My World 2009 Album

Justin Bieber

I hated this EP. Yes, Down to Earth is good lyrically, and I like that Bieber actually has a writing credit on it, but everything else about it ranges from boring to annoying. One Less Lonely Girl is boring, and everything else is obnoxious. We've already mentioned Justin's vocals, but can we talk about how he's trying so hard to sell himself as a love god? Justin, you're fifteen and you sound like you're ten, stop trying to sound cool.

Hello, I'm Laura Ingraham, and today I'm going to start a discography review series. The first discography I'm planning on reviewing is Justin Bieber's. This might seem like a bit of a strange choice to some of you, so allow me to explain. I'm a Justin Bieber apologist. Yes, I know most music critics can't stand this guy, but I never got the hate. Sure, not everything he did was good, but even when he was at his most hated, I didn't think he was the worst thing to happen to music like so many did. I even own some of his later stuff on vinyl (I won't say what just yet because I don't want to spoil my future reviews, but we'll get to it). Before we get started, let me say what I'll be reviewing in this discography review. I'll be reviewing all five of his studio albums (My World 2.0, Believe, Purpose, Changes, and Justice), his compilation album Journals, his Christmas album, and his two most popular EPs (My World and Freedom). I will not be reviewing all of his other little EPs that no one has heard because no one has heard them. I also won't be reviewing his singles, his other compilations, or his remix and acoustic albums (Although his acoustic version of Believe is actually better than the original). Got all that? Okay, let's get started by reviewing Justin Bieber's first ever EP My World. Let me start by saying that I hadn't heard this EP in full prior to starting this project. I'd heard One Time on the radio a few times when it was new, but that was about it. At the time, I thought it was harmless enough, but I didn't like it nearly enough to check out the full EP. Now that I have heard this EP in full, I realize that I was wrong about something back in 2009. One Time sucks, and if my music critic brain had been developed back then, I probably would've known this. The production is horribly dated and sugary to the point of annoyance, Justin's singing is shaky at best, and the lyrics are extremely repetitive. Seriously, Justin sounds extremely nervous on this song, even though he's trying to come off as smooth. Even ignoring the repetition of the phrase "One Time" into oblivion, these lyrics are dumb as hell. The phrase "Imma tell you one time" sounds like something a mom would say when forcing her son to clean his room, not something you say to a romantic partner. Also, Justin Bieber says shawty, which would be like a white congressperson saying "you be da man." Side note: That actually happened back when Michele Bachmann was in office. Look it up. Needless to say, I was unpleasantly surprised by how bad One Time turned out to be. However, the rest of the EP managed to surprise me in a good way by being not nearly as bad. Seriously, the worst song after One Time is First Dance, and even that's a 3.5 out of 10 and probably could've been okay if it was taken a little less seriously. As it is, the smooth, sexy R&B production, the Usher feature, and Justin's wannabe-smooth delivery are all way too pseudo-mature for a song about a first dance between two teenagers, making the whole song sound awkward and confused. As for the rest of the EP, it's mostly tolerable. Songs like Favorite Girl and One Less Lonely Girl are standard teen heartthrob fodder, but they're not bad in that lane thanks to tolerable instrumentation. Bigger is also pretty standard, but the lyrics make it utterly hilarious. It's about how when Justin was little he was a heartbreaker, but now he's bigger. Considering he sounds like a ten-year-old on this EP, that is hilarious. It's almost like the songwriters were trolling him. Speaking of songs that I somewhat enjoy despite them being pretty average teen idol fodder, there's the closing track Love Me. This samples the song Lovefool by The Cardigans in probably the laziest way possible. It takes the chorus of that song and uses it unaltered for its own chorus without even changing the context of the lyrics. If it wasn't for the propulsive drum beat, I'd probably hate it, but as it is, it's an okay song. The best song on this EP is easily Down to Earth. This is the only song on this EP that I have no problems at all with. The instrumentation is gorgeous and makes me feel like I'm floating through space, the song is incredibly well-written, and for once, Justin's childish vocals actually fit the topic of the song. Here, he's not singing about being madly in love with a girl, but rather about his parents getting divorced. The pain in Justin's voice feels real, and the fact that he sounds so young and helpless makes me feel for him even more. Also, this is the only song on this EP that Justin has a writing credit on, so credit there. As for a score, I rate using percentages. I give this EP 55%. If you're a fan of Justin Bieber, you'll probably like this, so check it out if you haven't heard it. If not, skip it. If you're looking to get into Justin Bieber, stick around and wait for some of my later reviews. Justin has better stuff than this, and I'll be reviewing it soon.