Justin Bieber - Purpose (Album Review)

Justin Bieber is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter, and at only 21 he is already a world-known phenomenon. However, even though he was successful in 2009 with hits like; 'One Time' and 'One Less Lonely Girl' and then in 2010 with hit single 'Baby', he was not very well-liked by the public eye. His target audience adapted to the scene of young fan-girls, very much like one-direction; as even though his tracks were catchy, there was not much depth to them. Furthermore in 2012, Bieber released his 'Believe' album which received a more positive response compared to his earlier work. This lead to his fan base moving out of the young obsessive girls, and into a wider audience - even lads began to admire him and his work! Admittedly, even I was a secret 'Belieber' when he released his 'Believe (Acoustic)' album. Then in 2013 he released another album called 'Journals', however that never became a big success... After having two years to master a new album, JB finally released it on the 13th of November 2015. This album has moved more towards house music rather than 'pop', therefore a lot of people listen to his new work because it's music that you can dance to; he is inevitably amongst a lot of people's guilty pleasures at the moment. Due to the movement in genre,  Biebs may have lost some of his younger fans, but that does not matter because he has gained a hell of a lot more older fans, and I think that was his intention when he made the decision of entering the house music/dance scene.

Biebers first song is called 'Mark My Words' this is a soft, apologetic track to introduce the album, and you know that it can only get better from here onward. He regretfully sings the first line which creates an eerie, questionable atmosphere..

"Mark my words, that's all that I have.."

The next track is called 'I'll Show You' this song reflects more of a compassionate and softer side of Bieber, and he is trying to prove somebody wrong. He lives his life without any privacy due to constantly being in the eye of the media, therefore it is hard for him to get into relationships. Leading to this song linking back to his 'She Don't Like The Lights' hit off his 'Believe Acoustic' album.

"My life is a movie, and everyone's watching"

One of the most renowned track off Biebers new album is the next song called 'What Do You Mean?' This song is predominantly about Justin getting frustrated with a girl as she doesn't seem to know what she wants. 

"What do you mean? Oh,oh - when you nod your head yes, but you wanna say no."

This track became a big hit due to the repetitiveness of the lyrics and the dance beat, and the following song was also a big hit for the same reasons and that track is called 'Sorry'. Bieber obviously had a sexual encounter with somebody and she thought more of it.. However when he ended it he realised that he liked her too. Unfortuneatly it is now a bit too late Biebs..

"Is it too late now to say sorry? 'Cus I'm missing more than just your body."

The fifth song, called 'Love Yourself'  is about another sexual encounter, and she thinks that she has him wrapped around her little finger but he knows what game she is playing...

"And all the clubs you get in using my name... You think you broke my heart, oh girl for goodness sake. You think I'm crying on my own, well I ain't."

However he continues to play her back at her own games, and finds out she is sleeping with somebody else whilst he's been working.

"And I've been so caught up in my job, didn't see what's going on and now I know - im better sleeping on my own."

By this point in his album, during his next track called 'Company', Justin is sick of getting feelings for girls, therefore he just wants a quick one night stand or a short term bit of fun.

"You ain't gotta be my lover for me to call you baby, never been around no pressure ain't that serious no."

Im thoroughly surprised that this song isn't up there with 'Sorry',' What Do You Mean' and 'Love Yourself' because it's very catchy and has quite a beat to it. The next song is the first track on the album to feature another artist and it is called 'No Pressure' (feat.Big Sean) . This track has a different message than the other songs, as he's giving a girl time to make her mind up as he wants something more and he's being patient to see if she wants the same thing. The next song to feature another artist is called 'No Sense' (feat.Travis Scott). As the album progresses you can see that he just wants somebody to have a bit of fun with at the start and now he's starting to want a relationship, and is involving love within his songs...

"Oh my heart is a vacant house when you're gone away, so it's empty. And love don't make sense when it's empty."

I'm not particularly fond of the first two featuring songs, however I do like the next one which features a female voice accompanying Justin - 'The Feeling' (feat.Halsey). I just think that the collaborations of the two voices work really well together and the song in general is a good song, however I wouldn't necessarily say it is dance music, more like the song you listen to when somebody isn't replying to your texts. The next track is one of my favourites off this album as it just has so much raw emotion and truth to it and this song is called 'Life Is Worth Living'. As we all know, a few years back JB wasn't dealing with the stress of the paparazzi and his break up from Selena Gomez very well and he turned to marijuana and got arrested several times, but nothing too major... He is giving out a very clear message to his fans, telling them that 'life is worth living'.

"Life is worth living, so live another day."

The following track is also another dance song and it is very catchy too. This track is called 'Where Are U Now' it has a very positive beat to it, regardless of the message being the complete opposite and I think that is the reason why this dance track oddly works - it works because it shouldn't work... Moving forward, the second to last track on the album is called 'Children' and yet again it is another very emotional song and reminds me of one of his previous tracks off this album called 'Life Is Worth Living'. Emotional, yet it has a strong dance rhythm and beat to it - but I don't think that it works that well, therefore I don't particularly rate this song... The song to close off the album is of course the title track called 'Purpose'. This track is also a ballad like 'Life Is Worth Living' which mixes the album up a bit as it takes it away from the house genre,mand you get a bit nostalgic as you compare it to his old work. He obviously is holding back a lot of emotional pain as he ceases the album off with a short speech.

"That's what's happening with me, it's like 'God, I'm giving it all I've got, sometimes I'm weak and I'm going to do it.' And it's like I'm not giving myself grace, I'm just like understanding that's how it is."

In conclusion, I think that this album was definitely worth waiting for. I've never seen so many people talk about Justin Bieber in such a positive way during the past few months over social media, and in person. I think that the album as a whole is great, but I think that some songs just don't work... and that is only down to my personal preference, such as; 'No Pressure', 'No Sense', and 'Children'. I think that my favourite tracks off the album would have to be; 'Life Is Worth Living', 'Love Yourself' and 'I'll Show You'. This album is a fantastic car album, so I'd 110% recommend that you buy the CD for your car - discounting the ballads, it is such a positive album. The majority of the songs are a huge F*CK YOU to people who have hurt him, and singing along with him just makes you feel so sassy! Great album, I definitely do recommend that you give it a listen if you haven't already.

9/10