After being discovered on YouTube, Justin Bieber hit the big time. His first hit, “Baby” captivated young girls around the globe. Today, he has sold-out shows around the world and the largest fan following on Twitter with over 33 million followers.
His late teens were spent touring, producing new music and dealing with the pressures of Hollywood. So it’s understandable that he went from childish lyrics like “Baby, baby baby, ohh” (Baby, 2010) to lyrics such as “If I was your boyfriend I’d never let you go. I can take you place you ain’t never been before.” (Boyfriend, 2012)
This transition was almost instant, with virtually no period of struggling to balance out his youthful age and his maturing style. He went from child to adult with no transition, which made me hesitate before listening. All I thought was: Is this kid going to break down at the mic or is he going to channel that emotion into the music?
I say down to listen to the album and braced myself for what was coming. I clicked “Play All” and listened. I was pleasantly surprised as both a person and as a musician.
The words were the same, but acoustically they took on a new meaning. He wasn’t just singing about love, he was singing about what love means when you are out in the world by yourself and that all you need is somebody to tell you that they love you.
When you strip away the dubstep, the loud background music and you place him and his guitar in a sound studio, it is amazing. His voice is different, his sound is different and if one didn’t know any better, they would assume it was an older musician. He makes you feel like he is singing to you and only you.
This album reached #1 on the iTunes Charts in the United States before it was officially released, and went on to take #1 in 55 other countries less than 24 hours after it’s release. If you have the money, I highly recommend this album because it is pure and full of heart.
Once again, Bieber has found a way to captivate girls’ hearts and make people see that he deserves everything he’s worked for.
