Believe (Justin Bieber album)

On March 2, 2012, Bieber appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to announce that the first single from his upcoming album would be called "Boyfriend". The single was later released on March 26, 2012.[3] The song was written by Bieber and Mike Posner, and produced by Posner and Mason Levy.

Bieber also invited his fans to participate in one of the creative decisions for the "Boyfriend" single. Two potential cover arts were published on Bieber's website, and fans were encouraged to vote for which one they preferred. The cover with the most votes became the official cover for the single.[4]

According to a writer from Los Angeles Times, the album adds a Eurohouse beat to Bieber's usual R&B.[5] and according to The A.V. Club, Believe is loaded up with "EDM accouterments, seeking a comfortable middle ground where Bieber's impressively refined Pop-Rnb croon can rub up on Techno blasts and garish Dubstep drops."[6]

The intro track "All Around The World" is a "dubsteppy"[7] synth-pop[8] and Eurodance song. According to Billboard the song's "breathy vocals swirl around a beat that pierces the listener on first contact. Ludacris raps in double-time as the album's electronica obsession is immediately presented." "Boyfriend" is an acoustic R&B-influenced track with hip-hop elements.[9] "As Long As You Love Me" is an EDM,[10] electropop[11] and dubstep song.[12] According to Entertainment Weekly, "Catching Feelings" "turns [Bieber] it into a soulful R&B".[7] The fifth track "Take You" club-friendly anthem starts off with a Latin-tinged acoustic guitar before transforming into a synth-pop Euro-dance number.[13] And the song is a Dubsteppy[14] Eurodance song "that sweeps through different tempos".[15] The sixth song "Right Here" features Drake. It is a pop,[16], hip hop-soul ballad.[17] According to Bieber's manager Scooter Braun, "Fall" was inspired by "the weepy romance" A Walk to Remember. Further saying, "Bieber tries to extract sorrow from the rumbling percussion, falling to his knees as layered vocals increase the melodrama".[15] The eighth song, "Die in Your Arms", is a pop-R&B track[18] that incorporates hip hop beats, finger snaps and melodic piano chords in its instrumentation and is similar to early tracks by the Jackson 5.[19][20][21] Leah Collins of the National Post described the song as a "Baby 2.0", adding that "like 'Baby', 'Die in Your Arms' has a certain old-fashioned pop flavour."[18] "Thought of You", a Diplo produced song, has a "falsetto-driven ode to living in the moment; [...] its bass thickening around a series of futuristic movements until ending, somehow appropriately, with a piano and a siren." The tenth track, "Beauty and a Beat" features Nicki Minaj. It is a electropop,[15] EDM,[22] and R&B song.[23] Sarah Deen of Metro described it as a "frantic dance track",[22] while Rolling Stone's Jon Dolan called the song a "disco inferno".[24]

"One Love" has "space-age synths, watered down DnB beat and defiant lack of fluff make it a total mega-hit".[25] The twelfth track, "Be Alright", according to Billboard is "a guitar ballad as a soothing lullaby, in which Bieber doesn't try to over-sing his basic love lyrics."[15] The title track, "Believe", according to the same magazine, is a "substantial anthem that plays out like a Disney song".[15] The song involves a gospel choir, while the sound of an acoustic guitar is almost as common as a dance beat.[26] "Out Of Town Girl" "make[s] for a superior throwback R&B joint that could well end up as the album's secret keeper".[27]

Bieber announced via Twitter that the first single off third studio album, Believe was released in March 2012.[28] On March 1, 2012, Bieber appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to announce that the first single from his upcoming album, Believe, was called "Boyfriend" and was released on March 26, 2012.[29] The song was written by Bieber and Mike Posner, and produced by Posner and Mason Levy. Two cover arts were published on Bieber's website, and fans were encouraged to vote for which cover they would preferred; with the most votes for cover and it will become the official cover of for the single. "Boyfriend" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached the top ten in several countries worldwide.[4]

Island Def Jam confirmed on June 26, 2012, that "As Long as You Love Me" featuring Big Sean, which was previously released as the third and final promo single as part of the iTunes album countdown to Believe, was released as the official second single off the album. It was released July 10, 2012. It peaked at 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US.

"Beauty and a Beat", is the third single off the album. It was released on October 24, 2012, and features vocals from rapper Nicki Minaj. It has so far peaked at 5 in the US.

"Right Here" featuring Drake was released as the fourth U.S. single, impacting U.S. Rhythmic radio on February 5, 2013.

"All Around the World" which was released as a promotional single, was then released as the fourth international single from Believe. It was released in the US on February 26, 2013, as the fifth and final US single and in the UK on April 1, 2013.

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	5.9/10[37]
Metacritic	68/100[38]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[39]
The A.V. Club	B−[40]
BBC Music	(favorable)[41]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[42]
The Independent	[43]
Los Angeles Times	[44]
Now	[45]
The Observer	[46]
Rolling Stone	[47]
Slant	[48]

Believe has received generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 68, based on 14 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[38]

While BBC Music noted Bieber's ongoing "tween appeal,"[41] it also examined his gradual stylist evolution from his previous album. The New York Times noted the search for maturity Bieber exhibited. It complimented the natural strength of his voice, which did not need as much technical enhancement as it did previously.[49] However, Slant Magazine criticized the production's need to "slice, dice, and Auto-Tune [Bieber's] notes into shape"[48] Entertainment Weekly praised the pop star's evolution, calling the album both a "reinvention and a reintroduction."[42] Rolling Stone noted the deeper voice and more intense beats found on the album, although it lampooned one of his euphemisms for newfound sexual maturity.[47]

The New York Times noted the difficulty Bieber faced in creating the album—a tension between his love of R&B and the profitability of pop music—while suggesting that his "savvy compromises" made the conflict manageable."[49] Entertainment Weekly praised the variety of audiences for the album, calling it "the rare album that tries to be everything to everyone and largely succeeds."[42]

Reviews of the vocals on specific songs were mixed. The New York Times review complained of certain songs where Bieber "sounded bored" and unlike himself, although other tracks were said to show him when he "leans on his instincts." The review credited Bieber for his "limber and wounded" vocals. It suggested that Bieber's voice would continue to evolve, and that in a few years it could fully express "angst". It said Bieber was "more credible when begging or retreating",[49] while BBC Music stated similarly that "his confidence, for the most part, [is] played down."[41]

A large number of reviews compared Bieber to Justin Timberlake,[41][47][49][50] a once-teenage pop star who achieved great success during his evolution from teenage boy band member to young adult. Most found the situations very different, saying Bieber was better suited to pursuing his own style rather than follow in the footsteps of Timberlake. The New York Times, however, complimented his references to Michael Jackson as aspirational.[49] Meanwhile, reviewers tended to Dislike Bieber's work with other pop stars. BBC Music said that, despite an abundance of guest contributors, Bieber is "overshadowed."[41]

Assessments of the long-term impact of the album generally avoided calling Believe a revolutionary step forward. The Independent roundly criticized the artist's lack of innovation, calling it a "pitifully timid affair".[43] The New York Times noted that while Bieber was not ushering in radical changes to pop music, he was at least playing to his personal strengths. Billboard noted the singer's potential with future releases, pointing out "multiple songs that hint at what Bieber could become someday."[50]

Believe debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 374,000. It was Bieber's fourth number-one album.[51] It dropped two spots in its second week to number three with sales of 115,000 copies.[52] Believe was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on July 31, 2012,[53] and has sold 1,610,000 copies in the US as of December 2015[54]

The album sold 57,000 copies in its first week in Canada, debuting atop the Canadian Albums Chart.[55] In the following week, the album fell to number two selling 18,000 copies, behind Linkin Park's Living Things.[56] It also debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with sales of 38,115 copies, making Bieber the second youngest male solo artist ever to reach number one.[57] In Japan, the album entered the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart at number seven, selling 13,886 copies.[58] As of July 26, 2012, the album has sold over 98,000 copies in Canada.[59] In Brazil, the album was certified platinum by Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos (ABPD) within three days of release. The album debuted at number-one in Mexico and was later certified Platinum by Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas ending the year as the 14th best selling of 2012.[60] In November 2013, Universal Music México awarded Bieber with a triple platinum certification for sales of over 180,000 copies as well as over 300,000 digital tracks.[61]

On December 14, 2012, Bieber announced on The Ellen Show that he would be releasing an acoustic album of Believe. It was released on January 29, 2013.

Notes[64]

• "Die in Your Arms" contains samples of the recording "We Got a Good Thing Going" as performed by Michael Jackson, and written by Berry Gordy, Alphonso Mizell, Freddie Perren, and Deke Richards. It also contains samples of the recording "Synthetic Substitution" as performed by Melvin Bliss as written by Herb Rooney.

Credits for Believe (Deluxe Edition) adapted from album liner notes.[64]

[111]