5 Things Justin Bieber's New Single, "Boyfriend," Taught Us About His Upcoming Album
Justin Bieber is officially back! Although we've been hearing rumblings about his new album, Believe, for a few months now, we finally got our first taste of some new music from it late Sunday night when he posted a link to Believe's first single, "Boyfriend," on his Twitter page. "IM HERE," he tweeted. "#BOYFRIENDonITUNES NOW!!! #BieberBlast."
And just like that, millions of Bieber fans ran to iTunes to download the new track, which was produced by Mike Posner and features Biebs doing a considerable amount of rapping. So, how is it? Well, it's...different. Compared to songs like "Baby" and "Somebody To Love" that have been smash hits for Bieber in the past, "Girlfriend" sounds very grown up. You'll definitely hear a different side of Bieber than you've heard in the past when you press play.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, though. It just goes to show that Believe is going to sound a lot different than his last album, My World 2.0. How so? Well, we think we've got a couple of ideas. We haven't actually gotten the chance to hear Believe yet, but if "Boyfriend" is any indication, there are a few things that we think we already know about JB's album. So we put together a list of the 5 things "Boyfriend" taught us about Justin Bieber's upcoming album. You'll have to wait a little longer for the album to drop, but this is what you can expect when it does.—Chris Yuscavage
3. Slang words like "swaggy" will be used early and often on Believe.
Anyone got Merriam-Webster's number handy? Because once Believe drops, we get the feeling that there are going to be a handful of words that they need to add to the dictionary. We also get the feeling that the word "swag" and any words even closely related to it are going to disappear from hip-hop's vernacular forever. JB uses it multiple times on "Boyfriend" and we get the sense that he's not going to stop using it on the rest of the album. So, please just be prepared for the day when your mom or dad busts out the word "swag" on you. JB is about to make it go mainstream.
4. Believe will be way bigger and sell way more copies than My World 2.0 did.
Obviously, that's the goal here. JB is infinitely more popular today than he was back in 2010 when My World 2.0 drops. And he was BIG back then, so that's really saying something. We think Believe has the chance to be his definitive album, though. Not only will he have the tweens lining up for it. But he'll also have teens, young adults, and even a whole bunch of adults running out to buy it because it sounds like he's creating music tailored more to their tastes now. If "Boyfriend" sounds like the other stuff he's recorded, he's going for a more grown-up sound and that's definitely going to translate into more sales for him. It also means that more people will be paying attention to Believe when it drops. Get ready for Bieber Fever to hit new heights.
5. The Justin Bieber/Justin Timberlake comparisons will get even louder once Believe drops.
That's right. We said it! Those pesky Justin/Justin comparisons you hear? They're only going to increase and get even louder than they already are once Believe drops. JB doesn't sound like a little kid anymore on "Boyfriend." That leads us to believe that he's ready to start trying to live up to those JT comparisons on his new project. And, call us crazy, but we think he's ready to make a big impact on the world of music with Believe. That all starts with "Boyfriend." Are you ready?
