Believe [Deluxe Edition]

Believe [Deluxe Edition]

by Justin BieberJustin Bieber

Overview

If you subtract the remixes, acoustic versions, live takes, and holiday material that filled Justin Bieber's releases from 2009-2011, Believe falls only a few tracks shy of doubling the singer's quantity of original songs. That fact alone will satisfy a large portion of his fans. More notably, Believe finds Bieber co-writing all but one song and handling his "not a boy, not quite a man" status with poise, despite some considerable contrast between his age and what he has been through. He's at a point in his life where he would fully deserve a pass for taking himself too seriously, but there's "Boyfriend" -- a G-rated "Wait (The Whisper Song)" with a My World-like chorus -- in which he compares himself to Buzz Lightyear. He has endured puberty, including a voice change, all the while undergoing intense public scrutiny that has included fallout from a paternity accusation. He addresses the paternity issue head-on in "Maria," a real-life, modern-day rewrite of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean": "That ain't my baby/That ain't my girl." (The song is not on the shorter 13-track edition, but it's the most significant song in Bieber's catalog thus far.) Given the space allowed by an hour-long release, Bieber aims for just about every pop market. Believe incorporates appearances from Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Big Sean, while Ludacris is back for the first time. A song featuring slabs of dubstep bass is followed by an acoustic ballad. The throwback "Die in Your Arms" heavily references young MJ, harpsichord and all, and is driven by a well-known breakbeat. The title song involves a gospel choir, while the sound of an acoustic guitar is almost as common as a dance beat. Lyrically, Bieber seems to be in no rush to enter Chris Brown territory. He stays PG, flattering and flirting or stating devotion throughout the majority of the songs; "Loving you is so damn easy" might be the line most likely to raise an eyebrow, while several others, like "Everyone's itching for beauty, but you're scratchin' the surface," have a goofy/awkward teenage charm to them. Believe has enough strong material to keep most of the followers satisfied for another year, while elders should feel relieved that nothing is as sickly sweet as "Baby." [A Deluxe Edition added three bonus tracks.]

Product Details

Release Date: 06/19/2012
Label: Island
UPC: 0602537047888
catalogNumber: 001693502

Tracks

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Justin Bieber   Primary Artist,Background Vocals
Mike Posner   Keyboards
Rodney Jerkins   Piano,Drums,Harpsichord,Musician
Artie Reynolds   Bass
Eric Dawkins   Background Vocals
Kuk Harrell   Background Vocals
Michael Ripoll   Guitar
Deanna Della Cioppa   Background Vocals
Travis Sayles   Piano,Strings
Aganee   Drums
Nasri Atweh   Background Vocals
Dammo Farmer   Bass
Thomas Lumpkins   Background Vocals
Andre Lindal   Musician
August Rigo   Background Vocals
Zedd   Keyboards
Greg Morgan   Background Vocals
Nasri   Background Vocals
DJ Tay James   scratching
Graham Liam   Guitar

Technical Credits

Berry Gordy   Composer
Alphonso Mizell   Composer
Freddie Perren   Composer
Mike Posner   Composer,Producer
Rodney Jerkins   Composer,Producer
Eric Dawkins   Composer
Kuk Harrell   Producer,Vocal Producer
Max Martin   Composer,Producer,Vocal Producer,Vocal Mixing
Doug Joswick   Package Production
Usher Raymond   Executive Producer
Ariel Rechtshaid   Composer,Producer
Jacob Luttrell   Composer,Producer
Travis Sayles   Composer,Producer
Diplo   Producer
Dan Kanter   Composer,Producer
Antonio Dixon   Composer,Instrumentation
Ariel Chobaz   Vocal Engineer
Bei Maejor   Producer
Rob Kinelski   Engineer
Vanessa Price   grooming
Herb Rooney   Composer
Soundz   Programming,Producer
J. Que   Producer
James "Scrappy" Stassen   Engineer
Todd Russell   Art Direction
Hit Boy   Producer
Matt Voss   Marketing
Adam Messinger   Arranger,Composer,Programming,Producer,Vocal Arrangements,Instrumentation
Nasri Atweh   Composer,Vocal Arrangements
Josh Gudwin   Engineer
Scott "Scooter" Braun   Composer,Executive Producer
Justin Bieber   Composer,Producer
Pentagon   Producer
Kristen Yiengst   Photo Production
Benny Steele   Guitar Engineer
Chris "Tek" O'Ryan   Engineer
Christopher Hicks   Producer
Thomas Lumpkins   Composer
David Grant   Marketing
Andre Lindal   Composer,Producer
Onika Maraj   Composer
August Rigo   Composer
Mason Levy   Composer
Sean Anderson   Composer
MDL   Producer
Matt Champlin   Engineer
Zedd   Programming,Producer
Daniela Rivera   Engineer
Greg Morgan   Sound Design
Michael Alexander   Marketing
Nasri   Arranger,Producer,Vocal Arrangements
Andre "Drizza Don" Bridges   Engineer
Matthew Musto   Composer,Guitar Producer
Kelly Lumpkins   Composer
Nius   Producer
SoFLY   Producer
Nolan Lambroza   Arranger,Composer,Programming,Producer,Vocal Arrangements,Instrumentation
Sevada Djavadghazaryans   Engineer
Graham Liam   Composer
Dennis Jenkins   Producer

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