Justin Bieber has released his seventh album “Swag” just hours after announcing both the project and its tracklist.
The album clocks in at 21 tracks, featuring guest appearances from a slew of artists including Gunna, Sexyy Red, Druski, Dijon, Lil B, Cash Cobain, Eddie Benjamin and Marvin Winans on the closer “Forgiveness,” a rendition of “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High.” Bieber handled production on “Swag” alongside Carter Lang, Dylan Wiggins, Daniel Caesar, mk.gee, Daniel Chetrit, Knox Fortune and more.
Earlier today, fans across the world took notice of billboards in Iceland, Atlanta and Los Angeles depicting an image of Bieber accompanied by the word “Swag,” suggesting a record was on the way.
Bieber confirmed that the billboards were in fact real by reposting them to his Instagram and, shortly after, posted a video taken in New York City’s Times Square that touted a 20-song tracklist. He also included images taken from what appeared to be the album cover shoot, depicting images of Bieber holding his son Jack Blues and accompanied by his wife Hailey.
In the months leading up to “Swag,” Bieber shared snapshots from the studio on social media, suggesting that he was working on new music. According to reports, he had hosted jam sessions in his Los Angeles home with appearances from Carter Lang, Eddie Benjamin and Tay James.
“Swag” is Bieber’s follow-up to “Justice,” which released in 2021. That album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the hits “Anyone,” “Hold On” and the set’s biggest smash “Peaches” featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon.
Following the release of “Justice,” Bieber kicked off his Justice World Tour in Feb. 2022. Though dates were scheduled through March 2023, he cut the tour short to prioritize his health in Sept. 2022, and later canceled the postponed dates. In the time since, Bieber has been relatively quiet on the music front, returning to the stage earlier this year as a guest during SZA’s performance at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium for a rendition of their collaboration “Snooze.”
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Listen to “Swag” below:
From Variety US