Album- My World 2.0
Artist- Justin Bieber
A while ago I said that Hunter Hayes was like the country
version of Justin Bieber. So I felt that it was only natural to have a listen
to Bieber’s debut and see how that sounded. The only thing was I was confused
what was his actual debut, the My World E.P or the My World 2.0 album. Since
Baby was his definitive worldwide hit, I decided to listen to the latter. Here
are the results:
Track 1- Baby
(featuring Ludacris)
This is the song that Justin Bieber will always be
remembered for. Its sickly sweet pop that will immediately divide attention. On
the positive side the simple chorus, which is fuelled by repetition, is
actually really catchy. The production is pretty simple and doesn’t overpower
the song. Bieber’s vocals are pretty okay, and the Ludacris feature isn’t bad.
On the negative side, the chorus can easily slip into annoying territory, the
lyrics are just so clichéd and sickly sweet that it’s a little ridiculous, and
vocally though he’s not bad he’s not amazing either. So it’s a track that you
either will just love for some reason or will hate for some reason, your call.
3/5
Track 2- Somebody to
Love
This club induced track feels slightly like another Baby
number, but it has more of an aggressive beat and more of an overall dance
feel. Whilst lyrically it’s so clichéd that it is really wrong, the contrast of
the more subtle verses and the powerful chorus gives the sense of Bieber
actually needing someone to love rather than just singing about it. And the
steady drums mixed with the great techno beats give a great groove to the track
that elevates it beyond being a baby rehash.
3.5/5
Track 3- Stuck in the
Moment
This mid to down tempo song is a nice pace changer and
features a really cool electro beat that runs as a simple undercurrent to the
track. The light vocals of Bieber give a freshness to the track, although it
perhaps cause the sentiment of being stuck in the moment to be lost a little
too the listener. And the lyrics are simple and whilst the hook is a little
catchy, the clichés, particularly that of Romeo and Juliet and Bonnie and Clyde
are a bit too much to take.
2.5/5
Track 4- U Smile
This is a nice mid tempo that has just a hint of a bluesy
feel to it. What’s great about this track is the way that it is composed, with
the verses being much more lyrically driven than the chorus but always never
too long and bringing us straight to the pop hook. The chorus is indeed merely
the hook of the song, a simple too liner that whilst sickly sweet is very
memorable and so allows for a catchy tune. And the light tone of Bieber’s voice
naturally gives the song that feeling of the singer being happy, whilst the
piano instrumentation and simple use of drums gives a light, airy feel to the
song that works with the overall message.
3.5/5
Track 5- Runaway Love
This track to me kind of feels like it has a 90’s boy band
kind of vibe, which is perhaps brought out through the head bopping production
and groovy love driven production. But because of this the song just feels that
little bit dated, with the “my baby” lyrics being so stereotypical that it is
really bad. And his vocal tone just doesn’t allow us to believe that he is
looking for a runaway love, and pretty much feels emotionless. The only thing
that maybe saves this track is the production which features some nice subtle
electric guitar undertones and gives a slight RnB flavour to the song that
gives it a little bit of a groove factor. Maybe it would have been better to
have produced a proper up tempo number for this place on the record.
2/5
Track 6- Never Let
You Go
This ballady feeling track is a nice number that is perhaps
one of the best on the record. The lyrics aren’t brilliant but they hold that
overall sense of hurting if someone went and give off that sense of emotion.
And unlike on other songs, the vocals work here, maybe even giving a cool new
flavour to the track as it almost makes it seem as if this is a song not just
about not letting someone go but about feeling that first love moment and the
power that relationship has. And the production is really down stated for this track,
just having that subtle groove that allows for the vocals and what the artist
is trying to convey to come to the fore.
3.5/5
Track 7- Overboard
(featuring Jessica Jarrell)
This down tempo number is soft track that feels very much
like stereotypical teen pop stuff that is unfortunately just dull. Whilst their
voices work well together and the message of the track feels elevated by the
use of two artists, it’s very middle ground vocal that give a simple sweetness
to the track that has been heard before. The acoustic guitar, violin and piano
instrumentation is just too similar to many songs released by other teen
artists, and whilst the concept is quite cool, its very much cliché driven love
lyrics. You can enjoy this track if you just take it as it is but if you’re a little
bored of teen duets in music just skip it.
2/5
Track 8- Eenie Meenie
(with Sean Kingston)
In contrast to the previous song the lightness and fun of
this collaboration just makes it a good listen rather than boring. Whilst the
lyrics are blah because they have that love fuelled cliché sentimentality to
them, the pop hook is great and catchy, and the repetition is just an ear worm
kind of listen. The track also works well in pairing the two voices together,
with Kingston’s more deeper tone contrasting well with Bieber’s more naturally
light tone. And the production is really kept simple to create a steady bit
that makes this a chilled out song as equally as it is a get up and dance
number, and it definitely has a nice summer tinge to it.
3.5/5
Track 9- Up
This mid tempo number has Bieber singing about how a relationship
can only get better. But unfortunately this song isn’t any better than any
other material on the record: in fact it’s probably the worst song, as the concept
has already been covered countless times and so the lyrics just sound boring,
whilst the production might as well just not exist for all the good it does,
with the only nice thing about the song being the layering of Biebers vocals,
although this still doesn’t mean his vocals strengthen the track, in fact is
light tone perhaps makes it seem as if you can’t actually go up from here.
1/5
Track 10- That Should
Be Me
The atmospheric beginning of this track continues with the
icy feeling production that prevails throughout, and whilst the sentiment has
been said before it’s something that many could identify with and so sounds
fresh. The issue is that Bieber’s vocals just make it sound as if this song is
all wrong: that we can’t actually believe that at his age he has ever felt
this.
2.5/5
Final Review
Justin Bieber’s great in that he always caters towards his
fan base and puts on the charm to win them over. But in many cases his lack of
maturity brings the songs down, and the album is also a little clogged down by too
many slow numbers. It’s a nice enough album but if your not a fan you probably
won’t enjoy it, and it definitely is an album that acts as a sign that he needs
to mature in time for the next record. Or at least he could have made a record
that had more of the troubles of being a teenager in there.
4.5/10
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