Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber is one of the most successful phenomena in international pop music in recent years. Born in London, Ontario, Canada, on March 1, 1994, he showed a passion for music from a young age, learning to play drums, piano, guitar and trumpet. At the age of twelve, in 2007, he took part in Stratford Idol, a local singing contest, finishing second. In just seven months, videos of his performances, uploaded to YouTube to share the achievement with friends and family, racked up over 10,000,000 views, catching the attention of famous talent scout Scooter Braun. After an audition with Usher, Justin Bieber, only fifteen years old, signed his first record deal.

His debut album "My World", released in November 2009, was preceded by the hit single "One Time". Certified platinum in the United States, the UK and Canada, the record immediately won over teenagers worldwide with its blend of teen-pop sounds and lyrics about first loves ("First Dance") and the changes of adolescence ("Down To Earth"). A debut that paved the way for an unstoppable career. After all, backed by star producers like The Dream and Tricky Stewart, Justin had every tool at his disposal to climb to the top of the charts. Indeed, "My World 2.0" and "My World Acoustic", both released in 2010, confirmed that "Bieber Fever" was sweeping the globe.

Two years later, during which Justin released the Christmas album "Under The Mistletoe", 2012 saw the release of "Believe", followed by an acoustic version, "Believe Acoustic". An album that shows an evolution from its predecessors, especially in terms of sound. The young Canadian singer's voice changes and lends itself to more intense sonics, where R'n'B beats blend with pop.

2015 is the year of "Purpose", from which no fewer than 5 globally successful singles were drawn, including "What Do You Mean?", "Sorry" and "Love Yourself". An album rich in collaborations, produced by famous DJs Skrillex and Diplo, alternating electro-dance tracks with soul and R'n'B, without ever setting aside his original pop sound. "Purpose" is a decidedly more mature record, certainly able to speak to a wider and more diverse audience than his previous work. Bieber reflects on his success, giving voice above all to its more uncomfortable sides, such as the obsessive attention (and criticism) of the media, both regarding his music career and his private life.

After a few years' hiatus, during which he was only active on a handful of collaborations (such as the one with Ed Sheeran in 2019 on the track "I Don't Care"), in 2020 Justin Bieber teamed up with Ariana Grande for the track "Stuck With U", a collaboration created to raise funds for the 1st Responders Children's Foundation, which supports the families of doctors, paramedics and first responders to the Covid-19 emergency. The video for "Stuck With U" was released on YouTube and featured appearances by many celebrities such as Michael Bublé, Hailey Bieber, Gwyneth Paltrow, Demi Lovato, Kyle and Kendall Jenner. Then, in 2020, "Changes" was released, a trap-pop flavored album that marks a further evolution of his style, while "Seasons" also sparked debate, a YouTube docuseries that offers the whole world an (almost too) intimate look at his private life and at the dynamics that kept him out of the spotlight for the five years separating it from the previous "Purpose".

In 2021 Justin Bieber released the album "Justice", with which he once again claimed the top spots on charts worldwide. "Hold On" and "Anyone", together, immediately racked up more than 2 billion streams. "Lonely" feat. Benny Blanco and "Holy" feat. Chance the Rapper are the tracks that resonated most with audiences.

Also in 2021, Bieber became the most-streamed artist in the history of the Spotify platform, with a peak of 94 million monthly listeners, a record later broken only by The Weeknd and Taylor Swift.

Also filling media headlines was his relationship with singer and actress Selena Gomez, which continued on and off until March 2018. On September 13, 2018, he had a civil wedding in New York to American model Hailey Baldwin.

The main obstacle to his career has been a series of health issues: Bieber has revealed that he struggled in particular with depression and anxiety at various points in his career, while on January 8, 2020 he announced on his Instagram that he had been diagnosed with Lyme disease, stating that other people's speculation that he was using drugs was false. He also revealed that he has infectious mononucleosis, which has affected his neurological and overall health.

With "Swag" Bieber makes his first album without manager Scooter Braun, following a far from amicable split in 2023. Surprisingly, it's his most black album, meaning more r'n'b, more soul. If "Justice" (2021) was fully streaming-ready pop, here the former child prodigy recounts his new, troubled self with real feeling, allowing himself more freedom. Vintage references, guitars and more or less lo-fi elements recur throughout the very long 21-track tracklist, with a tormented melancholy tied to relationships acting as the glue and setting the tone for the whole listen.

56 days later comes the second chapter, but "Swag II" magnifies the fragilities of the first part, without even being able to rely on the novelty factor. It's a long-winded mess, at times bordering on a joke: tracks with just a few repeated lines, love dedications that verge on cringe, guest features working harder than the headliner. If the previous album was, for all its limits, a record with a few points of interest, this one looks like a textbook case of better left unreleased: more fail than swag.