Justin Bieber has surprised fans by releasing a new album titled Swag.
The record features 20 songs with track names including Dadz Love, Devotion and Therapy Session and follows online concern for the singer’s mental health after a confrontation with paparazzi.
One video, filmed on Father’s Day when he confronted a photographer, shows the singer saying: “I’m a dad. I’m a husband. You’re not getting it. It’s not clocking to you. I’m standing on business.”
The video was widely circulated and remixed online. Now, it not only features as part of the promotion of the singer’s new album, but is sampled in one of its songs, Butterflies.
“Standing on business” has gained currency as slang for standing up for yourself and taking care of your responsibilities and ambitions.
With a run time of just under an hour, the teen icon-turned-megastar collaborates with a host of rappers on Swag including Sexxy Red, Cash Cobain and Gunna.
Its title appears to hark back to the singer’s 2012 hit Boyfriend, featuring the line “swag, swag, swag, on you”.
Promotional pictures shared by the Canadian singer feature his wife, Hailey Bieber, and their son – at points being held over his head.
Fellow artists and fans have reacted with glee to the new music, which comes four years after Bieber’s last album, Justice.
US rapper Big Sean was among the famous names to welcome the album’s release, commenting on the singer’s Instagram post: “Yes!!!!”
The album drop also comes on the back of fans’ worries for Bieber’s state of mind. In recent months, the singer has shared multiple posts online about the intrusion of paparazzi in his personal life.
Bieber’s marriage has also been under the spotlight after another controversial social media post. The singer celebrated his wife featuring on the cover of Vogue with a social media post detailing an argument between them.
The lyrics of Daisies, the second song on Swag, appear to allude to the couple’s relationship with “falling petals do you love me or not” and “you said forever babe, did you mean it or not?”
Other song titles on the album seem to touch on religious themes including Devotion, Soulful and Forgiveness, in keeping with Bieber’s Christian faith.
By BBC News
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