Maps of Music

Justice (2021)

Where the lyrics of Justice take you, and where it was really made.

The album drew split verdicts: Roisin O'Connor of The Independent called it the best of Bieber's career, while many critics found its Martin Luther King Jr. speeches irrelevant in context.

Key places

Recording studio in Los Angeles (2021)

Recording site A&M Recording Studios — Justice was recorded in Los Angeles after Bieber returned there from quarantine in Toronto. The studio is listed as the recording place in MusicBrainz, but the article itself does not name it. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Cover photo location in Downtown Los Angeles (2021)

Album cover 2nd Street Tunnel — The final cover photo shows Bieber crouched in the 2nd Street Tunnel in Downtown Los Angeles, one of three Los Angeles locations used in the January 2021 shoot. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Justice: sixth studio album by Canadian singer Justin Bieber
• Released March 19, 2021 by Def Jam Recordings
• Guest appearances from Khalid, Chance the Rapper, The Kid Laroi, Dominic Fike, Daniel Caesar, Giveon, Beam, Burna Boy and Benny Blanco
• Follow-up to Changes (2020); described as a pop album
• Contains pop rock, synth-pop and new wave elements
• Production includes Benny Blanco, Virtual Riot, Andrew Watt, Skrillex, Finneas and Jon Bellion
• Bieber announced the album on February 26, 2021, with the digital EP JB6 released alongside

Background

• Changes leaned R&B; Justice returns to Bieber's pop roots
• Bieber said he wanted the record to comfort listeners and help them feel less alone
• Before the lead single Holy, Chance the Rapper compared the album's sound to Michael Jackson's Off the Wall
• Tour announced as Changes Tour, later renamed Justice World Tour
• Justice World Tour ran from February 18, 2022 in San Diego to September 4, 2022 in Rio de Janeiro

Recording

• Early in the pandemic, Bieber was in quarantine at his Toronto house and received many demos from songwriters and producers
• He recorded the songs he liked in his home studio
• Recording intensified after he returned to Los Angeles
• The hook of Peaches was started at Andrew Watt's home studio with Shawn Mendes present

Cover

• Rory Kramer took 3,500 photos of Bieber across three Los Angeles locations on January 14, 2021
• The chosen cover photo shows Bieber crouched in Downtown Los Angeles' 2nd Street Tunnel
• Bieber picked the cover at his Los Angeles home in mid-January
• The logo resembles that of the French group Justice, which drew a satirical reply from Ed Banger founder Pedro Winter

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Justin Drew Bieber (born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer, born in London, Ontario and raised in Stratford.
• He was discovered by Scooter Braun after Braun found his 2007 YouTube covers, and signed to RBMG, a joint venture of Braun and Usher, later with Island Records.
• His debut EP My World (2009) and debut album My World 2.0 (2010) topped the US Billboard 200 at the time, making him the youngest solo male to do so in 47 years.
• Believe (2012) marked a shift from teen pop to dance-pop and R&B; by age 18 he had five US number-one albums.
• Purpose (2015) produced three US Billboard Hot 100 number-ones: Love Yourself, Sorry and What Do You Mean?.
• Later albums Changes (2020), Justice (2021), Swag (2025) and Swag II (2025) continued his chart success.
• He is estimated to have sold over 150 million records and is one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

Awards

• He has won 2 Grammy Awards, 8 Juno Awards, 2 Brit Awards and 26 Billboard Music Awards.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Upon release, the album received generally favourable reviews from music critics, most of whom complimented its production and vocal delivery
• Metacritic average of 62 from 16 reviews, indicating generally favourable reviews
• Louise Bruton of The Irish Times called it undeniably good and the singer's poppiest yet
• Roisin O'Connor of The Independent dubbed it the best album of Bieber's career
• Will Lavin of NME felt the album improves on Changes
• Billboard's Jason Lipshutz said Bieber gains more artistic clarity and called it his strongest front-to-back listen to date
• Pitchfork's Rawiya Kameir branded it an earnest pop album, praising the vocals but criticizing the production and songwriting
• Entertainment Weekly's Leah Greenblatt found the tracks short of the Purpose singles but the album full of respectable numbers
• Craig Jenkins of Vulture said Bieber sounds better adjusted than ever but the music feels a little reserved
• Keith Harris of Rolling Stone called it professionally crafted pop with many chart-validated tracks

Records

• Debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 154,000 equivalent album units in the United States in its first week
• Bieber's eighth US number one album; at 27 he became the youngest soloist with eight US number one albums
• Debuted atop the charts of ten countries
• Certified double-platinum by the RIAA according to the lead; certified gold on March 29, 2021
• The IFPI ranked Bieber the world's eighth best-selling artist of 2021, bolstered by Justice
• At the 64th Grammy Awards, the album and its singles received eight nominations, including Album, Song and Record of the Year

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album debuted atop the charts of ten countries, including the US Billboard 200 and the Canadian Albums Chart.
• Early in the pandemic, the demos Bieber received came from songwriters, managers, publishers and producers, and he recorded the ones he liked at home.
• Peaches debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 and became Bieber's seventh number one in the United States.
• Many critics found the placement of speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. in the album irrelevant in context.
• Rory Kramer's cover shoot produced 3,500 photos, and the final cover came from the last 100 frames of that night.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

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