"Holy" 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 ...
, featuring vocals from American rapper
Chance the Rapper.
It was released on September 18, 2020, as the lead single off Bieber's sixth studio album, ''
Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
'' (2021).
"Holy" is a
pop song with elements of
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
.
''
Billboard'' named it the 41st best song of 2020. The acoustic version was released on November 6, 2020. The official music video for the song was released on September 18, 2020, and features Bieber as a laid-off oil worker and his partner being helped by a charitable soldier.
Background
Bieber's fifth studio album ''
Changes
Changes may refer to:
Books
* ''Changes'', the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series
* ''Changes'', a novel by Danielle Steel
* ''Changes'', a trilogy of novels on which the BBC TV series was based, written by Peter Dickinson ...
'' was released on February 14, 2020. On September 15, 2020, Bieber tweeted that his new single "Holy" would be released in a few days to signify his next musical "era". It has been speculated that the song is about Bieber's love for his wife
Hailey Bieber
Hailey Rhode Bieber (; born November 22, 1996) is an American model, media personality, and socialite. She has been featured in major ads for Guess, Ralph Lauren, and Tommy Hilfiger.
Early life and family
Hailey Rhode Baldwin was born in Tu ...
and his love of God. "Holy" discusses themes of loyalty and faith, with ''The New York Times'' calling it "devotional R&B".
Bieber and Chance had previously worked on several songs together, with "Holy" marking their fifth collaboration.
In terms of the lyrical content, both Bieber and Chance are Christians as well as songwriter Jon Bellion.
Jon Bellion earlier performed it at a VIP concert event saying that it will be released later in the year. Bellion's fans would begin to beg for it and eventually get it released by Bieber and Chance The Rapper, whom Jon would work with knowing they would reach a broader audience and more ears overall.
Composition
"Holy" is a
R&B,
Piano pop,
Trap
A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research.
Trap or TRAP may also refer to:
Art and entertainment Films and television
* ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...
song, with
Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
elements. The song composed in
G-flat major
G-flat major (or the key of G-flat) is a major scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has six flats.
Its relative minor is E-flat minor (or enharmonically D-sharp minor), and its parallel ...
with a tempo of 88 beats per minute.
Release and promotion
Bieber performed a live version of the song on ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'' on October 17, 2020. He performed the song again at the 2020
People's Choice Awards
The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...
in November.
The acoustic version of the song was released on November 6.
A charity version of the song was released on December 18. This version featured the
Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir
The Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir is made up of a wide range of NHS workers, including doctors, nurses, therapists and many other staff from across the NHS workforce. In 2015, they achieved the UK Christmas number 1, with their single " A Bridge ...
, who had got to the top of the
UK Christmas singles chart in 2015 with their charity release "
A Bridge over You", a chart which saw Bieber at number two with "Love Yourself". "Holy" was an early contender for the 2020 UK Christmas number one in the UK. However, when the new version was released on 18 December 2020, it still had a credit for Chance the Rapper, like the original version which first entered the UK chart on 25 September 2020. As the new record was seen as just a remix, "Holy" ended up at Number 41 in the Christmas chart with 17,594 sales, after being classed as per the original release with a lower chart ratio.
Critical reception
''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' rated the song 3/5 stars, and drew similarities to
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
's gospel music. ''
Stereogum'' criticized the song's bland lyrics and execution, writing, "Being madly in love with your spouse is good; it’s just that the Justin Bieber songs about being madly in love with your spouse are bad."
Year-end lists
Commercial performance
"Holy" debuted and peaked at number one on the
Canadian Hot 100 issued for October 3, 2020.
It was certified 2× Platinum by
Music Canada.
On the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, it debuted and peaked at number three.
It earned a 3×
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Pla ...
certification from the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which denotes three million units based on sales and track-equivalent on-demand streams.
"Holy" reached number seven 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 ...
, and the
British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...
(BPI) certified it Gold.
In Australia, the song charted at number four and went 2× Platinum.
It peaked at number two in New Zealand and received a Platinum certification.
"Holy" reached the top 10 of national record charts, at number two in Ireland,
number three in the Netherlands,
Norway,
number five in Singapore,
Sweden,
number six in the Czech Republic,
Malaysia,
number seven in Denmark,
number eight in Poland,
number nine in Scotland,
and number 10 in Austria,
Hungary,
Switzerland.
The song received a Gold certification in Belgium,
Norway.
Music video
The music video for "Holy" was released the same day as the song, September 18, 2020. It was directed by
Colin Tilley
Colin Tilley (born June 27, 1988) is an American filmmaker, music video director, and television commercial director. Tilley is the CEO and owner of Boy in the Castle Productions. He has directed more than 300 music videos.
Tilley directed, pro ...
and stars
Wilmer Valderrama
Wilmer Eduardo Valderrama ( , ; born January 30, 1980) is an American actor, producer, and television personality. He is known for his role as Fez in the sitcom ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006), Agustín Madrigal in '' Encanto'', and as Carlo ...
and
Ryan Destiny
Ryan may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
Places Australia
* Division of Ryan, an elect ...
.
The video follows Bieber, a recently laid off oil worker, and Destiny as a couple who meet a helpful soldier played by Valderrama. The video has been interpreted as a commentary on the
Just Transition. As of December 18, 2021, the official music video has surpassed over 186 million views.
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from
Jaxsta
Jaxsta is an Australia-based database of music credits. According to a 2018 report in ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', "it wants to be a cross between Bloomberg and LinkedIn, a trusted source for the music industry when it comes to finding out who ...
.
[ Credits cited to ]Jaxsta
Jaxsta is an Australia-based database of music credits. According to a 2018 report in ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', "it wants to be a cross between Bloomberg and LinkedIn, a trusted source for the music industry when it comes to finding out who ...
.
*
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 ...
– lead vocals, songwriting
*
Chance the Rapper – featured artist, lead vocals, songwriting
*
Jon Bellion
Jonathan David Bellion (born December 26, 1990) is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter. He was born and raised in Lake Grove, New York on Long Island. He is best known for his song "All Time Low," along with his writing and producing cred ...
– production, songwriting, background vocals, percussion
* Jorgen Odegard – production, songwriting, background vocals, drums, engineering, programming, synthesizer
*
Michael Pollack – production, songwriting, background vocals, piano
* Steven Franks – production, songwriting
*
Tommy Lee Brown – production, songwriting, bass
*
Anthony M. Jones – songwriting
* Elijah Marrett-Hitch – assistant mixing
* Darian Elliot – background vocals
* Melodie Pace – background vocals
* Michael Bethany – background vocals
*
Kirk Franklin
Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) ...
– choir arranging
*
Scooter Braun
Scott Samuel "Scooter" Braun (born June 18, 1981) is an American entrepreneur, investor, and entertainment executive. Known as the manager for artists such as Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, J Balvin, Demi Lovato, The Kid Laroi and other artists ...
– choir arranging
*
Chris O'Ryan
Chris O'Ryan (born July 6, 1980), known professionally as Tek, is a Grammy Award-winning Australian music producer and sound engineer. He is best known for sound engineering and doing vocal production for multiple major music artists, including ...
– engineering
* Devin Nakao – engineering
* John Arbuckle – engineering
* Josh Gudwin – engineering, mix engineering
* Colin Leonard – mastering engineering
* Michael Havens – recording engineering
* Candice Mills – vocals
* Carla Williams – vocals
* Christeyun Morgan – vocals
* Demarcus Williams – vocals
* Denae Daugherty – vocals
* Drea Randle Matthews – vocals
* Eboni Ellerson – vocals
* Eric Birdine – vocals
* James McKissic – vocals
* Ja'Quoi Griffin – vocals
* Mariann Shaw – vocals
* Marshari Williams – vocals
* Myron Williams – vocals
* Tameka Sanford – vocals
* Zahrea Clayton – vocals
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{authority control
2020 singles
2020 songs
Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles
Chance the Rapper songs
Justin Bieber songs
Def Jam Recordings singles
Music videos directed by Colin Tilley
Songs written by Chance the Rapper
Songs written by Jon Bellion
Songs written by Justin Bieber
Songs written by Michael Pollack (musician)
Songs written by Tommy Brown (record producer)
Song recordings produced by Tommy Brown (record producer)
Contemporary Christian songs
Songs written by Anthony M. Jones
Song recordings produced by Jon Bellion