Monday, October 3, 2011

Review: My World 2.0 [Part 1]

Album: My World 2.0
Release Date: March 19, 2010
We're in full-on My World 2.0 territory now. I've already reviewed "Baby" and "Never Let You Go," which I will discuss again for the album review. And now, it's time for the overall review of My World 2.0. Since there are 12 tracks (including bonus tracks), I've decided to split it up into more than one review, so that I can focus on each song as much as I am able to.

My World 2.0 starts out with the lead single from the album, "Baby." And it's an extremely smart decision to be the opener of the album as well. Click HERE to read my in-depth review of the song.

Out of all the singles he's released up 'til this moment, "Baby" is by far the best of them all. It's extremely catchy, and will get stuck in your head. The catchy hook is in the chorus, with the repeated use of the word "Baby": "baby, baby, baby, ohhhh (I thought you'd always be mine)." Anybody can repeat a word over and over again in song. But it's a whole 'nother thing when the songwriters can make that repetition be the thing that makes the song stand out. So props to the songwriters.

In my in-depth review of "Baby," I said that I wish they hadn't included the Ludacris rap. But now that I've listened to the song more and more, I've gotten used to it. And I'm not totally against it now. Again, rap still isn't my favorite genre, but it certainly does work within the context of the song. And like I've said before, it gives both the song and the album more "street cred" among those outside Bieber's core demographic.

Speaking of "Baby," did you hear 14-year-old Drew Ryniewicz perform the song for her audition on The X Factor? Click HERE to watch the video and read my thoughts, and HERE to read what she had to say about auditioning and Bieber.

Track #2 is "Somebody To Love." After "Baby," we're pumped up and hoping that momentum is kept up with the next track. And "STL" keeps it up. The song eventually became the second single from the album, so I will be reviewing it more in-depth in a few weeks (including the music video).

Before starting up Bieber Guy, I always pegged Justin as strictly teen pop. And while his singles always stray down that road, I'm noticing more and more that there are a lot of R&B influences. And "Somebody to Love" has that as well. It does lend more credibility to him as an artist, and will hopefully only help him as he transitions in the next couple years into adulthood and having to keep his fan base without alienating them (a la Miley Cyrus).

I will say this: The first time I heard "Somebody To Love" was when it was covered on Glee during season 2. And when I first heard it performed on that show, I thought, this is a really good song. It's got a great hook. It's a song that transcends teen pop, and can be enjoyed by people outside of his fan base. I always say that it doesn't matter whether you like a certain artist or not; a good song is a good song, plain and simple. Even if I were full-on non-Bieber fan who couldn't stand him, I would still have to recognize the quality of songs like "Baby" and "Somebody To Love" (& "Down To Earth" from My World). There's no getting around that.

Okay, so we've now come out of two very catchy songs. "Stuck in the Moment" is next. Does it keep up that momentum? Not as much. But in a way, that's to be expected since this one's not a single. But I've always pointed out, and will do again here, that when a song of his doesn't stand out as much, we can always come back to the lyrics and see why it still works amongst all the other songs and why it can still be considered a success with his fans. The lyrics of the song, as usual, go hand in hand and fit right in with who his fans are and what they expect from a Justin Bieber song: "Now Romeo and Juliet bet they never felt the way we felt / Bonnie and Clyde never had to hide like we do." Infusing a little Romeo and Juliet doesn't hurt at all, does it? The epitome of love.
On a related note, did anyone notice that there's a couple moments in the song where the beat of the song sounds similar to Adam Lambert's "Whataya Want From Me": "Now you don't wanna let go, And I don't wanna let you know ... Now we don't wanna fall but we're tripping in our hearts." Click HERE to listen to Adam's song. The similarity starts at 00:51.

The fourth track is "U Smile." And like "Somebody to Love," "U Smile" was eventually released as a single, so I'll go more in depth in a future review. Before listening to the entire My World 2.0, I had only heard three of the songs on the album before. And "U Smile" was one of them. I'm not sure exactly where I heard it; it might have been on TV sometime. And here we have yet another fantastic song. It has mass appeal similar to "Baby" and "Somebody to Love," along with the hook and catchiness of them as well. The chorus, "You smile, I smile / Cause whenever you smile I smile," is very simple, in terms of the lyrics. But the song is structured so that it can allow Justin's voice to really shine in a great way. Some songs are all about the beat or the hook. And "U Smile" has that hook, but it adds the vocal element as well, where we can just listen to his voice without any heavy use of instruments or anything else.

I'm almost halfway through My World 2.0, but the beginning of the album is great so far. It has a great blend of teen pop, R&B, mass appeal, lyrics, and vocal arrangement.

To find out the latest TV, movie and entertainment news, visit Bieber Guy's partner sites, TV Watch Online and the TV Watch Online BLOG (follow T.W.O. on Twitter @TVWatchOnline).

Next week, Part 2 of my My World 2.0 review will be online for all to read.

To stay updated on everything related to Bieber Guy and when the next blog and/or review will be online, follow me on Twitter @Bieber_Guy.

Bieber Guy My World Reviews: "One Time" (Updated) / "One Less Lonely Girl" / "Love Me" & "Favorite Girl" / My World EP

Bieber Guy My World 2.0 Reviews: "Baby" / "Never Let You Go"

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