| Justice | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Justin Bieber |
| Cover: | Justin Bieber - Justice.png |
| Caption: | Standard edition cover. The "Triple Chucks" deluxe edition cover features a greener overlay with the words "Triple Chucks" at the top, while the complete edition features a black and white overlay with the words "Complete Edition" at the top |
| Recorded: | May 2019–February 2021 |
| Studio: | Henson Recording Studio |
| Label: | |
| Producer: |
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| Prev Title: | Changes |
| Prev Year: | 2020 |
| Next Title: | Freedom |
| Next Year: | 2021 |
Justice is the sixth studio album by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It was released on March 19, 2021, by Def Jam Recordings. The album features guest appearances from Khalid, Chance the Rapper, the Kid Laroi, Dominic Fike, Daniel Caesar, Giveon, Beam, Burna Boy, and Benny Blanco. The "Triple Chucks" deluxe edition of the album was released on March 26, 2021, exactly a week after the standard version. It features additional guest appearances from Lil Uzi Vert, Jaden, Quavo, DaBaby, and Tori Kelly. The complete edition was released on October 8, 2021, and includes the tracks on store versions of the album that did not make the regular album. It features additional guest appearances from TroyBoi and Poo Bear. The album includes production from Benny Blanco himself, Virtual Riot, Andrew Watt, Skrillex, Finneas, Jon Bellion, the Monsters & Strangerz, and numerous others. It serves as the follow-up to Bieber's previous album, Changes (2020). Justice is a pop, R&B, and dream pop album.[1] [2]
The album was supported by six singles, including the US Billboard Hot 100 number-one "Peaches" and the top-ten singles: "Holy", "Anyone" and "Ghost". "Holy", which features Chance the Rapper, was released as the lead single on September 18, 2020. "Lonely", which is a joint track alongside Benny Blanco, was released as the second single on October 16, 2020. "Anyone" was released as the third single on January 1, 2021. "Hold On", was released as the fourth single on March 5, 2021. "Peaches", which features Daniel Caesar and Giveon, was released as the fifth single with the album on March 19, 2021. "Ghost" was released as the sixth single on September 10, 2021.
Justice debuted atop the charts of ten countries, including the US Billboard 200 and the Canadian Albums Chart. The fifth single "Peaches" simultaneously debuted atop the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian Hot 100. In the United States, the peak of the album marked Bieber's eighth chart-topper, and made him the youngest solo artist to achieve as many number-one albums at 27 years old. Justice and "Peaches" both held the number-one spots on the respective charts simultaneously in the same week, making Bieber the first solo male artist and the third act overall to achieve this feat. The album is certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Upon release, the album received generally favourable reviews from music critics, most of whom complimented its production and vocal delivery, but deprecated its lyrics and "confusing" concept surrounding justice. The album contains elements of pop rock, synth-pop, and new wave. Bieber promoted the album with live performances on various television shows, such as Saturday Night Live, The Voice, The Late Late Show with James Corden, and Good Morning America. To support Justice and Changes, Bieber embarked on his fourth concert tour, titled Justice World Tour, across North America, Europe, and South America, in 2022. At the 64th Grammy Awards, the album and its singles received a total of eight nominations including Album, Song and Record of the Year; the latter two for "Peaches".[3]
After releasing his fifth studio album, Changes (2020), Bieber was interviewed by Apple Music DJ Zane Lowe.[4] Bieber said he was looking forward to making music that would reflect the things that he had learned about commitment and building trust.[5]
On February 26, 2021, when Bieber announced the album, he stated: "There's so much deeper levels I'm excited to go to, which is fun. It gives me something to look forward to".
Before the release of lead single "Holy", on September 18, 2020, Bieber and featured artist Chance the Rapper discussed Bieber's follow-up to Changes on a YouTube livestream, in which Chance said that it reminded him of Michael Jackson's fifth studio album, Off the Wall (1979), and said that the album is "some of the best music I've ever heard" and that it is "groundbreaking music".[6]
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, when the singer was in quarantine at his house in Toronto, Bieber was sent a plethora of demos submitted to his management team by songwriters, managers, publishers and producers. Bieber recorded the songs he liked in his home studio and sent them back to his inner circle.[7] Bieber revealed on April 10, 2020, during an Instagram Live that he had recorded a song called "Anyone", which would later be released as the album's third single.[8] [9] [10] On April 18, 2020, on Instagram Stories, Bieber remarked his new album was sounding "crazy-good" in his opinion.[11]
The recording of Justice intensified once Bieber got back to Los Angeles a couple of months later. While his latest record Changes was R&B oriented, for this record nothing was off limits. While hanging out at Andrew Watt's house with Shawn Mendes, Bieber started to write the hook of the song "Peaches".[12] Watt showed Bieber around his home studio and said to him to "go play the drums" and after having recorded a drum beat, Bieber sat down at the piano and played some chords which they also recorded and looped. Then Watt recorded some bass and guitar and Bieber started free-styling and "just talking words back and forth for fun". After this session, Bieber asked Watt to send him the demo so he could work on it some more by himself.[13] Bieber posted a snippet of the song on his Instagram account on September 7, 2020.https://www.instagram.com/p/CE2K9bqn7NX/?hl=en Record producer Shndo later listened to it and decided to further produce the song. He screen-recorded the Instagram video, recorded some drums over it in the music software Ableton and decided to speed up the song. Shndo collaborated with music producer Harv, who added some more instruments to the song. They presented the song to Bieber who loved it and later re-recorded the hook and wrote a verse before sending it back to them to work on it some more. On the same day, Bieber contacted Giveon who accepted to be a part of the song while Daniel Caesar was later also asked to be a part of the track.[14]
Initially, Bieber's team was not planning on releasing an album so soon and Bieber realised that they had an album's worth of material in December 2020.[15] On January 22, 2021, Bieber shared an update on the new album on Instagram Stories. He wrote: "Finishing this album. Stay tuned." He also shared a picture of him singing in the studio.[16] On January 26, 2021, Bieber wrote on Twitter that he was going over the track listing for the album.[17]
According to Craig Jenkins from Vulture, "the album zips through synth-pop, Soulection-esque funk, dancehall-tinged electronic dance music, and rock-infused Afrobeats".[18]
According to allmusic "Justice is a decent addition to Bieber's catalog. It's distinguished by a variety of pop modes that includes vaporous Synth-rock and strumming acoustic ballads, Hip hop Gospel and bedroom EDM, and sun-dazed R&B and contemporary Afrobeat."
After Bieber ventured into a more R&B-oriented sound for Changes, Justice sees him return to his pop roots. Justice starts with the minimal dream pop track "2 Much" which contains Bieber's favourite line: "I don't wanna fall asleep, I'd rather fall in love".[19] [2] The second track, "Deserve You", has been described by Billboard and Bieber himself as a song that sounds like Phil Collins' work, and "striking 1980s power-ballad gold"[20] funk[21] and disco. "Off My Face" has been described as an acoustic ode to love which is stylistically comparable to his 2015 song "Love Yourself". The song includes soft-rock stylings and drunk-in-love double entendres. "Holy" was described as a "gospel-brunch rave-up". "Unstable" combines elements of piano ballads and 2000s country songs.[22] The eighth track, "Die for You" featuring Dominic Fike, is an "MTV-friendly" new wave, funk,[23] dance-pop,[24] dream pop, glam rock and disco song.[20] And ventures into pop-rock territory, a completely novel mode for Bieber. "Hold On" is a synth-pop song that was compared to Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes".[25] Also “Hold On” and “Somebody” revisit new wave’s metamorphosis into sophisticated adult contemporary pop.[26]
The sound of Skrillex-produced 80s rock[21] "Somebody" was described as "a hyper-pop experiment" that is driven by a "snappy baseline". "Ghost", the eleventh track is a pop-rock song with shimmering electronic synthesizers. The twelfth track, "Peaches", which features Daniel Caesar and Giveon, is a pop-R&B song that has been compared to Bruno Mars' work. And on the breathless dance-pop track[27] The next track, "Love You Different", which features Beam, is influenced by tropical house and Afrobeat, and has been compared to Bieber's 2015 single, "Sorry". The next track, "Loved by You", features Burna Boy and is influenced by afropop and dancehall.[27]
For Justice, Bieber's management team tried out a new multi-single release strategy, which was to release multiple singles, which would later lead into a new album. Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, came up with the idea in June 2020.[28]
The lead single of the album "Holy", which features American rapper Chance the Rapper, was released on September 18, 2020. It debuted at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 making it Bieber's 20th top 10 in the United States. Its music video was released on the same day and features Bieber as a laid-off oil worker and his partner being helped by a charitable soldier.[29] It was directed by Colin Tilley and stars Wilmer Valderrama and Ryan Destiny.[30]
The second single, "Lonely", a collaboration with American record producer Benny Blanco, was released on October 16, 2020. The track debuted at number 14 and peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Its music video premiered alongside the single.[31] It was directed by American music video director Jake Schreier and stars Jacob Tremblay, who plays a younger version of Bieber.[32] Bieber praised Jacob Tremblay for his talent, adding that he became emotional when he saw Tremblay play himself, while he acts as a spectator "from the outside looking in".[33] In a livestream on Bieber's YouTube channel after the song's release, both Bieber and Blanco called Tremblay one of the best child actors they have ever seen. "The first time I watched him go through the segment... I legitimately lost it," Bieber said of witnessing Tremblay on set. "I was tearing up, like completely."[34]
The third single, "Anyone", released on January 1, 2021. The track debuted and peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100.[35] The music video premiered alongside the single.[36] It was directed by Colin Tilley and stars American actress Zoey Deutch who plays Bieber's love interest in the video. Bieber portrays a 1960s boxer whose powerful love for his other half inspires him to train, fight, and eventually overcome a potential K.O. on his journey to becoming a champion.[37] For the music video, Bieber covered up all of his tattoos.[38]
The fourth single, "Hold On", was released on March 5, 2021. The track debuted at number 26 and later peaked at number 20 on the Hot 100 chart.[39] Its music video was released alongside the single and was directed by Colin Tilley. It stars Taiwanese actress Christine Ko who plays Bieber's love interest in the video. The video opens with Bieber on the run from the police, before suffering a gunshot wound. However, as the video flashes back, the viewer learns why Bieber is running from the police in the first place.[40]
The fifth single, "Peaches", which features Canadian singer-songwriter Daniel Caesar and American singer-songwriter Giveon, was released alongside the album on March 19, 2021. The song debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and became Bieber's seventh number one in the United States. Bieber also became the first solo male artist to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts simultaneously.[41] The song's music video premiered alongside the song and album.[42] It was directed by Colin Tilley and sees the three artists cruising the Las Vegas Strip.[43]
The sixth single, "Ghost", was sent to French radio stations on September 10, 2021.[44] The song debuted at number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart following the release of Justice and later peaked at number five after being released as a single.[45] The music video, directed by Colin Tilley, premiered on October 8, 2021. Actress Diane Keaton stars as Bieber's grandmother in the video.[46] The video sees Bieber and Keaton mourn the death of his grandfather at an ocean-side funeral.[47] [48] After two years, Bieber sees that Keaton is still struggling from her husband's passing, so he buys her expensive things and the two partake in activities together.[49] The video ends with Bieber finding Keaton a new man who resembles her widower on a dating app called Slide and taking her to meet him, setting her up on a date with him.[50]
To promote the album and its singles, Bieber performed on several TV shows including Saturday Night Live, The Late Late Show with James Corden, and Good Morning America.[51] [52] Bieber debuted his singles "Holy" and "Lonely" during the third episode of the 46th season of Saturday Night Live, on October 18, 2020.[53] The single "Anyone" was performed live for the first time during Bieber's New Year's Eve concert on January 1, 2021.[54] On March 13, 2021, Bieber performed "Hold On" for the first time on the 2021' Kids Choice Awards.[55] The fifth single "Peaches" was performed live for the first time two days before its official release, on March 17, 2021, during Bieber's first Tiny Desk concert.[56]
Bieber performed a 15-minute livestream concert from the rooftop of a Paris hotel. The concert premiered on Bieber's YouTube channel on April 13, 2021. Directed by David Ctiborsky, the concert revealed Bieber and his live band performing on a roof at sunset, with landmarks like the Eiffel Tower visible in the background, and later in the halls of the hotel. During the concert the singer played several tracks from his Justice album, including "Hold On," "Somebody" and "Off My Face." The final track, "2 Much," brought Bieber back to the roof after night falls, with the Eiffel Tower glowing behind him.[57]
The documentary Next Chapter, directed by Michael D. Ratner, premiered on YouTube on October 30, 2020. It provided an intimate look at Bieber's life in quarantine and while recording Justice.[58] [59] While talking about the documentary, Bieber said: "I'm excited to catch up with [the fans] and to share the progress I'm making, the new music I'm working on, and what I'm excited about for the future."[60]
See main article: Justice World Tour. After the release of his lead single "Yummy" from his fifth studio album Changes on January 3, 2020, Bieber announced the first round of dates for his new tour titled Changes Tour, on January 13, 2020.[61] The tour was scheduled to begin on May 14, 2020, in Seattle at CenturyLink Field, but on April 1, 2020,[62] it was announced that the tour would be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[63] On July 23, 2020, Bieber announced rescheduled dates for the then called "Justin Bieber World Tour" slated for 2021, starting on June 2, 2021, in San Diego at Pechanga Arena.[64] On May 6, 2021, Bieber announced rescheduled dates for the tour, now called "Justice World Tour". Bieber hit the road on February 18, 2022, at Pechanga Arena in San Diego and the tour ran through Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Denver, Atlanta, Montreal, Tampa, Austin, and more.[65] Bieber said about the tour in a press release: “We’re working hard to make this tour the best one yet. I'm excited to get out there and engage with my fans again.” The tour officially started on February 18, 2022 in San Diego and ended on September 4, 2022, in Rio de Janeiro after Bieber needed to take a break from music and touring in order to focus on his health.
On January 14, 2021, Rory Kramer snapped 3,500 photos of Bieber across three Los Angeles locations.[66] The cover was taken within the night's final 100 frames. In the definitive photo, Bieber is crouched in Downtown Los Angeles' 2nd Street Tunnel.[66] His hand covers his left eye, while his right eye is introspectively closed. Bieber chose the picture to be the album cover in mid-January at his home in Los Angeles. In an interview with The Indianapolis Star, Kramer stated: "You saw how certain he was, he saw that vision. It was cool to witness, someone so excited about his project. It's cool to have the artist be super passionate about your photo. It's the ultimate compliment".[66]