Justin Bieber

Celebrity artists who become famous as teenagers have to navigate that tricky stage when they emerge from those teenage years and assert themselves as adults to their adoring fans. There have been many successful transitions from Donny Osmond to Michael Jackson to Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. But there are also those who have disappeared into oblivion, never to be heard again. As I said, there is no guarantee that the fans will stick with the celebrity once they become adults so the product that the artist releases is very important. For Justin Bieber, that means an album where he can show his adult chops and say bye bye to his “Baby” days. He has to show that he matured musically from My World to My World 2.0 to Believe (where he was still a teenager) to this album Purpose (when he turned 21). Based on the fans’, the critics’ and the Recording Academy’s response – the answer has been a resounding yes, with Bieber getting a coveted Album of the Year nomination for this work. Although he snubbed the ceremony, for me, it is still a big deal that the Recording Academy voters heard what we all heard – a strong album with great songs. Not all critics though agree and have made some snide comments about Justin’s opus, but for me – this album ranked as one of the best in 2015 – and one of my most favorite albums of all time!

Justin Bieber's album Purpose, released almost at the end of 2015, it will hardly lose its validity in many years and it will become a standard for many aspiring pop stars in the future. It makes clear who is the boss and who sets the trend. Regardless of the million-dollar sales, it has reached, which is very important for the industry, what stands out, is that many of the songs are written with the magic that many would like to have to turn them into an immediate success. The magic that I'm referring to is that Justin Bieber simply opened his heart and his thoughts to translate them into the melodies in which he surely had been working with some time in advance, and the connection with his audience (and with many who not were until then), was natural and effortless. It also shows the great love for delivering an album of this size, since only for the composition of the songs there was a lot of talent involved. Everything you can hear in Purpose seems simple, but it is one of the most complicated things that can be found in the world of music. For many, pop may seem frivolous, but it is not so. Our artist is an icon and in the whole world, he is not only loved, but also imitated. Justin Bieber deserves our full attention.

When Justin Bieber was introduced into the music scene as a YouTube pop star by R&B singer Usher in 2009, big things were definitely expected of the then 13-year old. He released his album My World and hit singles like “Baby” and “One Less Lonely Girl” became anthems amongst fans that would eventually term themselves Beliebers. It has been a rollercoaster ride for Bieber as is expected of an artiste who has achieved quite a lot at an incredibly young age. Hit tracks have been mixed with public misdemeanors, arrests, publicized on and off relationships and professional setbacks. All of that and more seemed to be finally laid to rest with the release of his Purpose album. Purpose was an album that Bieber had to make at the time he made it as he was at the verge of being written off as another wasted talent. His reputation had to be fixed somehow and Purpose was meant to do that job. For the album to serve its purpose though (no pun intended), Bieber had to be humble and grow up. Def Jam Recordings and School Boy Records officially released purpose on November 13, 2015. The 18-track album marks Bieber’s first big project since 2012's Believe and is all about an entirely new sound. It can best be described as a mix of dance-pop and EDM music as well as including slight influences of tropical house in some tracks and live instruments such as acoustic guitars in a few others. It was an album Bieber claimed was created over a period of two years, in which he struggled to find a musical direction as he had to record, scrap and re-record quite a number of its tracks. The album featured heavy production from Skrillex and Diplo whom he had earlier worked with on hit single “Where Are You Now.” Purpose had guest features that included marquee names like Travis Scott, Nas, Halsey as well as Big Sean. Bieber’s intention with purpose was to create an album that could encourage people through uplifting messages and he did that to full effect, further displaying his new-found maturity. The album made a solid debut on its release, storming to the number one spot on the US Billboard 200. Prior to the album’s release, singles like “Sorry”, “What Do You Mean”, “Love Yourself” and “Company” had already been released to generally positive reviews. Purpose went on to nick Grammy nominations for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 59th Grammy Awards, while "Love Yourself" got nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.

The story of young teen popstars going wild is not that unusual but usually that ends only one way in them fading away from limelight one way or another. But Justin Bieber not only found error in his ways at the peak of his career but did that before it was too late. We all remember cute shy Bieber with a haircut which was copied by millions, who then getting worldwide fame turned into what most of them have turned before ‘’The Wild One’’. This routine was not new for many but what happened afterwards was definitely shocking he genuinely acknowledged his mistake and talked about the dark side of fame and later dedicated an album to his journey of finding himself which brings us to Purpose.