Justin Bieber’s last album ‘Believe’ was arguably the most eagerly anticipated album on 2012 – well, for a certain audience anyway.
Bieber’s extremely clever manager and marketing team have come up with a marvellous idea to take even more teenage girls’ money by releasing an acoustic version of worldwide multi-platinum ‘Believe’. Genius.
Justin Bieber is the musical definition of Marmite. You either love him, or really, really hate him. He recently overtook Lady Gaga to be the most followed celebrity on Twitter with well over a billion followers, so hate him you may, but you cannot argue this pop sensation has one hell of a following. I am a self-confessed Belieber. I’ve attempted to fight this for many years, but I have finally come to terms with the fact that his swishy hair, cute little dance moves and quite brilliant little voice are not going anywhere, and to be quite honest, I don’t want them to.
This album is not only to make little J-Biebs a couple more million dollars, but also as a metaphorical middle finger to those who doubt his vocal abilities. Opening with the swoon-worthy, Justin Timberlake-esque ‘Boyfriend’ Justin has constructed a cool melody to replace his rapping verses and it just works. His voice has considerably matured since the chipmunk-esque, ‘Baby, baby, baby ooooh’ of yesteryear and his vocal ability combined with a catchy tune mean Justin Bieber is actually a force to be reckoned with.
Following with ‘As Long As You Love Me’, which was easily my favourite track from the original ‘Believe’ and a hit with radio playlists too, he continues down the R’n’B route. The absence of the rapping adds more depth to the track, without losing the catchy melody of the chorus. Though famous for his synthesised pop tunes, I think Bieber’s voice was designed to be accompanied by an acoustic guitar because the boy has some serious vocal riffing ability. This album is really easy-listening with a good atmosphere. Believe Acoustic also includes three previously unreleased songs: “Yellow Raincoat,” which is pretty rubbish to be honest, “I Would,” which is slightly repetitive but really cute and easy to listen to, and an intimate bonus track produced by Justin himself, “Nothing Like Us” which is actually a really lovely, simple track.
Other stand out songs are the very cute ‘Be Alright’ and ‘Fall’ which are slushy ballads which you can’t help but ‘awww’ at. I was also suitably impressed by the acoustic version of ‘Beauty And The Beat’, though the song was bound to improve without Nicki Minaj’s gregarious squawking . Overall, Biebs has impressed. A solid album, good vocal ability and some absolute tunes. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but to quote the, er, old Chinese proverb: haters gonna hate.
[rating=3]
