
Justin Bieber gasps at wife Hailey's racy bikini snap after hinting at marriage troubles on new album
But even as Justin Bieber 's fans acquainted themselves with songs that hinted at marital strife between himself and his wife Hailey Bieber, the 31-year-old singer–songwriter couldn't help but ogle at the 28-year-old model on Friday.
After her Rhode cosmetics account posted stunning photos of her in a skimpy bikini that were snapped in Majorca, her husband reposted one of his favorites from the set to his Instagram Stories with an R-rated response.
'F***KKKKKKKKKK,' he wrote over a photo of Hailey sunning herself on the deck of a yacht.
She flaunted her pert derriere in the revealing swimsuit while a picturesque coastal town rose up in the hills in the background.
Although the steamy outburst contrasted with some of the more searing lyrics on Swag, it was perfectly in line with some of Justin's more unabashedly sexy songs, including Sweet Spot.
After her Rhode cosmetics account posted stunning photos of her in a skimpy bikini that were snapped in Majorca, her husband reposted one of his favorites from the set to his Instagram Stories with an R-rated response
Hailey showcased her fit physique in her photos while wearing a yellow patterned Pucci string bikini that costs around $475 for the top and bottom together from the brand's website.
The brunette beauty contrasted her swimsuit with a navy blue headscarf decorated with polka dots, and she added some sparkle with thick gold earrings.
She could be seen relaxing on a yacht in one photo as she applied one of her Rhode products to her face.
Hailey also satisfied her need for speed in other photos and videos as she cruised around in a jet ski.
Later, Hailey was seen enjoying a martini on the shore while wearing a matching yellow patterned crop top and high-waisted pants that appeared to be from the same brand.
Hailey's post was likely celebrating the recent billion-dollar sale of her cosmetics company, though it also coincided with the promotional push for Justin's new album.
The hitmaker left fans plenty to chew on with newly released songs featuring cryptic lyrics, including Walking Away, which seems to allude to his rumored marriage problems with his wife Hailey Bieber, 28.
That song features lyrics about 'taking a break' and 'testing patience,' which could refer to reported strain between the two.
But that song and others also seemed to express hopes for a better future, as the singer vowed to 'change' after a period of ups and downs.
'Days go by so fast, don't wanna spend them with you / So tell me why you're throwing stones at my back / You know I'm defenseless,' he sang in the first verse.
'Girl, we better stop before we say some s*** / We've been testing our patience / I think we better off if we just take a break,' he continued.
The chorus painted a rosier picture of the relationship, though.
'Baby, I ain't walking away / You were my diamond / Gave you a ring / I made you a promise / I told you, I'd change / It's just human nature / These growing pains / And baby, I ain't walking away,' he sang.
One track, Therapy Session, was nothing but a skit between Bieber and the actor and comedian Druski in which they appeared to defend his mental health and recent bizarre social media meltdowns against fans claiming that 'he's f***in' losin' his mind.'
Justin released the album, which features 21 songs, four years after his previous album Justice dropped to mixed reviews but solid sales.
Swag features guest vocals from Gunna and Cash Cobain, as well as a particularly raunchy verse from the rapper Sexyy Red that left fans blushing and begging for a sweeter version without her.
As Bieber quickly publicized the album, he and his wife Hailey shared numerous moody photographs of the two and their 10-month-old son Jack Blues that appeared to have been shot for the album.
The singer launched multiple billboards around the globe on Thursday that appeared to promote the album, with images spotted in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Reykjavík, Iceland.
Some of the promotional images included what looked like a track listing for the LP, though it wasn't certain if they reflected the final track order.
The apparent song titles for Swag include All I Can Take, Daisies, Yukon, Go Baby, Things You Do, Butterflies, Way It Is, First Place, Soulful, Walking Away, Glory Voice Memo, Devotion, Dadz Love, Therapy Session, Sweet Spot, 405, Swag, Zuma House, Too Long and Forgiveness.
One song title that was notably missing from the billboard track listings was number 16, Standing On Business.
It's not a full-fledged song, but rather another skit between Bieber and Druski that features audio from a confrontation the singer had with paparazzi last month in which he uttered the viral phrase, 'It's not clocking to you that I'm standing on business, is it?'
Justin's song Walking Away featured lyrics that appeared to allude to his marriage to Hailey and their recent highly publicized struggles.
'Days go by so fast, don't wanna spend them with you / So tell me why you're throwing stones at my back / You know I'm defenseless,' he sings in the first verse.
One fan wrote on X, 'I want everyone who said Justin and Hailey gonna divorce to listen right here cause he ain't walking away'
'Justin Love Hailely... liKe that's his TRUE LOVE!!!' another fan gushed in response to the album
But some fans didn't buy the more romantic tunes, with one suggesting that his songs that appeared to be inspired by Hailey felt 'so forced' compared to earlier pop songs that fans believed were inspired by his ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez
'Girl, we better stop before we say some s*** / We've been testing our patience / I think we better off if we just take a break,' he continues.
But the chorus and subsequent verses paint a picture of enduring love despite strife.
'Baby, I ain't walking away / You were my diamond / Gave you a ring / I made you a promise / I told you, "I'd change" / It's just human nature / These growing pains / And baby, I ain't walking away,' Bieber sings in the chorus.
One fan wrote on X, 'I want everyone who said Justin and Hailey gonna divorce to listen right here cause he ain't walking away.'
'Justin Love Hailely... liKe that's his TRUE LOVE!!!' another fan gushed in response to the album.
One fan was particularly moved by Walking Away and said Hailey was 'Justin Bieber's muse.'
Other early listeners singled out the love song Devotion, with one fan saying it 'might be one of Justin's best love songs ever.
'Miss Hailey idk what you doing but keep doing it PLEASE,' they added.
Some songs had seemingly autobiographical titles, like Dadz Love, which could refer to Justin becoming a father last year. The song was also a clue to how long Bieber had been sitting on the material, as one fan clocked it as the tune soundtracking their pregnancy announcement
'I'm startin' to be open to / The idea that you know me too / I like when you hold me to ya / I like when you scold me too,' Justin sings in the first verse.
But some fans didn't buy the more romantic tunes, with one suggesting that his songs that appeared to be inspired by Hailey felt 'so forced' compared to earlier pop songs that fans believed were inspired by his ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez.
Some of the songs had potentially autobiographical titles, like Dadz Love, which could refer to Justin becoming a first-time father last year.
The song was also a clue to how long Bieber had been sitting on the material, as one fan clocked it as the tune that soundtracked their social media post announcing Hailey's pregnancy with Jack.
Others, like Therapy Session and Forgiveness, seemed to allude to reports of marital strife between him and Hailey in recent months, as well as to his bizarre public displays.
But other titles seemed primed for love songs, such as Devotion, Soulful and Sweet Spot.
The latter tune came in for criticism from some early listeners for an unexpectedly X-rated guest verse from Sexxy Red that conflicted with the more romantic tone Justin set with his lyrics.
Several posters urged the pop star to put out a new 'solo' version of the song without Sexxy Red's verse, or to do a remix with a different performer in her place.
Several posters urged the pop star to put out a new 'solo' version of the song without Sexxy Red's verse, or to do a remix with a different performer in her place
One fan suggested that Justin couldn't pull off the steamy tone that the song called for. 'Sweet Spot should've been a Chris Brown or Usher song,' adding that, 'Justin needs to quit the act like fr.'
Another user joked, 'OG Justin fans gon hear sexy redd on sweet spot and ain't gon know what to do [sic]'
One fan suggested that Justin couldn't pull off the steamy tone that the song called for.
'Sweet Spot should've been a Chris Brown or Usher song,' they wrote, adding that, 'Justin needs to quit the act like fr.'
Another user joked, 'OG Justin fans gon hear sexy redd on sweet spot and ain't gon know what to do 😂😂 [sic].'
Although Bieber didn't clarify which — if any — of the images he shared are intended as Swag's album cover, one prominent black-and-white photo showed him shirtless from behind while Hailey stood in front of them and held Jack in her arms.
They appeared to be standing at the entrance to a barn bathed in darkness aside from a small rectangular door open on the other side that let in a sliver of light.
To the left, Swag was written in capital letters over a completely black background.
Other images featuring the Swag graphic showed a the titled in a minimalist black box, while next to it was a black-and-white photo of a shirtless Justin holding Jack in front of a sofa placed just inside of the the makeshift barn.
Bieber appeared to use his massively anticipated album drop to help promote another of his business, his new fashion project Skylrk.
The clothing brand, which he moved on to after publicly denouncing his previous apparel company Drew House, announced a surprise drop on its website.
The site now has two nondescript $160 hoodies in a light blue, faded black or yellow, along with multiple pastel tank tops, beanies, sunglasses and a variety of slide sandals.
As of Thursday evening, several of the 20 different items appeared to have already sold out.
Although it was a surprise to fans that Bieber was so close to releasing his seventh album, he hasn't exactly been hiding that he was working on it.
The artist posted several photos of him at work in the studio in recent months, suggesting he was making progress.
However, he had reportedly been nearing completion of an album way back in May 2022.
It's unclear if the album being released as Swag is essentially the same project he was working on as far back as 2022, or if it represents primarily new material.
Bieber's most recent collection of multiple songs was his 2021 gospel-influenced EP Freedom
He released his sixth studio album, Justice, earlier that year.
It received only mixed reviews, but it managed to top the Billboard 200 albums chart and was certified 2x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Justin's previous LPs include Changes (2020), Purpose (2015), Believe (2012), the Christmas album Under The Mistletoe (2011) and My World 2.0 (2010).
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From the mid-1990s onwards, Italy was a moribund gerontocracy, dominated either by charismatic sleazeballs such as Berlusconi, or monochrome, pro-EU technocrats such as Romano Prodi and Mario Draghi. Disillusionment was widespread, fuelling the brief, dysfunctional rule of comedian Beppe Grillo's populist Five Star movement, which hated everything but ultimately stood for nothing. As Meloni sneers: 'The Five Star Movement was nothing but a group of fake revolutionaries who once elected turned out to be the greatest defenders of the status quo.' Five Star aren't the only false prophets in Meloni's sights. She is contemptuous of Italy's 'radical-chic' globalists, and even finds fault in John Lennon's song Imagine, for dreaming of a world without nations and religion. 'Is it truly a dream to imagine a world without borders, without distinctions, devoid of centuries of culture and tradition, a world where we are all not equal in rights, but just made the same?' she writes. Having a go at Lennon may seem petty, but it speaks to Meloni's strongest suit: her hardline stance on illegal immigration. Italy is at the frontline of the migrant crisis, with a million people arriving by sea in the past decade. Many toil, slave-like, in Mafia-run businesses, while a new Nigerian Mafia, the Black Axe, is challenging the authority of local mobsters. Meloni has successfully led a bloc of EU nations demanding Brussels allow offshore detention camps for failed asylum seekers, although she makes clear that she'd rather have an all-out naval blockade of North Africa. 'One of the tragic truths that the do-gooders ignore is where these people actually end up,' she writes. 'The greater the number of migrants, the worse their living conditions become, and with them, the conditions of those communities that receive them also deteriorate.' Meloni's fans – and there are many, including Donald Trump Jnr, who writes a foreword to this memoir – will enjoy this book for the glimpses it offers into their heroine's mindset. But like most political autobiographies, it's self-serving. Scores are settled, and certain sensitive episodes omitted altogether. We hear nothing, for example, about how her absent father was jailed for nine years in 1995 for trying to smuggle 1.5 tonnes of cannabis resin into Italy. There's no mention of how she abruptly ended her relationship with her long-term partner, TV host Andrea Giambruno, after recordings emerged of him making lewd comments to female colleagues. Meloni, with whom he has a daughter, announced her separation from him on social media within hours of the comments surfacing two years ago. The book also suffers from its lack of new material. There are no accounts of her dealings with Trump, who, at times, has seemed to prefer her over von der Leyen when he wants to 'talk to Europe'. Nor, despite their sharing a trench in the culture wars, does Meloni address her differences with Trump over the very real war in Ukraine, where she has generally been pro-Kyiv. Like her namesake cocktail, this autobiography will not be for everyone. But among the many for whom 'Giorgia' has become an acquired taste, it may be just enough to leave them wanting another. ★★★☆☆