SWAG

The day before the surprise release of Justin Bieber’s seventh album, a series of billboards popped up from Atlanta to Reykjavik—earnest black-and-white photos of the shirtless superstar posing with his wife, Hailey Bieber, and their infant son, Jack Blues, taken by the same photographer who shot the cover art for Kendrick Lamar’s *Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers*. In the months before, the 31-year-old was unusually candid, sharing esoteric demos and posting frankly about his struggles with mental health and fame: “Don’t you think if I could have fixed myself I would have already?” he wrote on Instagram in June. Beside the photos was a single word: SWAG. A lot has changed in the four years since the pop icon’s last record, 2021’s *Justice*—from a split with longtime manager Scooter Braun to the birth of his first child in August 2024. Meanwhile, it was rumored (correctly, it would turn out) that he’d been quietly working with producers like Dijon and Mk.gee, whose murky takes on ’80s pop and R&B had been buzzing in more alternative circles. Their influence informs much of the 21-track *SWAG*, whose emphasis on organic textures, reverb-heavy production, and dreamy vocals stands in contrast to the hyper-polished pop anthems of his past. Here, Bieber wipes the slate clean, countering aching love songs with wispy acoustic demos (“ZUMA HOUSE”), alt-rap experiments (cameos from Gunna, Sexyy Red, Cash Cobain, and, maybe most surprisingly, cloud rap legend Lil B), and a handful of endearingly silly skits featuring the comedian Druski as Biebs’ therapist. Over a moody, understated alt-pop palette, he delivers the most nuanced love songs of his career, addressing marriage in all its complications on tracks like “DAISIES” and “DEVOTION.” “When the money comes/And the money goes/Only thing that’s left/Is the love we hold,” he sings on “BUTTERFLIES,” which begins with a clip of a clash with paparazzi, flipping a vulnerable public moment into a sweet, soulful testament to the things that last.

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