Artist: Justin Bieber
Release: Believe Acoustic (Album)
Release Date: 29th January 2013.
Love him or hate him, there isn’t a person in the world who hasn’t heard of pop sensation Justin Bieber. Following the amazing success of his platinum studio album ‘Believe’, which was released in June last year, the teen heartthrob has now released an acoustic version of it.
This new album is stripped back; there’s no auto-tune, it’s just Bieber and his crisp acoustic guitar, so unlike other albums this record is very intimate, with it sounding as if Justin is serenading only you. It features eight songs from his studio album ‘Believe’ as well as three new tracks: ‘Nothing Like Us’, ‘Yellow Raincoat’ and ‘I Would’.
Bieber’s soulful and sultry vocals shine throughout this album, with his upbeat hit songs ‘Boyfriend’ and ‘All Around The World’ both sounding much more intimate and passionate than the originals. Other songs which work great acoustically, include ‘Take You’, ‘She Don’t Like The Lights’ and the new neo-soul ballad ‘I Would’. The album ends on a high with new track ‘Nothing Like Us’ which was written and produced solely by Bieber and is rumoured to be about Selena Gomez.
My favourite track from this acoustic album has to be ‘As Long As You Love Me’, with it potentially even being better than the original. The guitar arrangement with the impressive riffs is great, Bieber’s crooning vocals really stand out and he even manages to include the rap – amazing!
One song though which I have to admit I’m not too keen on, has to be ‘Beauty And A Beat’. It was my favourite track from the original album as it’s a great upbeat party song, but you can’t “party like it’s 3012” to an acoustic song. Maybe it’s because this version doesn’t include Nicki Minaj or perhaps club anthems like these shouldn’t be stripped back into acoustic versions.
‘Believe Acoustic’ may have less “swag” than the original hit album but it’s definitely a great easy listening record, which highlights how Bieber is an extremely talented artist, as well as a versatile one too. For all the critics and the haters who have always said Justin Bieber can’t sing – well this album certainly proves them all wrong. If you’ve never been that interested in his music before due to the intense over production, well then I urge you to give this album a listen, as I guarantee it will impress you.
