At just 16, Bieber released his first studio album. He created a whole demographic of kids and teens that sang along to his first single in 2009, “One Time”, and then “Baby” , in 2010. Since then, his life has been a rollercoaster filled with love and hate, highs and lows and everything in between.
Since his music career began, Bieber has released six studio albums. His latest release, “Justice” , is an undeniable love letter to his wife Hailey Bieber, with tones of love and justice that carry throughout the whole album.
Not only does it truly capture how his voice has grown over the years, but also how he has matured with every high and low.
Using MLK
In ”Justice,” Bieber uses two samples from Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches from the civil rights era. In an interview with radio personality Zach Sang, Bieber explained that he wanted to continue to touch on the problems of injustice the world faces, and sampled King— who he called a “revolutionary voice”— to amplify the minister’s message in a time where younger generations might not know him.
On the first track on “Justice” King opens with “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” before continuing on with “2 Much”, a soft love song about wanting to spend as much time with the person you love as possible.
Track 7 on Bieber’s album is entitled “MLK Interlude” and is almost 2 minutes of an excerpt from King’s 1967 sermon titled “But if Not” that expresses the need to be willing to die for the things in this world that are precious to you.
“I say to you this morning that if you have never found something so dear and so precious to you that you will die for it, then you aren’t fit to live for it, then you are unfit to live.”
Although the use of the samples was approved by King’s Daughter Berenice, several entertainment magazines find them startling and misplaced in the album.
My first listen through the entire album I skipped the interlude, and all but ignored King’s message in the first song. I chose to listen to this as an album about love, and agreed with many others in the thought that King’s voice was jarring to the album.
The more I listened to it, though, the more King’s words seemed to fit. Directly after the interlude, “Die For You” plays; an up-tempo song about Bieber’s willingness to die for Hailey.
When that realization came, this album felt less like just a love letter, and more about a commentary on the way in which love and justice work together. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but the old saying is “love conquers all”, and in the face of injustices, I think it can hold true there too. It may be a romanticized version of justice that Bieber alludes to in this album, but all the same I think once the initial shock of it subsides the connection begins to emerge.
Song Analysis
When looking over the totality of the 16 tracks, they create an experience of weaving tempos and connecting tones that all go well together.
The first six songs before the interlude all carry a softer vibe and express Bieber’s love for Hailey as well as his fears and thanks for her sticking by his side.
After the interlude, more up-tempo songs take place that seem to come from a more secure mindset about the relationship all the way up to the 15th track “Anyone”, which expresses how Hailey is his one and only love.
“You are the only one I’ll ever love, yeah, you, if it’s not you it’s not anyone”
The only song that feels out of place is the 16th track, “lonely” featuring Benny Blanco. Rather than expressing love, Bieber expresses how lonely it can be to be as successful as him without someone you love next to you. Placed at the end, it seems like a reflection on life before Hailey, and the instrumental does fit well with the album, though it certainly takes a darker turn to the love-riddled album.
“What if you had it all, But nobody to call? Maybe then you’d know me“
Final Thoughts
Overall, the listening experience is well-balanced and offers plenty of romanticism with several collaborating artists that continue the tone Bieber sets. With the messages of love and justice, the newfound maturity in mind and voice, and the dedication to telling his story, Bieber has created an obsessive album worth listening to over and over again.