Since Justin Bieber was 16, Beliebers have followed his life journey. As an adult, he has largely refrained from making his life public, keeping his relationship and marriage with Hailey Bieber fairly private. With his latest album, “Changes,” fans are able to revel in the Biebers’ love and have a new romantic soundtrack just in time for Valentine’s Day. 

Throughout the 17 songs on “Changes,” Bieber dishes out his insecurities and battles with loving another person truthfully. There was some worry with the new sound Bieber was undertaking, but he delivered an album reminiscent of his 2015 album, “Purpose,”  and also introduced a new sound that compliments the hip hop scene. 

There’s an old video of Bieber posted in 2012 on YouTube titled “Justin Bieber – Baby (acoustic version).” It is a vulnerable and soulful performance of Bieber’s hit song “Baby.” Tattooless and young, Bieber’s voice is higher than it is now. Under his mop haircut that had all the ladies falling, his eyes close as the lyrics escape his mouth.

Young Bieber is in all red, and the camera focuses on an orchid as Bieber,  is out of focus in the background. This captures Bieber’s heart throb image. 

Eight years later, the bangs are long gone, and tattoos cover Bieber’s body, going with his edgy look in 2020. 

“Changes” elopes both phases of Bieber and diminishes any fear that fans had of Bieber changing dramatically beyond the recognition of their childhood crush. “Changes” embodies what Bieber has gone through truthfully and with a similar style as in 2015, but with flare that fits in 2020. 

As Bieber developed an edgier style and made an impressive appearance in the hip hop scene with this album, he keeps a tender heart that’s apparent in any project he does or image he adopts. 

“Never thought I could ever be loyal/To someone other than myself,” he sings, “I need you all around me,” he continues, as his voice reaches a reminiscent high tone to his previous projects. Like all 17 songs and Bieber’s past endeavors, this music rains passion on fans new and old. 

In a later song with hit hip hop star Quavo, ‘Intentions,’ Bieber raps, surprisingly, “When I create, you’re my muse/That kind of smile that makes the news/Can’t nobody throw shade on your name in these streets/Triple threat, you a boss, you a bae, you a beast.” 

In comparison to Quavo’s verse, “No cap, no pretendin’, you don’t need mentions (No cap)/Got ’em sayin’ ‘goals,’ they don’t wanna be independent (‘Pendent)/Tell them to mind your business (Woo), we in our feelings,” Bieber’s lyrics sound cheesier and unordinary in the rap community, but that’s the point. 

With this song, Bieber claimed a place in a familiar sound most people in 2020 enjoy, and it was successful because it was his style and did not sound as though he was trying to fit in a box he did not belong in. 

This song did not mirror hit rappers like Drake, Quavo or Travis Scott. It was Justin Bieber in the scene those rappers belong to, and did not take away from the scene or Bieber’s style in any way.

“I’m goin’ through changes/I’m goin’ through changes,” Bieber sings in the titular song “Changes.” It’s evident in his re-breakthrough into music; it’s familiar but refreshing.