Purpose (Justin Bieber Album)

''Purpose'' is the fourth studio album by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It was released through Def Jam Recordings and School Boy Records on November 13, 2015, as the follow-up to his 2012 album '' Believe''. The album features guest appearances from Big Sean, Travis Scott, Halsey, Skrillex, Diplo, and Ariana Grande. The deluxe version was released simultaneously on the same day. It features an extra guest appearance from Nas. Production was handled by Bieber himself, Skrillex and Diplo from Jack Ü, BloodPop, Benny Blanco, the Audibles, Soundz, Mike Dean, Ian Kirkpatrick, and Andre Harris, among others.

In early 2015, Bieber collaborated with Skrillex and Diplo on the US top-ten single, "Where Are Ü Now", from their debut studio album as Jack Ü, ''Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü''; the song also appears on ''Purpose''. Bieber then found what would be the record's sonic direction and worked with Skrillex on a handful of the album's songs. ''Purpose'' was described as a mix of EDM and dance-pop, with influences of tropical house in some tracks and live instruments such as acoustic guitars in some others, with the help of his friend and frequent musical collaborator, Poo Bear.

''Purpose'' debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200, earning 649,000 album-equivalent units in its first week of release, giving Bieber the largest first-week sales of his career and his sixth number-one album in the United States. Elsewhere, it reached the top of the charts in another eleven countries. The album was supported by four singles: "What Do You Mean?", " Sorry", "Love Yourself", and "Company". The former three singles all reached number one on the Canadian Hot 100, US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. The album was among the best-selling albums of both 2015 and 2016. ''Purpose'' is a pop, R&B, soul, and EDM album. The album was developed after the release of his compilation album, '' Journals'' (2013), which saw him move musically in a more R&B direction.

''Purpose'' was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2017 Grammy Awards. "Love Yourself" was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance. The album won the American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Album. To promote the album, Bieber gave several televised interviews and performances, as well as releasing "dance videos" for all of the album's tracks in a project called ''Purpose: The Movement''. Furthermore, Bieber embarked on his Purpose World Tour in 2016, which was his first concert tour to perform in major stadiums worldwide. The album has since been certified 5× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Background

While promoting his third studio album, '' Believe'' (2012), with the album's Believe Tour throughout 2012 and 2013, Bieber started recording songs on the tour and confirmed in January 2013 that he was writing for a new album. Five months later he confirmed a new album for 2013, with his manager announcing they were going to think outside the box and release a different type of album. In October 2013, Bieber started the "Music Mondays" project, a ten-week digital download campaign in which one new song was released every Monday night. After the completion of the project, in December 2013, Bieber released the ten songs from the campaign along with new tracks in a limited-edition collection called '' Journals''. Quickly afterwards in January 2014, record producer Douglas Romanow announced that Bieber was recording new music with him. In the same month, Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd, who previously worked on the majority of songs on ''Journals'', started recording heavily with the singer as well. The next month, the singer confirmed he was recording new music. In March 2014, he posted on his Instagram a preview of a song called "Life Is Worth Living", while in April, he promised on his Twitter about his new music and that it would be the "best" he had ever made, while working in the recording studio on the album.

Writing and recording

For over a few months in 2014, he continued to teased these snippets of new songs on his social media, – none of them were released, though some were later leaked online – as well as possible collaborators, such as Ariana Grande, T-Pain, Cody Simpson and others. With Simpson, he planned to release an acoustic collaboration album, but decided to cancel; instead they released a single called "Home to Mama" in November 2014. His label also organized writing camps with a handful of songwriters to write songs for the singer, however he didn't feel connected with the songs. In November 2014, it was reported that American DJs and producers Diplo and Skrillex were working with Bieber on the album. Eventually, he promised a new album for 2015, declaring that it was going to be "a great new chapter for me." In January 2015, his manager Scooter Braun shared on his Instagram a picture of Bieber with record producer Rick Rubin, while in March 2015, in an interview for ''USA Today'', Bieber announced he was working with Kanye West. During the interview, he also revealed that he had to redo the whole album since "it didn't match up to where I am now and where my head's at." According to himself, "What you are thinking about all the time is what you write, and now that I'm thinking about more positive things, it completely changes my music.

In a July interview, he talked about working with Skrillex, saying: "Skrillex is a genius. He's super futuristic and I just love his sounds. I think being able to incorporate that sound with what I’m doing has been super cool because it's like new and fresh, and I feel like no one's done it before." Skrillex also commented about working with Bieber, explaining: "I heard some well-written songs that were really good that they wanted me to do production on and from there, we wrote some new songs. It was an opportunity to try some stuff that I had never done before and we ended up making something really unique." Bieber also commented about West, declaring: "I've been in the studio with him for the past month or so. I think that he just pushes you. He definitely wants it to be my way and my direction and he doesn't want to steal what I want...that's why artists love to go to him, because he pulls something out of you that other people don't." In August 2015, ''Billboard'' reported that Bieber was also working with Mason "MdL" Levy and Semi Precious Weapons' Justin Tranter. In October 2015, his manager teased a possible collaboration with American singer Halsey, while Bieber confirmed that British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran wrote a song for the album.

Composition

In August 2015, Jason Lipshut of ''Billboard'' reported that the album was "apparently oing to bea mix of EDM- pop, soul following the downbeat acoustic-R&B of his 2013 project ''Journals''." Lipshut also noted that "sources say that the new album will include multiple piano ballads in which Bieber reflects upon his personal missteps, as well as spoken-word outros where he directly addresses his fans." According to ''SoulBounce'', the album's sound is "reminiscent of Chris Brown’s pop side". In an interview during the Wango Tango festival, Bieber talked about the album's direction, saying: "Overall, I'm just happy with the place I'm at creatively. I feel like this is probably the best I've been. There's not really a direction. It's like, uplifting music that people can dance to...it's a little different, it's really uplifting and people are going to smile when they listen to it." When asked if the song "Where Are Ü Now", previously released as a single from Jack Ü (a duo between DJs and the album's collaborators Diplo and Skrillex) which features Bieber, would be indicative of the sound on the album, he responded that the album would have "'snippets of that type of stuff' (presumably EDM) but that that would be 'really musical itha lot of real instrumentation'." He also commented that he was "trying to have a consistent sound and I get kind of depressed cause I’m so... like, I want it to work so badly. You know I want people to love it, and inspire people and sometimes I feel like, is this good enough? Is this the direction I want to go?."
''Purpose'' blends dance beats, EDM vibes with stripped-down R&B ballads. The album also makes use of atmospheric instruments as well as hi-hats, bass and synths.

The downtempo intro track "Mark My Words" was considered a prelude into the album's overall sound: a "mix of both up-beat and mellow tracks with striking production and songwriting," with Bieber using his falsetto. "I'll Show You" was considered a "chilled-out EDM ballad," having atmospheric synthesizers, fat bass, snapping trap percussion, and sheets of cascading synths. "What Do You Mean" and "Sorry" were both considered tropical house songs, with the former using "pan flute and piano" while having "hints of dark electropop" dance-pop and the latter having dancehall influences. The album also features the Euro disco, synth-pop and EDM track "Children", the funky disco pop "Been You" and "Get Used to It", the "airy, dubsteppy" and dark pop "The Feeling"—which ''Complex'' described as a "retread of the sad indie pop popularized by artists like Ellie Goulding and Tove Lo"—, as well as "Where Are Ü Now", which initially was a slow piano ballad named "The Most", which is available in its original format on some editions of the album, and was transformed in an EDM track that both Skrillex and Diplo "took a lot of his vocals and ..added natural harmonies," as well as "taking Justin's vocals as he's singing 'I need you the most' and distorting it," which made people believe it was a "dolphin sound."

In contrast to the dance-oriented songs present on the album, ''Purpose'' also features an acoustic pop song, "Love Yourself", which has minimal arrangement, using a guitar and a "brief flurry of trumpets" and folk influence, as well as the piano ballads "Life Is Worth Living" and the title track, "Purpose". Meanwhile, "Company" blends electropop and R&B, and it was compared to Bieber's previous release, ''Journals'' (2013). "No Pressure" is a "dreamy" and dark R&B track which features rapper Big Sean, who previously worked with Bieber on '' Believe'' " As Long As You Love Me" and ''Journals'' "Memphis", and has an "elastic guitar riff" and "shimmering, processed acoustic guitar." "No Sense" is a hip-hop tinged track, with bass-riddled synthesizers and influences of trap music, mostly due to Travis Scott's appearance. His rap was noted for being using auto-tune in excess, while Bieber's vocals were compared to those of Justin Timberlake. "We Are" and "Trust" also rely on hip-hop, with the first featuring a "heavy background looping" and the last "sharp production sounds and switches in flow," with a Drake-influence. "Hit the Ground", included on the Walmart and Japanese editions, features "organic shifts in tempo" and "Skrillex's imaginative drop," which was compared to "chip-tune bagpipes."

Themes and lyrical content

While being asked about the themes on the album in an interview for ''The Fader'', Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd, one of the album's main songwriters, claimed: "It's about keeping in mind and in tune with what's going on with Justin. Just being honest. We really set up for this project to be inspirational. If we talked about a girl, it was something that just happened. Overall, we touch on his personal life like his relationship issues, but at the same time, it's a healthy balance of inspirational music. We're just thinking about making sure that it's not negative, but uplifting. Even the music that talks about his relationships, it's feel-good music. It's nothing that will make you depressed." In an interview for ''USA Today'', Bieber himself declared that the song on the album are "bout growing, being in touch with yourself. What can I say, it's life experiences, and knowing that you can and get back up and keep going. Hope and faith, that's what's gotten me through this too, my faith. What I believe in. You're around some people sometimes and it might taint what you believe. I think that's what happened with me, I lowered my beliefs." When asked about inspirations for the album and if his former girlfriend Selena Gomez inspired him, he admitted: "A lot of my inspiration comes from her. It was a long relationship and a relationship that created heartbreak and created happiness, and a lot of different emotions that I wanted to write about. So there's a lot of that on this album."

Songs

''Purpose'' was considered by ''The Guardian''s Caroline Sullivan as an album with the songs serving as "a regretful look back and a fresh start." The album's themes were also seen as a "giant apology – to his ex, Selena Gomez, and to his public, for various well-documented misdemeanours." As described by ''Complex'' Sheldon Pearce, "''Purpose'' is, at its core, a formal request for a pardon through music." The album's opening track, "Mark My Words", is a solemn plea, where he promises to "give you all I got," and "let his actions speak louder than his words." In " I'll Show You", an open letter to fans, offers "an autobiographical glimpse into the difficulty of growing up in the public eye." "What Do You Mean?" was described as "self-professed men's anthem for not being able to figure out the opposite sex," while " Sorry" asks "a sincere apology directed to what can be presumed is a former love" in attempt at a course correction. "Love Yourself" was noted for being a "deadpan kiss-off to a snobby ex," with some critics noting that the real meaning "hidden under the deceptive title 'Love Yourself' is "fuck yourself". "Company", the album's sixth track, "looks forward to getting to know someone attractive, but also sets some healthy boundaries for doing so," while "No Pressure" "invites an ex back into relationship, but insists, 'I don't wanna add to your pain at all', while Big Sean references Yoko Ono, ''Street Fighter'' and TV series ''Empire''. The eighth track "No Sense" "talks about sharing a bed with a woman", with Travis Scott rapping "lines about how he misses being 'boo'ed up'."

The ninth track "The Feeling" "touches on questioning the overwhelming and emotional rush of falling in love," with Bieber and Halsey asking themselves: "Am I in love or am I in love with the feeling?." "Life Is Worth Living" finds Bieber "mull ng redemption and forgiveness ..saying that you can crucify him but 'only God can judge me'." According to one of its songwriters, Jason Boyd, " t's apositive record that says life is worth living, we're supposed to live. We're supposed to be here. ..People making mistakes, learning from them, and not letting that be it, but say, 'You know what? I'm not gonna do that again. Life is worth living, I'm not just gonna give up just because I fell. I'm gonna try harder because my life is worth it.' It just has such a positive meaning, I feel like it's gonna save a lot of lives." "Where Are Ü Now" "talks about caring and praying for an ex who didn't return the favor," "Children" has a social consciousness

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