Justin Bieber has released his latest album Changes so let’s not play around and get straight to it with no fluff: Justin Bieber is a mega star. Now, liking his music is a matter of personal taste and opinion, but his mass appeal is highly indisputable. The reach that Bieber has amassed since releasing his first single as a young teenager is nothing short of astonishing. One of the last real talents discovered on YouTube, Justin Bieber has been able to launch an astounding career that’s seen his music reach even the darkest corners of the globe, with a fan base that only seems to be growing as he grows in age and his music matures. Though that maturity began with albums like Journals and Purpose, Changes surely shows signs of a young man who has grown, and of course, changed.
Changes is arguably an R&B album, perhaps excluding a few songs towards the end of the track list.
Based on the tone and mood of most of the songs, Changes is arguably an R&B album, perhaps excluding a few songs towards the end of the track list. There’s a consistency in the production of each song, showcasing similar sound and rhythm in soft fashion. If one were to put a label on its vibe in its entirety though, it would simply be a love record. The vast majority of the album is noticeably in relation to his new wife Hailey, who the singer official wed this past year. This is interesting as listeners won’t have to play the usual guessing game they play when trying to figure out who he and his team were writing about when putting the track together. Some of said songs in particular are more sensual in nature rather than romantic, although when discussing one’s spouse, it could never be more appropriate than to come from the husband. The track Running Over featuring Lil Dicky is an ever so slight deviation from this, as listeners can expect to hear Justin stay in his romance lane until Dicky decides to grace all with his presence by dropping a hilarious verse that takes the song from one place and then almost to another entirely.
In getting towards the latter end of the album, Bieber dials back the electronics and gets back into the acoustic with the official Changes track. The song’s title should be self-explanatory, and as such, it’s an effective expression of what the artist has been dealing with in the past few years regarding more personal matters only recently explored since his return to the media. The song itself appears to be the culmination of all he’s encountered in recent years in his attempt to get a grip on himself and those around him, all without revealing too much information. With all that’s been revealed of his struggles as of late, the overall message is positive and uplifting instead of sad and depressing. This can certainly be said for all of the album.
Be advised, this isn’t a typical Bieber album. Justin Bieber is growing up, so the music can’t be expected not to grow with him. It doesn’t showcase the electro-pop mood of Purpose or the traditional rhythm and blues sound of his first official adult album Journals. This entire piece is a much different undertaking than we’re used to hearing from the young pop star. Yes, Purpose was definitely the first real personal piece of the singer that mainstream artists encountered just years back. What one can expect from him this time around, is a mere reflection of his current reality: 25, newly married, and hopefully when all is said and done, getting his life in balance and keeping it that way.
