We knew this was coming, we did warn you…
Here goes Justin Bieber en route to graduating from teeny-bop superstar into mature recording artist. Still a way to go, of course – but this Mike Posner produced track ‘Boyfriend’ taken off his forthcoming Believe album is definitely a step in the right direction. The acoustic guitar ensures a nice radio/Pop appeal but generally speaking the beat is pretty cold. And melodically – it does the thing. Sounds like his voice is growing too.
Some will naturally refrain from entertaining this, a shame – considering some of the biggest and most influential artists in history have evolved from pre-pubencent idols into… Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake et el. We all grown up, right? And a lot can be said for a young artist like Beiber focusing on “urban” music while most of his adult contemporaries (who have been around a lot longer than he has) are too p*ssy to, opting instead for David Guetta assisted Euro-Po(o)p.
Ok… while i agree this beat is a surprise from bieber and definitely a good look. I don’t think you can compare him to the other “adult contemporary artist who opts for David Guetta assisted Euro-Pop”
A closer examination will show…
Where for the Amy’s and Beiber’s and Adele’s ( yah i know i cant believe i lumped them together either but you’ll get my point) “Urban” ( i hate this word used as a reference for quote on quote “black music” btw) and “Soul” music sounds edgy and different and cool and allows them to sell multi platinum records and singles etc etc Its no longer ( and in history you can see statistics) the same for the Black artits where the “urban” and “soul” seems expected and commonplace ( in recent history look at Beyonce’s “4″ album and singles track record.. even Rihanna’s “Rated R” vs “Loud” as an example for bigger artists ) these artists have to spend more time making crossover music and infusing more and more pop elements into their music in order to remain relevant and sell records.
It’s not a new discussion really, just one thats often forgotten.. this new wave of Darkwave R&B / PBR&B/ post-Dupstep sounds is a welcome relief and of course there are many an artist Pinboard has showcased that are willing to break trends and experiment etc
Just some food for thought!
-Zee;-)
[...] Asher Roth on the official remix of the singers critically successful, record breaking new single ‘Boyfriend’. The new version also includes some ridiculously reinforced bass. Don’t fight it, listen [...]
[...] ‘Boyfriend’ was basically the Justin Bieber equilivant to Usher’s ‘Climax’. It was a great R&B single which lead many to think the Beebs had reached a level of maturity in his music. We were mislead – every other single since then has been pants. But, after Drake’s comments about David Guetta’s music not long ago I pretty confident his collaboration with the teen superstar would be something worth listening to. [...]