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Believe (Justin Bieber album)

Believe is the third studio album by Canadian singer Justin Bieber, released on June 15, 2012, by Island Records. Looking to transition from the teen pop styles of his two-piece debut effort My World (2009) and My World 2.0 (2010), Bieber opted to create a follow-up record that featured more prominent elements of Eurohouse, dance-pop[1] and contemporary R&B. As executive producers, mentor Usher and manager Scooter Braun enlisted collaborators including Darkchild, Hit-Boy, Diplo and Max Martin with the intention of creating a mature-sounding project.

Believe

June 15, 2012 (2012-06-15)

2011–2012

48:09

Upon its release, Believe received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who appreciated its progression from Bieber's earlier works. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 albums chart with first-week sales of 374,000 copies, and was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales exceeding one million units. Internationally, the record enjoyed similar success. It debuted atop the Canadian Albums Chart, where it eventually attained double-Platinum recognition. The album additionally debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, and was later certified Gold there. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Believe was the sixth best-selling album of 2012 worldwide, with sales of three million copies.[2]


Five singles were released from Believe, several of which became international successes. Its lead single, "Boyfriend", peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, and reached number one on the Canadian Hot 100. Follow-ups "As Long as You Love Me" and "Beauty and a Beat" performed moderately worldwide, and positioned within the top-ten of the aforementioned singles charts in the United States and Canada. "Right Here" received little promotion, consequentially peaking in the lower end of the Billboard Hot 100, while the final single, "All Around the World", performed moderately in most markets. The project was additionally promoted through Bieber's second worldwide concert series, the Believe Tour, in 2012 and 2013. Bieber's third remix album, Believe Acoustic, was released in January 2013, featuring acoustic and live versions of songs from Believe.

Background

On March 2, 2012, Bieber appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to announce that the first single from his upcoming album would be called "Boyfriend". The single was later released on March 26, 2012.[3] The song was written by Bieber and Mike Posner, and produced by Posner and Mason Levy.


Bieber also invited his fans to participate in one of the creative decisions for the "Boyfriend" single. Two potential cover arts were published on Bieber's website, and fans were encouraged to vote for which one they preferred. The cover with the most votes became the official cover for the single.[4]

Composition

According to a writer from Los Angeles Times, the album adds a Eurohouse beat to Bieber's usual R&B.[5] and according to The A.V. Club, Believe is loaded up with "EDM accouterments, seeking a comfortable middle ground where Bieber's impressively refined Pop-Rnb croon can rub up on Techno blasts and garish Dubstep drops."[6]


The intro track "All Around The World" is a "dubsteppy"[7] synth-pop[8] and Eurodance song.[9] According to Billboard the song's "breathy vocals swirl around a beat that pierces the listener on first contact. Ludacris raps in double-time as the album's electronica obsession is immediately presented." "Boyfriend" is an acoustic R&B-influenced track with hip-hop elements.[10] "As Long As You Love Me" is an EDM,[11] electropop[12] and dubstep song.[13] According to Entertainment Weekly, "Catching Feelings" "turns [Bieber] it into a soulful R&B".[7] The fifth track "Take You" club-friendly anthem starts off with a Latin-tinged acoustic guitar before transforming into a synth-pop Euro-dance number.[14] And the song is a Dubsteppy[15] Eurodance song "that sweeps through different tempos".[16] The sixth song "Right Here" features Drake. It is a pop,[17], hip hop-soul ballad.[18] According to Bieber's manager Scooter Braun, "Fall" was inspired by "the weepy romance" A Walk to Remember. Further saying, "Bieber tries to extract sorrow from the rumbling percussion, falling to his knees as layered vocals increase the melodrama".[16] The eighth song, "Die in Your Arms", is a pop-R&B track[19] that incorporates hip hop beats, finger snaps and melodic piano chords in its instrumentation and is similar to early tracks by the Jackson 5.[20][21][22] Leah Collins of the National Post described the song as a "Baby 2.0", adding that "like 'Baby', 'Die in Your Arms' has a certain old-fashioned pop flavour."[19] "Thought of You", a Diplo produced song, has a "falsetto-driven ode to living in the moment; [...] its bass thickening around a series of futuristic movements until ending, somehow appropriately, with a piano and a siren." The tenth track, "Beauty and a Beat" features Nicki Minaj. It is a electropop,[16] EDM,[23] and R&B song.[24] Sarah Deen of Metro described it as a "frantic dance track",[23] while Rolling Stone's Jon Dolan called the song a "disco inferno".[25]


"One Love" has "space-age synths, watered down DnB beat and defiant lack of fluff make it a total mega-hit".[26] The twelfth track, "Be Alright", according to Billboard is "a guitar ballad as a soothing lullaby, in which Bieber doesn't try to over-sing his basic love lyrics."[16] The title track, "Believe", according to the same magazine, is a "substantial anthem that plays out like a Disney song".[16] The song involves a gospel choir, while the sound of an acoustic guitar is almost as common as a dance beat.[27] "Out Of Town Girl" "make[s] for a superior throwback R&B joint that could well end up as the album's secret keeper".[28]

Commercial performance

Believe debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 374,000. It was Bieber's fourth number-one album.[52] It dropped two spots in its second week to number three with sales of 115,000 copies.[53] Believe was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on July 31, 2012,[54] and has sold 1,610,000 copies in the US as of December 2015.[55]


The album sold 57,000 copies in its first week in Canada, debuting atop the Canadian Albums Chart.[56] In the following week, the album fell to number two selling 18,000 copies, behind Linkin Park's Living Things.[57] It also debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with sales of 38,115 copies, making Bieber the second youngest male solo artist ever to reach number one.[58] In Japan, the album entered the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart at number seven, selling 13,886 copies.[59] As of July 26, 2012, the album has sold over 98,000 copies in Canada.[60] In Brazil, the album was certified platinum by Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos (ABPD) within three days of release. The album debuted at number-one in Mexico and was later certified Platinum by Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas ending the year as the 14th best selling of 2012.[61] In November 2013, Universal Music México awarded Bieber with a triple platinum certification for sales of over 180,000 copies as well as over 300,000 digital tracks.[62]

"Die in Your Arms" contains samples of the recording "" as performed by Michael Jackson, and written by Berry Gordy, Alphonso Mizell, Freddie Perren, and Deke Richards. It also contains samples of the recording "Synthetic Substitution" as performed by Melvin Bliss as written by Herb Rooney.

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