Justin Bieber’s I Think You’re Special: Pink Cotton Candy Pop from the Master

It is not uncommon for artists or bands to quickly release a follow up record to a successful record. In the past, this was mainly remixes of the other tracks and maybe a B side or a couple tracks that didn’t make the original. Now, there are porjects like Taylor Swift’s Evermore (which was a quick follow-up to Folklore) and SZA’s SOS Deluxe: Lana (which was a quick follow-up to SOS). Bieber has joined this movement with his release of SWAG II, which comes only a handful of months after his comeback record SWAG. This is closer to SZA than Swift, in that, much like SZA, he has one record of new tracks and another with some remixes of SWAG. Much like how SZA has new songs on Lana, but also includes the entire SOS record.

Before we get into I Think You’re Special, let’s have a quick look at SWAG II. First off, this record is enormous. It is a double record…which doesn’t really make sense to me in the land of digital media…but I guess would be a double record if you got it on CD…on vinyl this might even be 3 or 4 records. There are roughly 40 tracks on this pop beast, which has it’s plusses and minuses. It gives Bieber room to have some amazing collabs, but some of these tracks could have stayed on the cutting room floor. So, the new tracks is a mixed bag, but there is enough there to warrant the release…but maybe pair it back to a slim 15 tracks on side one.

Above all else, this is Bieber back to his glittery pop best. It’s not a mistake that SWAG had a black cover compared to SWAG II’s bright pink cover. This record is Bieber moving from his mature introspective record back to the glittery pop he loves to make. This is his classic slowed down 4/4 structure full of boppin’ bass lines and percussion. This is the classic Bieber pop song structure that has sent him into super stardom. There’s nothing new here, that was all spent on SWAG, but it is still tight and well done. You just want to put the top down and get in the groove. The one thing about his pop music is that it is incredibly listenable and you can find yourself losing track of time and space as you drift along with the verses.

Even if the music is different than SWAG, the themes are the same. This is Bieber the family man and “wife guy,” so much like SWAG this is about how his wife changed his life and how he values her. This is a more grounded version of Bieber than the partying drag racing man of the past. I think he comes across as more genuine and confident than his earlier work, which was very paint-by-numbers in a lot of ways. His amazing pop vocal is still there and it’s complimented by Tems…who is quickly becoming a reggae favourite of mine. being featured on a Bieber track shows her crossover power. This move by Tems and Koffee opening the recent Harry Styles tour shows how reggae is crossing over more and more into pop. They work really well together and Bieber has a history of amazing duets.

This track is less of a statement than SWAG, but it does say to fans that he is back to stay. Where SWAG let the music world know that he was taking music seriously and still had talent, I Think You’re Special is a signal to the fans that the glittery vibe pop is still there and he isn’t going to turn into Radiohead. As a huge fan of Purpose it’s great to see Bieber back making some meaningful and fun pop.

Listen to I Think You’re Special