I’ll say it: I was a Belieber in my youth. So much so, in fact, that my first grade backpack had Justin Bieber’s face on it. More specifically, it featured the album cover of My World 2.0 — the 2010 record that constituted much of the soundtrack to my childhood. I haven’t been quite such a passionate Justin Bieber fan in many years, but I can still appreciate a good JB track when I hear it. This week, in honor of our return to school and that magnificent little backpack, I decided to jump back into My World 2.0.
The album kicks off with what is indisputably one of Justin Bieber’s most iconic songs: “Baby,” featuring Ludacris. From the very moment I hit play on this song, images from the music video, set in a bowling alley, started flashing through my head — this might have even been the first music video I ever took it upon myself to watch. I rewatched it (purely for research purposes, of course) and it struck me just how young Bieber was when he first sang this song. Listening to “Baby” now, so long after I first discovered it, it struck me just how young he sounds in this song. I would say that this only adds to the song’s power — it resonates even more that he’s singing about his first love when it seems all the more likely that this actually was his first love. As a bonus, I got a laugh out of Ludacris’s part when he raps “She made my heart pound / And skip a beat when I see her in the street and / At school on the playground.” While this is reflective for the older Ludacris, this is the stage of life Bieber was in at this time, only accentuating the age gap between the song’s contributors.
“Baby” is followed by the ever-popular “Somebody To Love.” Overproduced in the best possible way and featuring a simple but electric chorus (perfect for six to eight-year-old girls to sing along to), this song is one of the gems of My World 2.0. Next is “Stuck In The Moment,” undoubtedly the most underrated song from this album. Little me was so impressed by that vocal range, and I still am; for that reason, this song was, and still is, my favorite track on My World 2.0. Again, I laugh about the lyrics — I question if he actually understood his own references to Sonny and Cher and Bonnie and Clyde.
“U Smile” is yet another chronically singable song off this album, but exposes just how young he is in a way unlike the rest of them. Those voice breaks during parts like “If you need me, I’ll come running from a thousand miles away” may demonstrate his youth, but they also make the song endearing. “U Smile” is followed by “Runaway Love,” and the second I heard that opening sound, I was smacked with an intense sense of nostalgia and remembered just how much I loved this song back in the day. He makes use of his range again through vocal climbs and exercises his lower register during the chorus, a rare sight in this album.
I honestly didn’t love “Never Let You Go” as much as the rest of My World 2.0 when I was younger, but upon listening again, I have a new appreciation for it. The layered vocals are extremely effective, and — gasp — the subject matter actually seems age-appropriate for a 16-year-old. “Overboard,” featuring Jessica Jarrell, has a killer chorus and epitomizes that late 2000s, early 2010s sound with its inclusion of piano. Bieber and Jarrell’s voices do not mesh as seamlessly as one would like, but each of their individual components are stellar.
My World 2.0 presents us with another collaboration in the form of “Eenie Meenie” with Sean Kingston (a problematic figure at the moment). “Eenie Meenie” is by far the most fun song on the album — it’s catchy, upbeat and dynamic. It also serves as the foil to “Up,” a slower, underappreciated track that creates a sense of balance in combination with “Overboard.” The iconic “That Should Be Me” finishes off My World 2.0 with an emotional flourish — angry baby Justin Bieber did not come to play! “Did you think that I wouldn’t see you out at the movies? / What are you doin’ to me? / You’re taking him where we used to go,” he sings with as much angst as he can muster.
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