The highly-anticipated fourth studio album by the world-renowned Justin Bieber was just released on Friday, Nov. 13. Entitled Purpose, the pop album has been long awaited by fans that call themselves “Beliebers.” Bieber’s previous full-length album was released in 2012, and this three-year gap between records was beginning to drive his fans mad. Bieber began the hype for his album with a 30-day countdown for his first single this summer, finally releasing “What Do You Mean?” on Aug. 28. The next single, “Sorry,” was released on Oct. 16, and both songs did extremely well on the Billboard charts, which exhibited just how successful this album was going to be. Everyone’s predetermined thoughts and considerations were right: Purpose is absolutely everywhere.
With the singles he began releasing, you could tell Purpose was going to be different than any other album he had ever put out. Bieber is not a 15-year-old YouTube star anymore; he is a 21-year-old musician that has matured and he is expressing his change through his music. Many of the songs featured on Purpose are rather upbeat and really make you want to get up and dance. “Where Are U Now,” a song he produced earlier this year with Diplo and Skrillex, was featured on this album and was the first song that really had this upbeat, dance style to it. Other songs on the album, like “No Pressure,” are more mature and feature more of an R&B style.
Many people seem to really enjoy Bieber entering this genre more and more. He started to dabble in this style in his 2013 release Journals, but it has not yet been featured on a studio album until now. Bieber, already one of the most powerful stars in the public eye, is reaching an even larger audience now, which is crazy to think was even possible. Bieber’s new style has gotten him compared to artists like Drake and The Weeknd, which shows how mature his music really is becoming.
A few slower songs were also featured on the album, such as “Love Yourself,” “Life Is Worth Living” and “What Do You Mean? – Acoustic.” All of them are awesome both lyrically and musically. The blend of these songs with his upbeat and R&B ones definitely makes Purpose ideal. There truly is a song on the album for everyone, no matter what style of music you usually gravitate towards.
Four different songs on the album have features, some good and some not so good. “No Pressure” features rapper Big Sean and “No Sense” features Travi$ Scott. These particular features do not do much for the song, but do not entirely ruin them. If you’re a fan of rap or a fan of these artists, you might enjoy their features, but if you aren’t, they seem irrelevant. “The Feeling” features Halsey, who is another artist who has been absolutely killing it lately in the media and with her debut album. This particular contribution is extremely well done. Her style mixes with Bieber’s really well, and her feature completely pulls the song together.
Bieber announced his world tour on Nov. 11. He plans on going to multiple cities across the United States as well as many other countries. Based on his success with Purpose thus far, there’s no doubt he will do extremely well with this tour. He is stopping in Newark on July 9, 2016, Atlantic City on July 15, and New York City on three different occasions.
Overall, Purpose is definitely a very solid album. Being a huge fan of Bieber, I think the album is truly incredible, with only a few minor flaws. The amount of recognition it has gotten is outrageous considering that it was just released a few days ago. You cannot go on any form on social media without hearing something about the release of Purpose or the world tour, and you definitely can’t turn on the radio without hearing one of his insanely popular singles. Justin Bieber is breaking the internet with Purpose, but in the best possible way.
image taken from hiphopdx.com