At a listening party at the Island Def Jam offices last night Justin Bieber‘s manager Scooter Braun filled CBS Local in on some of the more emotional tracks on his upcoming album Believe.
The album, which is executive produced by Braun and Usher, is a step into adulthood for Bieber. With tracks produced by industry pros like Max Martin, Diplo, Rodney Jerkins and vocal producer Kuk Harrell, Believe is Bieber’s most mature release.
While club friendly tracks “All Around the World” featuring Ludacris and “Beauty And A Beat” featuring Nicki Minaj showcased his fun side, songs like “Fall” and “Be Alright” have more of stripped down and grown-up feel.
Braun explained the thought process behind “Fall.” A track inspired by Nicolas Sparks’ famous tearjerker A Walk to Remember, he said it’s a song “that will break your heart.”
Braun relayed that Bieber created the scenario of two friends falling in love while in the studio. The girl, who is diagnosed with cancer, has to undergo chemotherapy and Bieber envisioned the boy falling down on his knees at her grave, which he got choked up about while singing the song’s final lines.
“You can’t fly unless you let yourself fall/ I will catch you if you fall,” Bieber sings.
Braun revealed to CBS Local that for Bieber it’s easier to write songs alone on acoustic guitar than in a studio setting. In fact, this is how he wrote another track on the album, “Be Alright.”
“He wrote that song on acoustic guitar while on a plane to Indonesia while missing someone,” Braun said, insinuating that he meant current girlfriend Selena Gomez.
The stripped down track showcases this. “Across the ocean/ Across the sea/ Starting to forget the way you look at me,” Bieber sings at the song’s start.
Believe will be released June 19.
– Annie Reuter CBS Local
