It's been a rough year to be Justin Bieber. Sure, there's the sold-out tour and the millions of adoring Beliebers at his helm, but the aging teen idol has also seen his fair share of controversies. There have been car accidents, run-ins with paparazzi, late shows and more bizarre controversies (getting carried up the Great Wall of China, being spotted in a Brazillian brothel, etc.). But, amidst all that, there has also been music. Yes, Bieber is deep into his Music Mondays/music journals project, and now, he's using his new single as a way to tell the world he ain't all bad in "All Bad."
The first five installations of Bieber's Music Mondays ("Heartbreaker," "All That Matters," "Hold Tight," "Recovery," and "Bad Day") have all taken on Bieber's love life, dealing with his break up from Selena Gomez. This one, however, tackles the way the public views him versus how he views himself.
"It's another, if it ain't one thing / Instigators, like pouring fire on propane / The wrong thing, they be worried about / Ooh, you know females / And how they like to run their mouths," Bieber sings in the opening verse of the track, putting blame on "instigators" and "females" instead of himself for his outrageous 2013 behavior.
It's slightly annoying, because one doesn't just pee in a bucket decrying Bill Clinton or hang out with prostitutes because of other people. Eventually, though, Bieber does admit his own faults. "Perfect, ain't saying I am / Proven, it's proven I don't give a damn," he sings in the second verse, wherein this reviewer gives up on Bieber taking the blame for his own behavior.
Musically, the first four Music Mondays singles continue to be the strongest, though "All Bad" continues the simple instrumentation motif. A grooving, electronic drum beat is sprinkled with smaller drops of synth notes. It's a nice, driving beat, and the new direction of Bieber's music really could help launch him to the next era of stardom, as long as he can get public opinion in his favor.
This song, though? Not gonna do it.
