Latest news with #Bieber
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Did the Surprise-Release Strategy Work for Justin Bieber's ‘Swag' Based on Its First-Week Returns?
It was a quiet start to the summer in pop music, but it's been a lot louder recently — with perhaps the most noise being generated by superstar Justin Bieber's release of a new album with just 10 hours' notice. Swag, Bieber's first LP since 2021's Justice, dropped at midnight on July 11 after having been announced earlier that afternoon. The 21-track set features another sonic left turn for The Bieb, eschewing the widescreen pop sound of his Justice LP in favor of a softer, more intimate alt-R&B, inspired by collaborators like Dijon, Eddie Benjamin and Carter Lang. The album bows at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, with 163,000 first-week units (according to Luminate), while launching 16 tracks onto this week's Billboard Hot 100, led by the No. 2-bowing focus track 'Daisies.' More from Billboard Stevie Wonder Says He'll Never Give Up Performing: 'You Don't Have to Retire' Nick Cave Reflects on Lessons of Grief on Anniversary of Son's Passing Megyn Kelly Slams Steamy Jennifer Lopez Concert Clip: 'So She's a Soft Porn Star Now' How should Bieber feel about the album's debut performance? And does it show the surprise-release strategy to be a smart one for him? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below. 1. Bieber's debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 163,000 first-week units (behind Jackboys & Travis Scott's best-selling set), while its lead single 'Daisies' bows at No. 2 on the Hot 100 (behind Alex Warren's 'Ordinary' in its seventh week on top), as 15 other tracks from the set also enter the chart. On a scale from 1-10, how good do you think Bieber and his team should be feeling about that first-week performance? Katie Atkinson: Considering the whole world didn't know the album existed until the day before — and there was no physical release, music videos or promotional appearances — I'm going to go with a 9. These are big week-one numbers based almost entirely on streaming, and it's Bieber's biggest streaming week ever. Not to mention, if Swag came out one week earlier, it would have been No. 1 (as Morgan Wallen's I'm the Problem spent its eighth week atop the chart with 151,000 equivalent album units). It isn't No. 1, but it's a win. Katie Bain: I'm sure there's a twinge of disappointment as the reasonable expectation for a project of this magnitude is No. 1 debuts across the board. However, the competition is stiff right now, so I'm sure the general vibe is like, 8-ish, and the idea now is to pull the necessary levers to keep climbing. Stephen Daw: A hearty, solid 9. Had it been double No. 1 debuts and the dethroning of 'Ordinary,' this would be a strong 10, but moving over 150,000 units and charting more than half the album's songs on the Hot 100 is still a massive reason for celebration. Kyle Denis: A solid 8. Considering this is a surprise release that had a limited number of formats and a sound that strayed from the chart-topping pop of Justice and Purpose, Swag pulled off a strong showing. Over 75% of the album landed on the Hot 100, and the LP gifted Bieber the biggest streaming week of his career. No. 1s are nice to have, yes, but it's not like he's starving for them on either the Hot 100 or Billboard 200. Andrew Unterberger: An 8 seems right. Considering how Bieber's sonic detours haven't always been warmly greeted, this getting such a resounding streaming debut and such a major response for its lead single have to be seen as wins — though undoubtedly, Bieb and his team would've loved to see at least one of those No. 2 bows get bumped up a spot. 2. was given a largely surprise release, debuting just 10 hours after its existence was announced. Would you say the first-week response to the set has validated that release strategy, or do you think he would have done better with more build-up? Katie Atkinson: I think the surprise release was effective, but could have been even more potent if his team had been working on a physical release behind the scenes (not unlike the Jackboys 2 rollout, which had the surprise element and a physical release) or if there had been a 'Daisies' music video ready to roll at midnight. Of course, then there would have been way more opportunities for the surprise release to be spoiled. So if Bieber wanted the purest possible surprise, he got it this way… and his best streaming numbers yet. Katie Bain: 2021's Justice got the full court press, superstar artist red carpet album campaign. (Including, fwiw, this cover story I got to write about it.) That all worked about as well as the global team that made it happen hoped it might, with the album debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. That said, I think the sonic right turn of Swag and the general tone of Bieber's public life and persona right now are simply more well-suited to a surprise drop, given that it's effectively a mic drop move that cuts through the considerable noise. The sonic evolution of the album, paired with its release style, gives the sense that regardless of what the messaging has been about Bieber over the last 12 months or so, he's doing things on his own terms. (Here I can't help but think of Beyonce's 2013 self-titled surprise drop, with that out of nowhere release strategy similarly underlining the new direction of that album.) And whether or not Swag could have done better with more build-up seems negligible, as it's doing quite well. Stephen Daw: It's a validation, I think. Take a look at his last album, 2021's Justice, and you'll see that the traditional release pattern worked — Bieber announced that album about a month prior to its release, and the LP earned a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 and 154,000 equivalent album units in its first week. While Swag didn't nab that top spot, it did move almost 10,000 more units in its first week with almost no promotion beforehand; the only reason it was boxed out of the top slot of the Billboard 200 was because of another behemoth album bow. Clearly, the prospect of having a new Bieber project available to listen to within mere hours of its announcement paid off in spades. Kyle Denis: I think the sneak-attack strategy was the right move. Between the overt shift in sound, the built-in discourse provided by the Druski skits, and the general lack of an overarching visual aesthetic, too much lead time would have given fans too much opportunity to form conclusions and opinions about Swag before hearing it in its entirety. The only downside is that he couldn't pull to release week armed with a litany of vinyl variants and physical listening formats. Andrew Unterberger: I think it works for this album, because it's clearly not geared for top 40 dominance and it has a sort of spontaneous, of-the-moment feel to it — down to it including skits that address Bieber memes that were still peaking in public awareness the week of its release. There've been reports that he has a more traditionally pop album due in 2026, I'm confident that one will get the full advance push, and also probably be better off for it. 3. Much has been made of the sonic left-turn of the set, with Bieber adopting a more organic, alt-influenced approach to R&B (influenced by collaborators Dijon, Carter Lang, Eddie Benjamin and more). Do you think the transition has been a successful one for Bieber? Katie Atkinson: It's a perfect fit, honestly. And even more so than the sound of those contemporaries, I keep hearing a much earlier inspiration of 'quiet storm' R&B — albeit in a much rawer production. There are so many songs that I feel like are reaching for the sound of Michael Jackson's 'Human Nature' (which is a pretty high bar to reach for). His fans have always clamored for R&Bieber, and this feels like a natural sound for his adult evolution. Katie Bain: Absolutely. To my ears, Swag is the most cohesive and fully formed (read: best) Bieber album yet. Nothing sounds put on or like made-in-a-lab pop music. His collaborators all feel extremely well-suited and bring their own flavor while also helping Bieber make that flavor his own. I feel like he's been working towards this level of authentic artist statement for a while, and with the R&B meets AM radio sound on Swag, he claims it. Stephen Daw: By the numbers, by the audience's reaction, by the reviews and by my own personal taste, I'd say yes, this is definitely a successful pivot for Justin. Sure, there were some songs that didn't quite work as well for me on this album (I could've done without the interstitial skits), but the ones that did work felt like they were really excellent additions to his discography. It also didn't feel forced — Justin has been steadily moving into his R&B lane since Changes, so watching him lean into this slightly more experimental R&B sound felt natural to the progression he's been building over the last half-decade. Kyle Denis: Yes. From Believe deep cuts to Journals, Changes and 'Peaches' — which earned him his first R&B Grammy nod — R&B has always informed Bieber's music. With Swag, this alternative-minded approach feels like a more natural fit than the faceless trap&B he played with on Changes. The Biebs' voice has always shone best, to me, against analog instrumentation, and there's plenty of dry, acoustic guitars for him to play around with on Swag. In fact, the album's music is so solid that it only exposes how unnecessary, and generally unfunny, those Druski skits are. Andrew Unterberger: Sure. Shoulda given it a different title tho. 4. Does 'Daisies' make sense to you as the focus track and best-performing song on the set? What percentage chance would you say it has of eventually dethroning 'Ordinary' on the chart? Katie Atkinson: Yes, and I think if he had put out a visual alongside 'Daisies,' it would have had a real chance to replace 'Ordinary' this week. If radio continues to grow for 'Daisies' and we get a music video (bonus points if his baby Jack Blues appears in the video, as he's been a presence in the promo photos), there's a clear path for Bieber to score his ninth Hot 100 No. 1. Katie Bain: I mean, not really. I think that's why it works? It's not an obvious single and it doesn't sound like a whole like the rest of the album, but it does sound really different from a lot of what's on the charts right now. I think that's hooking people. In terms of it dethroning 'Ordinary' — I don't know, but I do think that that song, while nice, is a sound that's been heard before, so maybe 'Daisies' night overtake it on the power of freshness. Stephen Daw: I wholeheartedly agree with our colleague Lyndsey Havens that 'Daisies' was the immediate standout on Swag. His voice sounds the best it has in years on this track, the accompanying guitar creates a familiar vibe and the track grooves into this natural crescendo that just feels good. Given the right radio push (which is already in the works) and a cool music video, I'd give 'Daisies' a solid 60% chance at dethroning 'Ordinary' in the next few weeks. Kyle Denis: If I think about it… yes, 'Daisies' makes sense. (Though I can't shake the feeling that songs like 'Yukon,' 'Go Baby' and 'Way It Is' may pull ahead in the coming weeks.) I'd say 'Daisies' probably has a 70-80% chance to dethrone 'Ordinary,' it just needs to build up some motion on radio. Andrew Unterberger: There's a number of songs off the set that may have worked, but 'Daisies' certainly feels as appropriate as any of them. I don't know if it has much chance of dethroning 'Ordinary,' though — it'll need a ton of radio support (and/or a majorly viral music video) for that, and I can't say I see that coming for 'Daisies' in the near future, if at all. I'd say 20%. 5. Between Bieber's and Tyler, the Creator's this week, we've seen a return to the surprise-release (or at least quasi-surprise-release) album format that had largely seemed to fall out of vogue with pop's A-list in recent years. Do you see this as a potentially meaningful pivot moment in terms of industry strategy, or is it more just a scheduling fluke? Katie Atkinson: As much as I professionally bristle at a surprise release (journalists like a heads-up), I understand an artist's desire for a shorter ramp into a project – especially artists at the level of Justin and Tyler. Less speculation about what a project will sound like, fewer interviews. It puts the focus almost instantly on the music and not fans' ideas of what the music could or should be. Katie Bain: If I have to guess, two surprise drops happening so close together is probably a fluke. However, I do think two artists of this caliber both going this route right now suggests a broader fatigue with traditional album campaigns, perhaps on the part of both labels and the artists themselves. Not everyone can pull it off, but for artists with the fanbase and name recognition, it seems like an effective way to cut through the noise and sidestep the demands of promoting a new project in a pretty fractured media ecosystem. Stephen Daw: I think it's safe to call this a pivot in industry strategy at this point, and Swag and Don't Tap the Glass are just the latest examples. Kendrick Lamar's GNX was a surprise release, and it's been hovering in the upper echelons of the chart for the last 33 weeks. Even A-list albums that are traditionally announced and then released are seeing shorter and shorter promotional windows, and it keeps paying off for big artists wanting to capitalize on novelty in a news cycle that's grown increasingly fast-paced over the last decade. Don't be surprised when we start seeing more and more 'world stop' moments from big-name artists in the coming years. Kyle Denis: I think it's a meaningful pivot in terms of artists — at least those who can afford to — releasing off-cycle more often. New Music Fridays only get more crowded with each passing week, so dropping albums midweek à la Tyler or Jackboys allows artists to get an entire day's worth of attention and conversation to themselves as opposed to fighting 1,000 acts for a sliver of the public's eyes and ears. I think we'll also continue to see surprise-esque releases for pop A-listers trying on notably different sounds, like Drake surprise-dropping his dance album (2022's Honestly Nevermind) a few years back. Andrew Unterberger: I think it might be something we start to see more of from artists who don't necessarily want to generate maximum advance hype for their new sets — either because they've been gone for a while and want a softer return (like Bieber) or because they actually haven't been gone for long at all and don't want to risk overexposure (like Tyler). I'll be very curious to see what Beyoncé does for her expected upcoming Part III release; she's always been a true bellwether for industry standards with these things, so if she returns with a sneak attack, that officially means we should all be on high alert for major releases falling from the sky until further notice. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Four Decades of 'Madonna': A Look Back at the Queen of Pop's Debut Album on the Charts Chart Rewind: In 1990, Madonna Was in 'Vogue' Atop the Hot 100 Solve the daily Crossword
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Justin Bieber addresses drug use in cryptic social media post amid fan concern
Canadian singer Justin Bieber has reposted a clip of DMX refusing sobriety without explanation, prompting speculation about his own stance on drug use Justin Bieber has subtly addressed drug use on Instagram this week by sharing a throwback clip of the late DMX refusing sobriety in a 2013 episode of Iyanla: Fix My Life. When asked if he wanted to live clean, DMX fired back: 'No weed, no drinking, nothing? Why would I?' He added: 'I think I'm exactly where I need to be with God.' Bieber, 31, didn't add any caption or explanation to the video, which was originally posted by Los Angeles dispensary Gassy. The singer, who had been open about his Christian faith and bond with Churchome pastor Judah Smith, has frequently posted images involving marijuana, though always within the bounds of California's legal recreational use. Concerns about Bieber's health have circulated this year, but his representatives have continued to deny speculation of hard drug use, telling TMZ in February: 'The recurring narrative that Justin is using hard drugs is absolutely not true." The Baby hitmaker is reportedly focused on music and fatherhood following a major reset in his personal life. However, it's not the first time Bieber has posted about drug use. Back in March, he left fans more concerned than ever after seeming to take drugs in an Instagram post - with the star also appearing to have ditched his wedding ring in the snaps at the time amid concerns about his marriage to Hailey Bieber. In his past post, Justin shared six very similar photos of himself appearing to use a bong to smoke marijuana. The shots showed the Canadian singer sitting on a bike, with several quad bikes parked behind him. Justin kept his head down and covered with a hood, layering his hoodie with a navy and purple jacket, paired with loose black trousers and light brown boots. At the time, the singer made a clear glass bong the star of the photos, alternating between lighting it and blowing out huge streams of smoke. If the photos weren't clear enough, he chose the song Hits from the Bong by Cypress Hill to play in the background It comes after Bieber surprised fans by dropping a new album titled SWAG. The Baby singer released new music, with tracks including Therapy Sessions, Dadz Love and Devotion, amongst others, last week. In his emotional album - which some fans are describing as his best work yet - Justin opened up about his own feelings and emotions at length, where he and his collaborators sang and spoke about their emotions. Justin has concerned fans as of late with his erratic social media posts, and there have even been rumours he has split from his wife, Hailey Bieber. However, it seems like they are stronger than ever as he shared a snap of them and their son to mark the album release. In his song All I Can Take, Justin sings about "no one listening" and talks about the "symptoms of his sensitivity". He explains in the lyrics: "These symptoms of my sensitivity / Feels worser knowin' no one's listening / This is it, I can't change, Lord knows I try." In another part of the song, he sings about all he can take, as he shares: "And it's all I can take (In this moment) / And it's all I can take (All I can take) / And it's all I can take (In this moment)." In Daisies, he talks about whether someone loves him or not and his own fears about the future of a bond with someone else. He makes no specific reference to any relationship including that of his wife Hailey Bieber. In the song, he sings, "Throwin' petals like, "Do you love me or not?" / Head is spinnin', and it don't know when to stop / You said "Forever," babe, did you mean it or not? / Hold on, hold on." In his track Go Baby, Justin sings about supporting someone else as they struggle. He promises them they can cry on his shoulder whenever they need and that they "don't need to pretend" they're ok. "When sunlight turns to shadow and it gets hard to face / Like water to a flower, babe, I know you need the rain / Nothing needs to work out and nothing needs to break / Don't need to pretend that you're okay," he sings. "So cry on my shoulder, just turn into me / Cry on my shoulder whenever you need it / You better believe it that I can hold all the weight and shrivel inside." And in his track Walking Away, Justin worryingly sings about being "defenceless" and wanting to change. "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 defenceless," he sings, whilst in another bit, he adds: "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."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Collaborator on New Justin Bieber Album 'Swag' Says He Was ‘Mad Cool'
Putting aside whatever speculation, rumors and chatter surround Justin Bieber in recent months, one thing remains certain: his talent as a musician is undeniable. Going one step further, the process of working with Bieber has largely received high praise from those collaborating on his albums. That fact stood true again on Bieber's newest album, Swag, which features collaborations with several names and various artists. This includes Cash Cobain, whose debut studio album, Play Cash Cobain, was released in 2024. During an interview with GQ, Cobain spoke about the process of working with Bieber and explained how the duo came together to create the song "Swag." Cobain revealed that he messaged Bieber after the 31-year-old showed love by posting his song Trippin on a Yacht. 'I wrote bro like, 'We got to get some work in,'' Cash recalls. 'So I'm like, all right, boom—took bro's number down and then we was chopping it up for, I don't know, a couple days.' Cash said that Bieber reached out to him when he was in New York and met the pop star at his house, where there were several producers, rappers and artists. The 27-year-old rapper then detailed to GQ what the creative process was like working alongside Bieber, calling him "mad cool." 'You might think Justin Bieber would be on some other s---, but bro is mad cool. It was just natural...' Cash recalls, saying that Bieber was very loose in communicating a specific vibe that he was shooting for when making the song. 'He was just like, 'Swag. Swag, bro.' He on some swag s---. That's [all] him right there.' Cash went on to praise Bieber's first song on the album Swag, saying that the first song stood out to him, calling the beat something he's never heard anyone "really try to emulate." Bieber's 21-song album features credits to a few well-known names, including 2 Chainz for background vocals on "Yukon." The same song gives credit to Eminem as a composer-lyricist, but as Billboard details, that stems from an interpolation of a line from Eminem's "Untitled," a song on his 2010 album on New Justin Bieber Album 'Swag' Says He Was 'Mad Cool' first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 17, 2025 Solve the daily Crossword
News18
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Swag: Cash Cobain Calls Justin Bieber ‘Mad Cool' After Collaborating On Surprise Album
Cash Cobain praised Justin Bieber as 'mad cool' after collaborating on the latter's surprise album, Swag. Justin Bieber's Swag collaborator Cash Cobain has hailed the pop star 'mad cool". The 27-year-old drill star – whose real name is Cashmere Lavon Small – came to feature on the title track on Bieber's surprise album after he shared his love for his track Trippin on a Yacht on social media and he slid in his DMs to suggest they work together. He told GQ: 'I wrote bro like, 'We got to get some work in.' So I'm like, all right, boom—took bro's number down and then we was chopping it up for, I don't know, a couple days." On the informal Swag sessions at Bieber's home – which he shares with wife Hailey Bieber and their baby boy Jack Blues – he said: 'I pulled up on him and in his crib. He had like, mad other producers, rap people in the room – like, it was people I know and s***, just creating and s*** like that. We was just sitting in a circle, [passing] the mic and just saying s*** on the beat. I was just saying mad dumb s***." Praising the Baby hitmaker's attitude, he said: 'You might think Justin Bieber would be on some other s***, but bro is mad cool. It was just natural…. He was just like, 'Swag. Swag, bro.' He on some swag s***. That's [all] him right there." The finished song was the result of a day of ad-libbing. Cobain insisted: 'That was just off the first day we met, for real." Praising the production, he said: 'That s*** hard, especially that first song. 'That first song is like a '90s type beat. They went crazy—I've never heard nobody really try to emulate that sound." Bieber reportedly relished having 'full creative freedom" over his new album. The chart-topping star is no longer under Scooter Braun's management, and he's not 'having to stress about creating the perfect single, or perfect album". A source told Rolling Stone magazine: 'Breaking away from Scooter Braun and his team has been something that Justin has wanted for so long, and now that he's fully free, he could finally share this album with his fans and with the world. 'Having full creative freedom, sadly, is something new for him as an artist. Not having to stress about creating the perfect single, or perfect album, allowed for him to create the best body of music he's ever made." Location : California, USA First Published:
LeMonde
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- LeMonde
Justin Bieber returns with 'Swag,' a polished and confident seventh album
If you were to believe social media, Justin Bieber, the 31-year-old former teen idol, had hit rock bottom. He posted videos of himself on Instagram appearing out of sorts, argued with paparazzi and seemed to be wallowing ever since the beginning of the scandal surrounding rapper and producer P. Diddy, who stands accused of sex trafficking. According to Bieber's fans, this episode resurfaced old traumas from when he was just a 14-year-old thrown to the wolves after the explosive success of his 2010 hit song "Baby." Then, on Friday, July 11, Bieber unexpectedly released his seventh album, Swag. One reason behind this surprise release likely lies in the agreement Bieber reached with his former manager and producer Scooter Braun – the same Braun who sold the rights to Taylor Swift's first six albums, sparking a lengthy legal battle and Swift's re-recording of her early records. The deal now allows Bieber to have artistic control over his music. He makes full use of this new freedom on a 21-track album, marking a deliberate break from his early pop and embracing a polished, assertive R&B sound.
