It is clear that music is in a singles driven market. More music listeners are into music streaming or buying singles rather than buying albums. The new songs released by Justin Bieber sound optimized to do well on streaming platforms because they are not too long, they are catchy and the songs get right into the message of the music. The best part about his new music is that it can be listened to repeatedly and fans can get different messages from the music depending on the perspective they take while listening.
As a pop artist, Bieber is deliberately attempting to get to the core of his music. A short time ago, he came out with “Lonely”, which is another minimalistic track that is aimed for the music streaming audience and lyrical messages to the fans. What he is doing artistically is similar to what the rock band Muse does. Everything in Muse is stripped down, each vocal and instrument has a stark emphasis throughout their music. Bieber’s new music functions in the same way. His new songs have a light production behind them so the song lyrics and vocals will take center stage. “Holy” is an interesting concept and Chance the Rapper is the perfect collaborator for this song. All the verses are about how wonderful someone can make you feel and how to appreciate it rather than taking it for granted.
“Holy” has been a released single since September 2020, but the music video debuted on YouTube, November 5th. As a pop artist, Bieber seems to be in a place where he just wants to make good songs. In his documentary earlier this year, the video featured part of one of his new songs “La Bomba” featuring J Balvin. Over the summer he released “Stuck with You” featuring Ariana Grande. All of these new tracks are more about the lyrics rather than a broad pop production that is typical of the genre.
The artist appears to be in a good place where he can just focus on the kinds of songs he’d like to perform. These new tracks are not on his latest album or appear on any movie soundtrack. They are singles that will all due pretty well because music-streaming is common and is a great way to reach all of his fans. Bieber has appeared to find a formula that works for Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify and all the other major streaming services.
The directness and tone of the music is refreshing. Pop music sometimes has too many elements going on at the same time to present a high-quality live performance, music video or recorded song. In his recent releases, Bieber is casual and delivers a good song in a more relaxed, laid back fashion. The new music makes Bieber appear authentic, like he’s not trying to sing or perform in a way that does not reflect how he feels. Bieber is a multi-instrumentalist, but for right now he seems like he’s more interested in revealing himself through lyrics than anything else.