Justin Bieber released Swag, hours after he teased it on billboards and social media posts.Evan Agostini/The Canadian Press
Never say never! Justin Bieber surprised fans Friday by releasing Swag, his seventh studio album, hours after he teased it on billboards and social media posts.
It is his first album since 2021’s Justice and his first since becoming a father last year.
“Inspired by his devotion as a husband and father, this new era of music has fueled a deeper perspective and more reflective sound, resulting in some of his most personal music yet,” Def Jam Recordings said of the 21-track album.
Billboards depicting Bieber were found by fans Thursday in Reykjavik, Iceland, and Los Angeles. The singer also shared images of billboards on his official Instagram account along with a tracklist that included song names like All I Can Take, Walking Away, Dadz Love and Forgiveness.
There’s a lot to love across the 21-tracks of the intimate Swag. Here are a few choice cuts.
- Daises – The second track on the album may very well be its strongest; an exemplar in Bieber’s slow-burn brand of alternative R&B-pop, now anchored with lo-fi guitar. Here, his sweet voice is pronounced – exactly what his most dedicated fans want to hear.
- Devotion ft. Dijon – Dijon is a rising R&B voice; some fans might be familiar with his 2021 debut album Absolutely or his contribution to Bon Iver’s SABLE, fABLE from earlier this year. He makes for a standout collaboration on Swag, a sweet song about deepening affection.
- Go Baby – Bieber married the model Hailey Bieber (nee Baldwin) in 2018; she’s long been source material for his most loving tracks. Go Baby is a standout for that reason. “That’s my baby, she’s iconic,” he opens the track, “iPhone case, lip gloss on it,” referencing her Rhode skincare and beauty brand, which sold to Elf Beauty in a US$1 billion deal.
- Walking Away – Marriage isn’t easy; that’s clear on Walking Away, a slightly-more-uptempo track where Bieber makes his dedication evident. It’s the perfect song for dancing in the kitchen with your partner.
- All I Can Take – The throwback opener All I Can Take has a vintage groove – echoes of Bieber’s early work, now matured to reflect his current adult reality. He sounds as sweet as ever in the pre-chorus, his declaration of “Ooh, baby, don’t it feel good? Baby, don’t it feel nice? Ooh, baby, don’t it feel good? You don’t have to think twice.”
Bieber, the two-time Grammy Award winning singer and Canadian pop idol who revolutionized teen pop and social media fame, is best known for his silky R&B pop lyric tenor, demonstrated on the diamond-selling Baby, Sorry, and Stay with the Kid Laroi. At the beginning of his career, and as a tween, Bieber began working with Usher and the influential music manager Scooter Braun.
In 2023, Bieber sold the rights to his music – all six of his albums, including hits like Sorry and Baby – to Hipgnosis, a U.K-based music investment company. The deal’s financial details were not disclosed, but Billboard Magazine reports that the sale was worth an estimated US$200-million.
In August 2024, Justin and Hailey Bieber announced the birth of their first child, Jack Blues Bieber.
