stabbing insult to whatever ex-girlfriend that was aimed at. Second is ‘Company’ which on first listen I didn’t pay much attention to, but the second time around it stood out as one of the best songs on the album. The polished production is similar to that of ‘Journals’ and Justin’s vocals seem to flourish on this track in particular. The next song ‘No Pressure’ also showcases Justin’s formidable ability as a singer, but the song is unfortunately let down by previous collaborator Big Sean and his incredibly mediocre verse, which sounds like he’s stuck in gear one the whole time. Luckily, the rap side of the album, and even G.O.O.D. Music’s reputation, is saved by Travis Scott’s feature on ‘No Sense’. Scott, who has been dubbed the future of rap, demonstrates his exceptional abilities as both producer and rapper, his style is undoubtedly distinct and gives this track an edge like no other. Last but not least, on the

run of the best songs, is ‘The Feeling’, which I had high expectations for after it was revealed Halsey was to feature. Halsey’s debut album was a breath of fresh air, with her angelic vocals and alternative production and she did not disappoint on this song. The subtle Skrillex production builds the song well, with Halsey and Justin both complimenting each other nicely and the catchy melody completes what is a ten out of ten song. The penultimate song ‘Children’ is without question the worst song on the album, it may be dedicated to a good cause but again it’s way too serious. It also seems like this was the one song they let Skrillex let loose on, where as prior to this his production remained reasonably low-key. The final song is the title-track ‘Purpose’, another stripped back song but this time just an impressive piano piece. The delicacy of the production really helps to bring out Justin’s vocals and once again he shines tremendously. The songs ends with a spoken excerpt from Justin himself, in what seems a very genuine and honest speech, he talks about the recent struggles and how he’s managed to deal with it. This was a fitting way to conclude the album, summing up the themes touched upon through out the whole album and giving the album it’s “purpose”, as such. On ‘Purpose’ Justin Bieber has showed a lot of growth as a musician and artist, he has not only saved his career but possibly given himself new heights that a year ago people would have thought impossible. Music-wise I don’t think ‘Purpose’ betters ‘Journals’ in any way, but it has managed to thrive on the hype that the previous album desperately lacked, hype which has scored Justin his first number one single in the UK and US. Once again he has proven his doubters wrong, going from what most assume a failure to an astounding success, and even in the process turning some of his haters in to Beliebers....