On July 11, 2025, Canadian singer and songwriter Justin Bieber released his 7th studio album, SWAG, without warning, catching fans by surprise. While the album came quietly, the artist himself has been under the spotlight for a long time due to his controversial social media presence and public image.
A viral pop icon in the early 2010s, Bieber grew up in the public eye. From his dramatic relationship with American singer Selena Gomez to wild rumours surrounding his marriage to Canadian model Hailey Bieber, his life has been highly scrutinized by the media. His recent confrontation with paparazzi became viral on social media and sparked a wave of remixes and edits. “It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business, is it?” Bieber said furiously to a photographer. However, this notorious interaction did not seem to affect Bieber, as a month later, Bieber dropped his new album out of the blue.
The album blends R&B, gospel, and experimental sounds whilst incorporating themes of love, marriage, and fatherhood. The lyrics in many songs, such as “ALL I CAN TAKE,” “BUTTERFLIES,” and “405,” omit crystalline narrations of his inner dialogue, instead contributing to the groovy vibe of the songs. The album’s opening song, “All I CAN TAKE,” incorporates 1980s R&B, faded beats, and echoey vocals, with some critics noting a similarity to Michael Jackson’s style. “DAISIES” is a vibey love song with mellow vocals accompanied by lo-fi guitar sounds. This song explores Bieber’s love life with Hailey Bieber. In “Go Baby”, Bieber explicitly expresses his love for his wife with the lyrics: “That’s my baby/ She’s iconic/ iPhone case/ Lip gloss on it.” Bieber also celebrates fatherhood in his song “DADZ LOVE” featuring Lil B, though his lyrics barely disclose any details about his relationship with his son.
In the album, Bieber includes his infamous interactions with paparazzi and social media. “STANDING ON BUSINESS,” featuring Druski, includes a recording of Bieber’s viral meme and Druski’s commentary on his way of pronouncing the word “business.” In another track featuring Druski, “THERAPY SESSION,” Bieber voices his mental health struggles, telling his collaborator, “That’s been a tough thing for me recently, is feeling like I’ve had to go through a lot of my struggles as a human—as all of us do—really publicly.”
Apart from Druski, the album also contains appearances from Gunna, Dijon, Lil B, Sexyy Red, Cash Cobain, Eddie Benjamin, and Marvin Winans. The album is produced by Bieber, Dijon, and Benjamin alongside Daniel Caesar, Carter Lang, Dylan Wiggins, and more.
Overall, the 54-minute-long album is a groovy, experimental, beautiful, but messy narration of Bieber’s musical and personal life.