Album Review: "SWAG" - Justin Bieber

Ashley Adams
Aug 5
9 min read

SWAG is Canadian musician Justin Bieber's seventh studio album, filled to the brim with love songs, pop and RnB production, and features from several other artists.

T R A C K L I S T

ALL I CAN TAKE
DAISIES
YUKON
GO BABY
THINGS YOU DO
BUTTERFLIES
WAY IT IS (with Gunna)
FIRST PLACE
SOULFUL (with Druski)
WALKING AWAY
GLORY VOICE MEMO
DEVOTION (with Dijon)
DADZ LOVE (with Lil B)
THERAPY SESSION (with Druski)
SWEET SPOT (with Sexyy Red)
STANDING ON BUSINESS (with Druski)
405
SWAG (with Cash Cobain & Eddie Benjamin)
ZUMA HOUSE
TOO LONG
FORGIVENESS (with Marvin Winans)

After being discovered on YouTube for his incredible singing voice, it wasn't too long before Justin Bieber rose to immense fame as a teen popstar. He released his debut project, the EP My World, in 2009, and the following debut album My World 2.0 a year later, the latter being even more incredibly successful than the last. For the past sixteen years, there hasn't been anyone who doesn't know who Justin Bieber is. He has released six more albums since then, the latest being his July 2025 surprise album SWAG, released a day after its initial announcement.

ALL I CAN TAKE
It makes sense for an album filled with love letters to start off with one. Amongst an RnB and pop fusion beat, Bieber sings about how he loves intimacy and being alone with his significant other. There’s no better feeling than shutting the world out and spending time with the one you love most, feeling like you’re the only two people in the world. As a celebrity, and in Bieber’s case, one of the biggest in the world, you especially have to cherish this time even more because it always feels like everyone has eyes on you. Paparazzi, the media, fans - spending time not focused on the world of fame makes everything feel more real and in the moment.
DAISIES
The second track of SWAG is the most popular of the album, and for good reason. It features pop production of a slow to medium tempo that feels familiar but original and unique at the same time. The acoustic guitar chords mixed with prominent drums, significantly in the chorus, are what create a combination of easy listening with pop and RnB. Bieber sings about how he has fallen in love and wants to be with his crush, but his crush isn’t sure of whether or not a relationship should be pursued. Bieber is okay with waiting for his crush to decide if they should be together, but he reiterates that he is falling in love.
YUKON
Another acoustic guitar-heavy production is found on track 3, with the beat hidden behind it so that they flow evenly together. That’s not the only distinctive element of the song, with Bieber’s voice being pitched up throughout, although the adlibs are at a regular pitch. The use of references and similes is implemented all over the lyrics, ex.: “I pull up like Jimmy Neutron // I can help you move on like U-Haul”. Bieber recognizes he can’t live without his love, and knows that his significant other could be with anyone else, but he is glad that they are together, and promises to always love and take care of his significant other.
GO BABY
Disco-inspired synths and a slow-paced drum beat come together in a song Bieber has dedicated to his wife, model and entrepreneur Hailey Bieber. In the song, Justin professes her love for her, congratulating her on her accomplishments and reassures her that he is always there for her, no matter how hard life gets. Like Justin, Hailey is also very much in the spotlight 24/7, due to coming from a famous family and being married to a famous musician. When she is affected by the hate she receives, Justin understands why she is upset and lets her know that she isn’t alone. Together, they can get through all the ups and downs while still being in love.
THINGS YOU DO
The first line of the fifth track, “I threw the towel // When you came around”, most likely means that Justin was living the lifestyle of the typical popstar, but when he met Hailey, everything changed for him, and he wanted to begin assuming a private life so that he could dedicate all of his time and attention to her. He has never felt this much romantic love for someone like this before, and he feels as though she changed his life. He focuses on not only grand gestures, but appreciates everything she does for him and that they do together.
BUTTERFLIES
Butterflies are what you get preceding and during the beginning of a relationship. More often than not, they go away after some time, even though love in the relationship still remains. However, Justin expresses that this is not the case for his marriage, as he still feels this way years into his own relationship. No matter what social status or how much fame or money Justin has, he will never lose the love that he has for Hailey. She means everything to him, and nothing else matters as long as he has her. “BUTTERFLIES” features production similar to its preceding songs, but its tempo increases in the latter half of the track.
WAY IT IS (with Gunna)
The first of several features on SWAG is found on “WAY IT IS”, a song about wanting to get married and live a quiet life away from the busyness and suffocation of the music industry and the world of fame. Justin and Gunna fantasize about being married to their true loves and starting families with them. They want to live the life of a having a beautiful home with a white picket fence, something they’re able to obtain, which they very happy about and grateful for. They feel lucky that they are in the position where they don’t have to worry about their careers and can focus on what they believe truly matters in life, which is family.
FIRST PLACE
“FIRST PLACE” has a loud and emphasized beat, but it’s paired with distant melodic synths, making it another distinct and creative track on SWAG that shares traits of a relaxing and beautiful song. Justin says that’s Hailey is in “first place”, meaning that he prioritizes her over everything else because she is most important to him. He wants to be able to spend as much time with her as possible and wants her to know this. He wants to persevere through any arguments or disagreements they have because he wants to stay with her and wants her to always know much he loves and appreciates her.
SOULFUL (with Druski)
“SOULFUL” is an interlude track - the recording of a short conversation between him and comedian and online personality Druski. In the background, there are muffled synths that sound like what we’ve heard before throughout the first eight tracks of SWAG.
WALKING AWAY
No relationship is perfect, and everyone who loves each other eventually has arguments and disagreements, and sometimes even falling outs. It would be easier if you could love someone without tension, but every once in a while, it will appear. Justin, while undoubtedly loving Hailey, understands that the miscommunication they sometimes come across means he needs to take a step back and reassess how he addresses situations that arise in their marriage. However, he reassures her that he will never give up on her and their marriage, and he promises that he will always work through anything that comes up that tries to pull them apart from one another.
GLORY VOICE MEMO
As the title of track 11 implies, “GLORY VOICE MEMO” is part of a song that wasn’t made into a full song, but is the demo of it, most likely a verse and the beginning of a potential chorus. Justin sings about his faith and his religion in a series of runs and octave changes in an echoing room alongside the strums of a guitar. It sounds as if the guitar is being played into a microphone and Justin is singing away from the microphone, when it’s usually the other way around in music. Justin turns to God to help him understand why he’s going through pain, and that he needs God’s help getting out of it.
DEVOTION (with Dijon)
Like “ALL I CAN TAKE”, Justin sings about how much he loves and appreciates intimate moments in a relationship, this time with the help of Dijon. Justin has already proven himself to be very romantic, and his love language appears to be physical touch, supported by the line “Roll some weed and cuddle up real close”. He’s shown that he loves spending time with Hailey and thinks about her all the time. Dijon sings about his own love life from his perspective, and that the feelings Justin has for Hailey are the feelings that Dijon has for his own significant other. Their significant others mean a lot to them, which is why the song is titled “DEVOTION”.
DADZ LOVE (with Lil B)
Even before SWAG was announced, which was a day before its release, Justin still managed to tease a Lil B feature by posting multiple Instagram posts and stories with his music, and he also changed his handle to @lilbieber. Justin repeats echoing lines of about love over a somewhat muffled beat and ongoing transcendent synth. The title of the song "DADZ LOVE” implies that this track is dedicated to his son, and that he loves being a father and sharing a child with the love of his life.
THERAPY SESSION (with Druski)
In another interlude with Druski with music in the background, him and Justin talk about the pressures of constantly being in the public eye, when they want to be left alone. Whether they are hurting or not, repeatedly being asked by people how they are doing is causing them to look down on themselves and feel as though everyone else is fine while they aren’t. They just want to let go and feel happy and be left alone by those who don’t know them or what they actually have going on in their lives.
SWEET SPOT (with Sexyy Red)
“SWEET SPOT” is another track on SWAG about intimacy with your significant other, and well as about changing your lifestyle to be with this person, this time with Sexyy Red. She raps about how she used to not prioritize one-on-on relationships until she met her current boyfriend, and now that’s the only person she wants to be with. Most of the tracks on this album are about monogamy and loving and being dedicated to your one true love, and “SWEET SPOT” is another one of these tracks. What it is also has in common with the other tracks is it’s 80s-esque synthwave production, showing that the album is cohesive throughout, both lyrically and musically.
STANDING ON BUSINESS (with Druski)
The third and last interlude with Druski references a viral video of Justin taken by a paparazzo shortly before SWAG was released, with Justin criticizing him for recording him and invading his privacy. Featured in the track are most the notable and recognized lines from the video, including the song’s title “standing on business”.
405
Interstate 405 is in California, where Justin and Hailey live, and the line “Hundred on the dash” could be a metaphor for several different things. With the line “How my baby look like that // Gonna make me crash”, the high driving speed could be a reference to his heartbeat whenever he looks at or thinks about Hailey, which connects back to the sixth track “BUTTERFLIES”. It could also be a metaphor for how his life was like before he met Hailey, when he felt like he was doing a million things at once, as he is one of the biggest musicians in the world, and that it felt like time was flying by. The tempo and intensity also increase to match the vibes of the lyrics.
SWAG (with Cash Cobain & Eddie Benjamin)
The title track references the term Justin would use frequently in his early career, and this song successfully brings its popularity back, with the help of Cash Cobain and Eddie Benjamin. The song features a trap beat with more transcendent synths as Justin and Cobain rap throughout about having swagger.
ZUMA HOUSE
“ZUMA HOUSE” is another stripped down track that features only an acoustic guitar and Justin’s amazing vocals away from the microphone. Justin describes the insecurities he has about himself and that he’s scared of being left alone, and is asking his significant other if this will this come to fruition if he were to have a weak moment.
TOO LONG
The penultimate track of SWAG summarizes the main themes of the album: love and intimacy. It features a futuristic-sounding production with pop synths and sound effects and an RnB beat.
FORGIVENESS (with Marvin Winans)
The final track of SWAG is a duet and cover of “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High” with pastor Marvin Winans. This track connects to the eleventh track “GLORY VOICE MEMO”, as they are both about religion and faith. Justin and Winans shadow each other's echoing vocals as they sing about Jesus. The song is also a ballad, with notes from both a grand piano and an organ overlapping one another.

SWAG is another fantastic album from Justin Bieber. His vocals were impeccable throughout all of the tracks and the production and instrumentation were flawless. This is just more proof that Bieber is one the most talented musicians of the 21st century, as well as one of the most iconic and well-known pop stars in the world. His large vocal range, his ability to combine genres, and his musical chemistry with other artists just show how much of a virtuoso he is.

Written By Ashley Adams

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