Here is our staff review of Justin Bieber’s new album “Changes” that was released Feb. 14, 2020. Each staff member was given a different song to listen to, so not every track will be covered.

“Forever”

Reviewed by Lauren Curtis

Not going to lie, I was a die-hard JB fan when I was little. However, I wasn’t too excited or even knew about his new album release until I looked it up. When the song first started playing, I was intrigued. It has a really catchy beat and seems to be an upbeat song. The only thing that I do not like about it is that it is actually really repetitive. I somewhat enjoyed the song, and I think adding Post Malone and Clever (I have no idea who that is if we are being honest) was a smart move. What almost would’ve been like every other song was saved by doing this collaboration. I wouldn’t listen to the song all the time, but if it was to play in my car, I wouldn’t just turn it off.

“Get Me”

Reviewed by Erin Green

Judging from the album’s first single “Yummy” and my fellow staff members’ respective reviews of “Changes”, I didn’t have much to look forward to going into the song. I guess you could say I was somewhat pleasantly surprised, but on a very small scale. The song was pretty good and catchy, but didn’t blow me out of the water or make me want to listen to the rest of the album. The lyrics were repetitive and the beat was anything but revolutionary. If it wasn’t for Kehlani, I probably wouldn’t have anything positive to say at all, to be honest. She made a generic pop song slightly more exciting by putting her signature R&B angelic twist on it. Overall, I’m pretty disappointed. I think Justin Bieber is talented and that his album “Purpose” had some decent tracks on it, so to see him make such a lackluster comeback nearly five years later is actually quite a shame. Maybe next time, I guess.

“That’s What Love Is”

Reviewed by Isabella McAllister

I have never been a Justin Bieber fan, and this just proves why. The song “That’s What Love Is” is just plain cheesy, I can’t stand it. It isn’t upbeat or mellow, just kind of eh. There is nothing special about this song, besides the humor I find in the things he believes love really is. He is trying too hard. Justin Bieber claims to know what love is, but like he did marry a girl he had barely been dating so I mean… He says the line, “Ooh, and you can trust me. After all the lies I told you. Yeah, that’s what love is,” doesn’t even make sense, because how is love about trusting someone even though they lie? I would sure like to know the answer to that one. Like a relationship is about trust, but clearly not Justin’s version of it. That’s what true love is the lyrics, “Make me look even better. When we shine, we shine together,” doesn’t say anything well then I don’t know what to do. It is just bad, like I have absolutely no interest in listening to the rest of the album. I’d rather listen to “Baby” on repeat then listen to the rest of these songs.

“Habitual”

Reviewed by Julia Alley

“Habitual” Now I’m going to be honest with you guys. I don’t like it. It’s overall just bad. I chose to review “Habitual” cause I thought it sounded pretty cool and edgy. It was neither of those things. I spent most of the song being very confused with just a smidge of deep discomfort. I couldn’t really tell you what he’s trying to say with this one but I know that I didn’t like it. One lyric from the chorus stands out, “Can’t nobody keep me like you, call it unconventional.” What’s throwing me off is that is what people usually would consider conventional. It’s not a problem if their love is a little different from other peoples, but the way he describes it makes it sounds almost exactly what people would expect. Also, the beginning of the song sounds very emo thirteen-year-old poetry. Sort of feels like me when I was twelve and shopping at a hot topic kinda song. Overall, I can’t say I’m a fan of Justin Bieber, haven’t been since I was nine, but god what happened to this man. My message to Justin Bieber, please go to therapy, I’m begging you.

“E.T.A.”

Reviewed by Cade Campbell

I’ve always been a fan of Beiber. I’m not afraid to say it. Although pop is nowhere near my usual vibe, I’ve still always liked his music, and his recent dip into R&B has made me happy, and even thankful if I’m being honest. This whole album is still kinda pop-ish, but it’s R&B enough. “E.T.A” is one of my favorite songs in this album. At first, when I listened to it, I listened to the music, to the beat, to see if it’s something I can vibe with. It’s slow, but it works for me, it’s relaxed. After listening to it once, I then listened to it again, for the lyrics. Although he does say “E.T.A” a lot and really drawn out, the lyrics are definitely the strongest part of the song. They have emotional meaning, which, honestly, is difficult to find today. Yes, it’s the usual, about love, but it’s more than that. It’s about the longing of the one you love, and I could see how it could even relate to people who aren’t currently in a relationship. As if they relate to “E.T.A” simply by awaiting their future person. Longing is something all of us feel about something or another, and at times it is about someone you miss. Another thing I like about this song is that it can be interpreted in different ways. Specifically two. You could go one direction and say he’s awaiting this girl to arrive at his house so that they can have physical intimacy. Or––this is how I interpret it––you can say that he just misses her so much all he wants is her there, by his side, so that he can hold her. In my opinion, interpreted like that, it strengthens the meanings behind the lyrics, claiming that he just misses her all around and he can’t stand being apart. He wants to know how far away she is, he’s desperate for her arrival, because his longing for her is so strong. I think the song is sweet and the relatable and clear, emotional lyrics clash perfectly with the chill R&B beat. Honestly, I love this song. It’s on my February playlist so, good job, Justin. You made it.

“Changes”

Reviewed by Maxie Eller

For the record, I’m not a Justin Bieber fan. I wasn’t super excited to listen to his new album to begin with. Bieber’s song “Changes” did not change my mind about his music. I really didn’t like the song. The tune isn’t catchy and the lyrics didn’t spark anything in me. I could kind of see what he was going for, but the execution just wasn’t there. The song exists, but that’s all it does. It’s almost kind of sad when you think about this album being “Bieber’s big comeback”. I pretty much just cringed through the entire song and then gave a sigh of relief when it was over. I really hope that I never have to listen to “Changes” again and I’m honestly scared of the rest of the album. If it’s anything like this song, then don’t even bother to listen.

“Yummy”

Reviewed by Sarah Haylow

AHHH. I AM LOSING MY MIND. Anyways… there’s not much in this world that makes me quite as angry for no reason as “Yummy”. I get overwhelmingly angry and it’s because this song makes absolutely no sense and I don’t know why it was EVER written. Justin said he wrote the song for his wife, so he probably means for the song to be a compliment and to call her sexy or something., but who in their RIGHT MIND wants to be called YUMMY? I do NOT want some guy looking at me and saying “Girl you yummy”. I have this reocurring nightmare where Justin Bieber looks over at his wife and licks his lips and says “Yummy” and I want that image out of my mind. To make the whole situation even creepier, to promote the song he posted images of BABIES with #yummy as the caption. DOES HE EAT BABIES? I have so many questions that I’m not sure I want the answers to. To top it all off he has been promoting this song like CRAZY like it’s the BEST SONG HE HAS EVER WRITTEN? He has had FIVE other songs that have made it onto the Billboard Hot 100, why does he need SIX??? WHY DOES YUMMY HAVE TO BE ON THE CHARTS? I do not want to hear that on the radio. I’d run my car into a TREE if I heard it come on the radio. Anywho, the song itself is repetitive and makes me want to cry for some reason and makes me pat young me on the back for joining the “I Hate Justin Bieber Fan Club” back in third grade. Good job past me, you had good judgement. In conclusion, this song is not “yummy”.

“Intentions”

Reviewed by Liam Smith

While I’m sure the intention behind the song “Intentions” was a good one, I have to say it falls very flat. I’m not a fan of Justin Bieber per se, but I can recognize talent, and I have to admit, he’s got quite a bit. However, this song, in particular, is, to put it lightly: garbage. The song is a glorified hook on repeat with a shotty verse from Quavo that completely ruins the tone. It sounds nice sure, but there’s no substance. I’d even argue that you can’t even play it at big events and social gatherings because of the romantic tone Justin keeps grasping onto for dear life. This is not Justin’s best work by a long shot and could be another misstep on the great descent into irrelevancy. To put in laments terms: The song is mediocre at best, and is only really “saved” by Justin’s obvious talent. I’d say skip it.