Never Say Never: The Remixes
Never Say Never: The Remixes is the second remix album by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. Released on February 14, 2011, the album accompanies the release of Bieber's first film, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (2011). The album mostly includes remixes of songs from Bieber's first studio album, My World 2.0 (2010), featuring guest appearances from Jaden Smith, Rascal Flatts, Usher, Chris Brown, Kanye West, Raekwon and Miley Cyrus. In addition, a brand-new track is also included. The Jaden Smith-assisted "Never Say Never", originally released as the theme song for the film The Karate Kid (2010), was included on the tracklist and re-released as the album's lead and only single on January 25, 2011.
Never Say Never: The Remixes
February 14, 2011
26:47
- Usher Raymond IV (exec.)
- Scott "Scooter" Braun (exec.)
- Antonio "L.A." Reid (exec.)
- Kanye West
- The Messengers
- Stereotypes
- Dirty Swift
- Bruce Waynne
- Dapo Torimiro
- Mel & Mus
- Mike Dean
- Jan Smith
- Brandon "Blue" Hamilton
The album reached number-one on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the United States and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making it Bieber's second number-one album and second Platinum-selling album in the country. Plus it became his fourth consecutive top ten album in the US following his first remix album My Worlds Acoustic (2010).
Critical reception[edit]
Margaret Wappler of The Los Angeles Times positively reviewed the album, giving it three out of four stars, commenting that the "most savvy quality" of the set was "how many aspects of the pop spectrum it effectively tickles while never corrupting the purity of Bieber's enthusiasm, both cartoon-like and genuine."[6] Wappler also complimented how it satisfied multiple demographics, collaborating with Jaden Smith and Miley Cyrus on the teen spectrum, and Kanye West and Raekwon "to secure street cred with the cool kids," while having "innocence to neutralize whatever sex appeal they court."[6]
Sabrina Cognata of WNOW-FM gave the album a positive review, saying the album "legitimizes the teen dream", writing, "The album may only have seven tracks, but what it lacks in size it makes up for with panache."[7] Cognata appreciated the album's mixture, stating "the album actually has something for all walks of life and not just Beliebers."[7] She highly complimented the Kanye West remix, commenting "Justin Bieber isn't exactly known for being "hard" so the juxtaposition between really edgy hip-hop artists remixed with his bubble gum pop presents an interesting audio voyage that appeals to more than his core audience."[7]
Commercial performance[edit]
The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, opening with 179,000 copies in the first week.[8] It marked Bieber's second time at the top of the chart, after debuting at number one with his first studio album, My World 2.0 (released on March 23, 2010).[8] It was also Bieber's fourth consecutive top ten release on the chart, following My World 2.0, and My World (2009), and My Worlds Acoustic, which peaked at numbers 5 and 7, respectively.[8] All four of Bieber's albums appeared in the top forty of Billboard the week Never Say Never – The Remixes debuted, with making Bieber the first artist since American country singer Garth Brooks as of January 1993, to have four albums in those positions on the chart.[8] Likewise, the album was the first remix album in almost a decade, with Jennifer Lopez's J to tha L-O! The Remixes led for two weeks in February 2002.[8] In its second week, the album fell to number 2, with 102,000 copies sold. With My World 2.0 jumping from number 8 to 5 on that week, Bieber is the first artist to have two albums in the top five since he himself achieved it in April 2010.[9] As of July 2011, the album sold 676,000 copies in the United States.[10][11]