Justin Bieber Releases "Changes" His Comeback R&B Album About Finding Love and Happiness (Review)
Justin Bieber released his highly anticipated album, Changes, on February 14, making it his first album since 2015’s “Purpose.” Releasing it on Valentine’s Day, Bieber opens up about his marriage to Hailey Bieber and how it changed him for the better.
ALL AROUND ME
The album’s opener, All Around Me, is a slow and sultry song that emphasizes Justin’s vocals as he states how much he needs his wife, Hailey, all around him. This song opens up about how he found himself being loyal to her after he’s been done so hurtful in the past, making him only loyal to himself. It opens up about how he can’t believe how spoiled he is in this life compared to before.
This song is a strong opener that doesn’t have much crazy production, leaving the focus on Justin’s missed-falsettos. It also creatively ends with a baby saying “I love you Hailey.”
i need you all around me, wouldn’t wanna be in any other place
Habitual
Habitual is a catchy and sexy song that on the first listen, is automatically a favorite. The lyrics of the song are very poem like. Take a look:
Flowers open when they feel the sunlight
Moonrise, tide change, right before our eyes
Aggressive but softly, you place your lips on my lips
We're each other's vice
Our feelings, they go deep, deeper than the touching
Deeper than the ocean, so we ain't never rushing through
The first verse is literally beautiful. I imagine this song playing in a romantic movie with the couple on a boat together.
Can't nobody keep me like you call it unconventional our love is habitual
Come Around Me
This song is one of the more up beat songs on the album, while still containing the same R&B melody that is cohesively heard throughout the album. It’s very catchy and can easily be stuck in your head. Justin’s voice hasn’t sounded better because he goes from the chorus into the smoothest falsetto. I love the play by play on the lyrics and how it this song subtly talks about sex.
who taught you how to drive stick, you a fool with it, love the way you fool with it
Intentions
feat. Quavo
As soon as this song came out, it automatically became my favorite on the album. Intentions is literally a BANGER as soon as you hear it. The lyrics are so catchy and adorable without clinging onto the cliche aspect that’s often seen in love songs. The beat.. POPPIN. The vocals…. SERVING. The production… FLAWLESS. I can’t get over the lyrics. I LOVE IT.
My favorite part is how Justin sings “heart full of EQUITYYYYY.” oof
shower you with all my attention yeah these are my intentions
Yummy
Ah, the controversial Yummy.
I already reviewed Yummy, but after hearing the whole album and Yummy serving as the lead single, I still don’t have any complaints with this song. Popular bandwagon to hate on this will never make me hate on this literal R&B perfection. This song has the production elements of R&B while keeping the fun and catchy lyrics of a standard pop song.
I said what I said.
Available
Oh this sexy gem. Available plays on the act of “assurance” in love and that’s something I absolutely adore. It’s a song that talks about how Justin is available at all times for his significant other, Hailey. It has a more upbeat tune that is catchy and easily recognized. I love the production of the song and how it takes a halt with Justin’s dominant vocals in the chorus.
Forever
feat. Post Malone and Clever
We love a song that proves us right.
I can definitely see this song being a hit because it’s an automatic favorite with its catchy tune. Post Malone and Clever ATE this song up. You know how some features ruin the song? Yeah this isn’t that case. I love that the lyrics play on the story of Justin telling Hailey that he wants her to be there with him forever, while mentioning the past trauma in a different relationship, but without having too much focus on that. I think that switch from topic was done very smoothly.
can you be here with me forever ever ever
Running Over
feat. Lil Dicky
Even though I often forget this song, as soon as I listen to it, I’m like oh yeah I like this song. Lil Dicky’s verse is actually my favorite because it’s so funny. This song has charm and humor and it’s played off very well. The tune sounds like a video game and it matches with the song because it’s like you’re “running.” I don’t know how to explain it but I think the production is very cool.
i got all up on ur ig and was scrolling down for hours, i got back to 2015 and you started looking young so i stopped… woah!
Take It Out On Me
I do like this song… she’s cute… she’s sweet. But she’s not special.
Second Emotion
feat. Travis Scott
If I had to listen to one song for the rest of my life, it’d be this song. From the vocals, to the lyrics, to the production, this song does not MISS A BEAT. It’s on the more upbeat side of the album and I fee like this would be really lit on tour. When Travis Scott’s part starts, it slaps. Travis maintains his traditional sound while blending in with Justin’s sound flawlessly and then Justin takes it back after, making the transition is the smoothest thing I’ve heard.
DO YOU SECOND THAT EMOTIONNNN
Get Me
feat. Kehlani
When Justin first dropped this song as a surprise, I was living for it. It’s a very mellow and chill song. Kehlani is a really good addition to the song because her voice really blends in with Justin’s. There is nothing out of place in this song and it just transitions from each part in a really pleasing way.
E.T.A.
Nicknamed as the “All That Matters” of this album, ETA, is THAT SONG. It starts off pretty slow and you don’t really know how hard the chorus is about to hit in the smoothest and most flawless way possible. I love the lyrics. I love the story it tells. I just love everything about this song.
i just wanna know your etaaaaaa
Changes
The album track really encompasses the album as a whole because this song talks about how Justin wants to achieve his best self so he can be the best to Hailey. He sings that he’s going through changes, but that it doesn’t mean he’s changed. I LOVE THAT because he’s telling the story that he’s never been the bad guy hence saying he didn’t change, but instead is using the changes to the better himself. I love the story being told here and the play by play on the words.
Justin’s talent jumped out once again because this song is pretty much acoustic with Justin’s voice powering over the the story he’s telling. He then ends the song saying “people change, circumstances change, but God always remains the same.”
After listening to this song, you get an idea of who he is as a person and I really like that.
Confirmation
Let’s talk about how he had to “restart” the song. Oop I love it. This song is very feel good with simple production. It gives me a very cozy vibe because it gives the reassurance that you have the rest of your life so it really focuses on living in the moment. Imagine cozying up with your significant other by the fireplace and listening to this song? Ugh, a dream.
we got the rest… got the rest got the rest the rest of our lives
That’s What Love Is
Another cute track that’s nice to listen to, or skip. Depending on the mood. I love the lyrics though, very beautiful.
At Least For Now
This song is very soothing and the lyrics are so detailed so they end up painting a story for us. It’s really beautiful. I think this song was a great way to end the album because it really wraps it all up.
trying to avoid disappointment…. at least for now
Yummy Remix
feat. Summer Walker
There are some things people need. There are some things people want. This remix was neither of them.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It really shows that Justin Bieber took his time in creating “Changes.” The album perfectly encapsulates his marriage to Hailey Bieber, how he really feels about her, their story, and truly how much he wanted to change to be a better man. This album flows perfectly together which resulted in the creation of Justin’s most cohesive album to date. Regardless of how you play the album, on shuffle or not, each song perfectly transitions into each other and tells a story of how Justin has changed and what this marriage means to him.
It’s a happy story of him finding love which is the perfect follow up to 2015’s “Purpose” in which he was finding himself. It illustrated who Justin really is now after many years of messing around in a single playboy type of life style that led to him having a sex addiction.
For Justin to jump into his true passion of pursing R&B after being pushed to do pop for so long by his label, is not an easy task. It takes a lot of work and power to truly leave the world’s most popular genre and go to a less popular genre like R&B. For him to capitalize in this transition, scoring a #1 album in the biggest music markets like the US, UK, etc., is not easy because often celebrities transition into pop because it is the most dominate genre.
I was going to complain and say that I would have liked a song or two depicting the bump in the road that he hit when he lost himself on his way to finding love. However, I really like how this album is cohesive not just in its style and sound, but in its story. After all, we can’t expect too much from one album.
I guess my only con for the album is the Yummy remix with Summer Walker because she didn’t add anything new to the song. It was just like oh here’s some extra vocals from her and then they just slapped on the remix title.
I also love how his documentary is called “Seasons” to showcase the creation of this album in which he went through “Changes.” It’s an era that fits perfectly together.
9.5 out of 10 stars
In comparison, Purpose is an 8.5.
Do you agree with our review? What are your thoughts on the album? Leave a comment down below. You can comment anonymously so take advantage of that.
What else do you guys want us to review?