Less than 24 hours after announcing the project, Justin Bieber has released “Swag II,” the follow-up to his surprise album that dropped with similarly little warning in July.
Bieber included 23 songs on the new record, with guest appearances from Tems, Lil B, Bakar, Hurricane Chris and Eddie Benjamin. The album arrived after its promised release time of midnight, appearing first on YouTube Music before hitting other streaming services. On Instagram, Bieber addressed the delays in a series of posts, stating, “I’m sorry for the wait their telling me any second” and “Me waiting with u, not baiting u not sure wut the fuckkyyy is going on clicking refreshhhhhh.”
“Swag II” was teased early Thursday morning with billboards popping up in London and banners appearing in West Hollywood, much like he had done with the grassroots advertising of the album’s predecessor. He confirmed the album’s imminent arrival on Instagram, stating that the record would drop at midnight.
Bieber has been posting photos from the studio over the past month or so, suggesting that he was hard at work on another project. He’d done the same with “Swag,” teasing that new music was potentially on the way. Hits Daily Double previously reported that “Swag” was a precursor to a second, more pop-oriented album expected to be released later this year. Presumably, “Swag II” is the record in question, serviced as an addendum to “Swag” and upping the total track count to 44 songs.
The first “Swag” clocked in at 21 tracks and featured guest appearances from Gunna, Sexyy Red, Druski, Dijon, Lil B, Cash Cobain, Eddie Benjamin and Marvin Winans. Bieber handled the production on “Swag” alongside contributions from Tobias Jesso Jr., Carter Lang, Dylan Wiggins, Daniel Caesar, mk.gee, Daniel Chetrit, Knox Fortune and more.
Upon release, “Swag” debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and marked his biggest streaming week yet. “Daisies” also bowed at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “Yukon” peaked at No. 8 and “First Place” landed at No. 52.
Listen to “Swag II” below:
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From Variety US