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 a follow-up to his third studio album Believe (2012). 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.
Purpose
November 13, 2015
September 2014–September 2015
48:13
- Justin Bieber
- BloodPop
- Skrillex
- MdL
- Benny Blanco
- Axident
- Gladius
- Big Taste
- Poo Bear
- The Audibles
- Soundz
- Mike Dean
- Ian Kirkpatrick
- The Mogul
- Diplo
- Maejor
- Nico Hartikainen
- Jeremy Snyder
- Steve James
- Josh Abraham
- Oligee
- A.C.
- Andre Harris
- D.K. The Punisher
- DJ Tay James
- Josh Gudwin
- Andre Watt
- Louis Bell
- Jordan Ware
- Karl Rubin Brutus
- Tom Strahle
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.[5][6] Purpose is a pop, R&B, soul, and EDM album.[7] The album was developed after the release of his compilation album, Journals (2013), which saw him move musically in a more R&B direction.[8]
Purpose was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2017 Grammy Awards.[9] "Love Yourself" was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.[10] 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).[11]
Background[edit]
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.[12] Five months later he confirmed a new album for 2013,[13] with his manager announcing they were going to think outside the box and release a different type of album.[14] 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.[15] Quickly afterwards in January 2014, record producer Douglas Romanow announced that Bieber was recording new music with him.[16] 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.[17] The next month, the singer confirmed he was recording new music.[18] In March 2014, he posted on his Instagram a preview of a song called "Life Is Worth Living",[19] 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.[20]
Titling and artwork[edit]
According to Bieber, he chose the album's title because he felt like he lost his purpose and felt that he finally got his purpose back. He continued: "'The word ['purpose'] is so important in life... My purpose is to inspire people and use my platform to help people'."[66] As noted by MTV News' Patrick Hosken, in the album's cover, "Bieber is shirtless and assuming a very dignified stance, hands meeting in a prayer-like pose, head looking down at what lies at his torso: the word 'Purpose,' written in the same script we first saw [the] week when he unveiled the title."[67] The cover also has a symbol, which "resembl[es] an asymmetrical cross with a small circle attached covering the entire background and painted on his torso." The deluxe edition uses the same cover, only the background & crosses are tinted in black.[68] Purpose was initially banned in various Middle Eastern countries and Indonesia due to the cover art's heavy Christian references, most prominently Bieber's cross tattoo and his praying stance, which were deemed "too provocative".[69] An alternate cover was issued for these countries, depicting Bieber atop of a cliff, looking out over a shore.[68]
Commercial performance[edit]
In the United States, the competition between Bieber and One Direction began when the British boy band announced the release date of Made in the A.M., set to be their last album before their hiatus in March 2016.[137] Many compared the "war" between the two pop forces to 50 Cent and Kanye West's 2007 battle for number one.[138][139] However, Bieber's Purpose debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart for the week ending November 19, 2015, with 649,000 equivalent album units, including 522,000 traditional album sales.[140] It marked Bieber's sixth number-one album and largest sales week. It also surpassed his previous high, logged with Believe, which sold 374,000 units in 2012. Additionally, Purpose's debut marked the largest weekly unit total for an album since the Billboard 200 began tracking popularity based on overall equivalent units earned in 2014 and beat the debut week of Drake's If You're Reading This It's Too Late (which sold 535,000 equivalent units in 2015). Also, Purpose's 522,000 mark the largest sales week since Taylor Swift's 1989 debuted with 1.29 million (November 2, 2014) and the largest sales for a male artist album since Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP 2 sold 792,000 (November 3, 2013).[141] Purpose also broke the global and US streaming record for an album in its first week of release with 205 million global streams and 77 million in the United States.[142] In its second week, Purpose earned 290,000 units (down 55%). It sold 184,000 in traditional album sales (down 65%) and was beaten to the top by Adele's 25, which debuted at number one with a record-breaking 3.38 million.[143] In December 2015, the album surpassed the 1 million mark in US sales, becoming Bieber's fifth million-selling album.[144] Also, on this exact date, specifically December 5, 2015, every song on Purpose (even the deluxe version) had entered the Billboard Hot 100, except for "All In It". Eventually, the album was announced as the third best-selling album of 2015 in the US, with sales of 1,269,000 copies.[145] As of December 2016, "Purpose" has sold 1.812 million copies in the nation.[146]
Purpose debuted at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 90,596 in its first week, marking the second highest first-week figures of 2015, at the time, behind One Direction's Made in the A.M. (2015), which debuted at number one the same week with 93,189 chart sales.[147] In its second and third week on sale it stayed at number three.[148][149] Purpose was the fifth best-selling album of 2015 in the UK with combined sales of 645,000 copies.[150] As of June 2016, the album has accumulated 1,200,000 combined sales in the UK.[151]
Notes