"All Around the World" is a song by Canadian singer
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...
from his third studio album, ''
Believe'' (2012). It was written by Bieber,
Sir Nolan
Nolan Lambroza (born July 25, 1990), better known as Sir Nolan, is an American record producer and songwriter based in Encino, Los Angeles, California. He has worked with notable artists such as Nick Jonas, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Justin Bie ...
and
Nasri of
The Messengers in collaboration with
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive.
Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...
, who guest features. This was the second collaboration between Bieber and Ludacris, having previously collaborated on "
Baby
An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...
" (2010). It was first released on June 4, 2012, as a promotional single from the album. The song was released as the fourth international single, and the fifth and final US single on February 26, 2013. The
Eurodance track features a similar instrumentation to songs by
Britney Spears,
Chris Brown and
Usher. Lyrically, it features Bieber singing to his love interest that "all around the world, people want to be loved". "All Around the World" received critical acclaim from
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
, who welcomed the song's Eurodance style. The song had moderate success worldwide, reaching the top ten in several countries, such as Belgium, Canada and Norway. Bieber promoted the song through live performances and a music video.
Background and composition
In late 2011, Bieber confirmed to radio network
Capital FM that he was recording material for his third studio album, which was originally going to be released in early 2012. He later spoke to
MTV News and revealed that ''Believe'' would surprise people in different ways, since it is musically a departure from his previous works.
"All Around the World" was written and produced by
The Messengers and Nolan Lambroza, while Bieber and
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive.
Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...
wrote additional lyrics. On May 25, 2012, an unmastered version of the track leaked online.
The cover art for the promotional single was unveiled on June 4, 2012, and features Bieber holding an acoustic guitar over his shoulder, standing on the surface of the world, while the moon is glowing behind him.
The same day, the track was released on
iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
through
The Island Def Jam Music Group
The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by the Universal Music Group. It consists of labels devised and consisted under the basic operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordi ...
.
The song was later released as the fourth international single, and the fifth and final US single on February 26, 2013.
It is a
Eurodance song, which incorporates heavy
synth-pop elements in its instrumentation and is similar to previous works by producer
David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...
.
Contemporary critics compared the track to
Britney Spears' "
Till the World Ends
"Till the World Ends" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her seventh studio album, ''Femme Fatale (Britney Spears album), Femme Fatale'' (2011). It was written by Kesha, Dr. Luke, Alexander Kronlund, and Max Martin, while the prod ...
" (2011) and
Chris Brown's "
Beautiful People" (2011).
Lyrically, Bieber sings for his love interest and says that "all around the world, people want to be loved".
[ The track opens with he singing, "You're beautiful, beautiful/You should know it/I think it's time, think it's time/That you show it", lines that were compared to ]One Direction
One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the g ...
's "What Makes You Beautiful
"What Makes You Beautiful" is the debut single by English-Irish boy band One Direction. It served as their debut single and lead single from their debut studio album, '' Up All Night'' (2011). Written by Savan Kotecha and producer Rami Yacoub, ...
" (2011). As the track follows, Bieber encourages girls to release their inner beauty: "Light it up, so explosive/Why you acting so shy, holding back/DJ bring that back." During the rap section, Ludacris references their previous collaboration on "Baby
An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...
" (2010), saying, "Once again, the dynamic duo is back at it!/ JB, Ludacris!/ I love everything about you/ You're imperfectly perfect/ Everyone's itching for beauty/But they're just scratching the surface."[
]
Reception
Critical response
"All Around the World" received mostly positive reviews from music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
. Jenna Rubenstein of MTV thought that the "fist-pumping club banger" is a complete departure from Bieber's previous work,[ while Diadem Pambid of the '' International Business Times'' stated that the singer joined the "' synth-pop' bandwagon" along with Britney Spears, Chris Brown and Usher.] Jocelyn Vena also of MTV stated that the song could have been recorded by Usher, due to its "grinding, fist-pumping" background.[ '']Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' columnist Ray Rahman gave "All Around the World" a positive review, and stated: "a Euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
beat worthy of The Wanted? The vocal swagger of Chris Brown? Lyrics smacking of One Direction? Check, check, and check, please!"[ Rick Florino of ]Artistdirect
ARTISTdirect is an American online digital media entertainment company.
Overview
Founded in 1994, it owns several websites, including artistdirect.com and artistdirectinterviews.com. These websites are a group of affiliate websites offering mul ...
rated "All Around the World" five out of five stars, and commented that the track is not only a sequel to "Baby", but is also "a whole new level for pop itself." Becky Bain of Idolator explained that the song is a good example of how Bieber is taking "baby steps to 'swaggy' adulthood through the evolution of his music — keep the content G-Rated, but make the beat something the older club-going crowd can enjoy. So far, it's working."[ Amy Sciaretto of Pop Crush gave the track a mixed review, and deemed it as highly similar to the work of Spears, stating: "If you told us this song was penned for Britney Spears for her last album '' Femme Fatale'', we'd ''Believe'' it, because the computerized style and the thick vocal effects remind us of recent Brit material. It's safe to say that 'All Around the World' is a club banger. And while we love Bieber, it's not our favorite song on ''Believe'' so far."
]
Chart performance
In the United States, "All Around the World" debuted at its peak number 22 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on June 23, 2012, becoming the week's best-debuting single.[ On the ]Pop Songs
Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...
chart, it peaked at number 19.[ On the Canadian Hot 100, it peaked at number ten.][ "All Around the World" debuted on the ]UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
at its peak of number 30, for the week ending June 16, 2012.[ In Denmark, it debuted at its peak of number seven, remaining five weeks on the chart.][ On the ]Norwegian Singles Chart
VG-lista is a Norwegian record chart
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide chart ...
, it peaked at number three.[ "All Around the World" debuted at number 56 on Sweden's national singles chart, later peaking at number 41 and then fell out after two weeks.][ The track also peaked at number 34 in Australia and 15 in New Zealand, lasting for two weeks in both countries.][
]
Music video
The official video was premiered on April 12, 2013. "Blessed and grateful to do what i do #AllAroundTheWorld. Thanks", he wrote linking to the video. It is a "tour video" which is entirely composed of Bieber showing his point of view while he is touring the world and is largely based on his performance over Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
. It also illustrates vistas from the places he visited and documents national monuments including the Elizabeth Tower
Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. The official ...
, the Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
Locally nicknamed "' ...
, the Sydney Opera House, Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...
, Giza pyramid complex, the Colosseum
The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...
and Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil. Ludacris, joins Bieber in the video during the rap portion of the song. It also included images of the singer posing with fans, and others crying and screaming for him.[
Nardine Saad from '']Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' noted that the video "briefly makes us sympathetic toward the Biebs and his eyebrow-raising behavior this last year, which has included speeding, possibly smoking pot and frequently walking around shirtless" and named the fans' part "memorable". The same noted Ryan Seacrest's website, saying "proves that no matter where he goes, there will always be plenty of fans to support him". ''Entertainment Weekly'' notes that it "show off Justin Bieber in an all-white suit and in a leather-jacket outfit. Ludacris appears for a guest-verse, indicating that this may all be a stealth prequel to ''Fast & Furious 6''". Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
's Christina Lee described the video as "flashy" and wrote that it "offers a rose-colored view of his superstar status".
Live performances
Bieber performed "All Around the World" at the Capital FM Summertime Ball 2012. For the performance, he sported fingerless gloves, a Union Jack tank with matching vest, and jeans. The singer also performed the track during a promotional concert in Europe on June 4, 2012, along with "Boyfriend
A boyfriend is a male friend or acquaintance, often specifying a regular male companion with whom a person is romantically or sexually involved.
A boyfriend can also be called an admirer, beau, suitor and sweetheart. The analogous female ...
" and " Die in Your Arms". Bieber also performed "All Around the World" and "Boyfriend" at the 2012 MuchMusic Video Awards
The 2012 MuchMusic Video Awards were held June 17, 2012 at MuchMusic's headquarters in Toronto, Canada. Katy Perry was the first performer announced. The award show was co-hosted by LMFAO.
Nominees
Nominees for the People's Choice Awards were ...
on June 17. The song is also used as Bieber's 2012–13 Believe Tour
The Believe Tour was the second concert tour by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It was launched in support of his third studio album, '' Believe'' (2012). Beginning in September 2012, the tour played over 150 shows in the Americas, Europe, Asia, ...
's opening song. Entering from the upper portion of the arena, Bieber was lowered onto the center of the stage wearing a massive pair of charcoal-colored wings. He was quickly joined by a troupe of male backing dancers as the song was played. Fireworks exploded, laser lights shot wildly from the ceiling, confetti fell to the floor and plumes of smoke were released from the bottom of the stage. Sophie A. Schillaci from ''The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'' gave a negative review for the performance and wrote that "if you can move past Justin Bieber's bizarre stage entrance, flying in on a set of ginormous metal wings to the tune of 'All Around the World', it's hard not to smile at his show".
Charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{authority control
2013 singles
Justin Bieber songs
Ludacris songs
Eurodance songs
Song recordings produced by Kuk Harrell
2012 songs
Songs written by Adam Messinger
Songs written by Nasri (musician)
Songs written by Ludacris
Island Records singles
Songs written by Justin Bieber
Songs written by Sir Nolan