Bieber Returns and With More SWAG Than Ever

Four years on from his last album, Justice, the 'Prince of Pop' Justin Bieber is back with a surprise release of his 21-track seventh studio album, SWAG.

Photo Credit: Renell Medrano

When Justin Bieber titled his latest project SWAG, he wasn’t reaching back to some frozen-in-time internet slang or fan-era catchphrase – he was making a declaration. An affirmation, even. This is swagger in its most refined, grown-man form: measured (with a hint of backwoods), emotionally astute (making for great PR), and musically liberated. And perhaps most importantly, entirely on his own terms.

The 30-year-old’s new album opens with 'ALL I CAN TAKE', a track that snaps us straight into a retro-future groove, reminiscent of that signature New Edition style, and with clear nods to Michael Jackson, one of his musical idols. And of course, there are those added layers of hip-hop, soul, funk and pop fused so slickly you can feel the joy in the process. It's nostalgic but forward-pushing – Bieber, Mk.gee, and Dijon (the latter two serving as the album’s main sonic architects) operate with a confidence and chemistry that feels less like a flex and more like a creative breakthrough. The result? A record that sounds unshackled for Bieber.

That sense of release doesn’t just come from instrumentation. SWAG feels like the first Bieber album that wasn’t made with his audience, his label, or the Top 40 in mind. This may be thanks in part to the singer’s recent departure from long-time manager Scooter Braun and the sale of his discography’s master rights. But the real shift comes from intent. For once, Bieber doesn’t need to reach or aspire – instead, he’s reflecting. There’s no hyper-curated story arc, but there is a storyline, and it’s one of great humanness: a man navigating love, legacy, and identity with all the complications that come with age, faith, fame, and now, fatherhood.

Love is a dominant theme, whether shouted or whispered. Amid a swirl of media scrutiny around his marriage to model and beauty entrepreneur Hailey Bieber, the singer uses SWAG not as a press rebuttal, but as a reaffirmation. Track after track, it’s clear: they’re not on the rocks – they’re building, and continuously. The songs are dotted with personal, worshipful odes and subtle lyrical callbacks, the kind that only come from someone deeply sure of where (and with whom) they stand – and he made sure to input some of his meme-worthy quips in there too. Typical.

While the album’s romantic undercurrent is unmistakable, so is Bieber’s reverence for his peers. The features are stacked – Gunna, Sexyy Red, Cash Cobain, Lil B, Dijon, Druski (a surprise repeat presence), and UK up-and-comer Sekou – but none feel out of place or algorithmic. There’s something greatly considered about each inclusion, particularly the quieter moments. Eddie Benjamin, who’s long been rumoured to be Bieber’s protégé, shows up on the title song. And the final track closes not with a bang, but rather a gentle sample of gospel legend Marvin Winans singing “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High,” overlaid with barely-there Bieber adlibs. It’s a full-circle moment, a spiritual tether to that Ontario church drummer kid – the one who went viral before it counted as currency.

Critics (and certain corners of X, TikTok and Instagram) have dismissed this as an "album with no hits", but the data says otherwise. 'DAISIES', 'GO BABY', 'ALL I CAN TAKE' and 'WAY IT IS' currently lead streaming charts, and the album’s launch shattered several personal and platform-wide records. It became the biggest global streaming day of Bieber’s career, amassing over 74 million streams and securing the #1 Global Pop Streaming Debut of the Year. So, “Hit-less”? Well, the numbers beg to differ.

Still, commercial success is no longer the most interesting thing about Justin Bieber – and it begs us to question whether it ever was. What is, is the way he’s redefined it. SWAG is less about chasing virality and more about curating a legacy; one where he champions the next generation while also reintroducing himself as a go-getter and true lover of music, as he always has been (and perhaps, has been trying to make us ‘clock’). This time, he's not just crafting hits for the clubs or the charts; he’s doing it all for himself.

He’s soundtracked a generation, yes. But with SWAG, Bieber sounds like he’s finally found the sound he’s been chasing all along. It’s his most mature, not necessarily most musically cohesive, but arguably most experimental record since his 2015 album, Purpose.

Despite the finsta-style Instagram posts, trolling, and public displays of outrage (completely understood), it appears that when the world needed Bieber the most, he stepped up – wholeheartedly, standing on business. For Beliebers, this may be a love letter – it’s evidently this to and for himself. But for everyone else? This serves as both an invitation and a reminder. Justin Bieber is still a (pop) star, but now, he’s also something rarer: an artist completely at ease in his own skin. And SWAG, it turns out, is still the word.

SWAG is available to listen to on all streaming platforms.