Review: My World 2.0 Single #3 - "U Smile"

Song: "U Smile" (Promo Single #2/Single #3)
From Album: My World 2.0
Release Date: August 24, 2010

Almost half a year after My World 2.0 came out, the third and final single (though it was also released as a promo single right before the album) was released. The song: "U Smile." Let's take a look...

I'm impressed with Justin and his label for choosing top quality songs one after the other: "Baby," "Never Let You Go," "Somebody to Love," and "U Smile." Sometimes with artists, you may only have one or two great singles. But Justin's have all been excellent.

Before listening to the album for Bieber Guy, 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 great 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.

Here's what Justin said about what the song means to him and the connection to his fans (via MTV): "'U Smile' is one of the best songs I have ever recorded. It really is a throwback to the great records I listened to growing up. ... I wrote it for all my fans who got me here."

He continues by saying, "U took me from a small town in Canada to this amazing opportunity I am living now. I am so grateful for everything and so blessed for all of your support. I wrote 'U Smile' with my friend August with that in mind. ... So this one is for U. Enjoy it and know that u the fans give me my strength in a lot of this."

Now for the music video. The video is both similar to and different than his other videos. The similarity is that it's, of course, about a girl. But the difference is that it's set up sort of like a movie. There's a few opening credits. There's part of a scene before the music even starts. And the video goes back and forth between shots in black and white and shots in color. Also, it seems like a handheld camera was used quite a lot too.

Justin's leaving a building (I assume the theater that's featured later) and a group of girls notice him and want autographs and pictures and so forth. He meets with one of those girls later on and they hang out inside the theater.

Is life imitating art here? Does anyone else notice the similarity? Remember a month ago when Justin rented out (for free) Staples Center, and he and girlfriend Selena Gomez were the only two people there for a private screening of Titanic? In this music video, he and this fan of his have the theater all to themselves. I wonder if Justin ever thought of how similar it is?

But anyway, since the song is dedicated to his fans, it only seems appropriate that the video does that as well: "I took the opportunity 2 make a video 4 the fans, about a fan, and how we could fall IN LOVE." It's a good thing that this video is something not to be taken seriously, because really, if this was happening in real life, it's not the best idea. Justin picking up a fan and being alone with her? They're doing all these fun things, yet he doesn't know her at all. And to the girl: you shouldn't be alone with a star. Just kidding - we all know Justin's a good and wholesome guy (but if he were a rocker, not a good idea).

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, I will be reviewing Justin's book, First Step 2 Forever (and by the way, we're about a month away from "A Very Bieber Christmas" here at Bieber Guy; more details will follow later).

To stay updated on everything related to Bieber Guy and when the next blog article 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" / My World 2.0 - Part 1 / My World 2.0 - Part 2 / My World 2.0 - Part 3 / "Somebody to Love"

Review: My World 2.0 Single #2 - "Somebody to Love"

Song: "Somebody to Love" (Single #2)
From Album: My World 2.0
Release Date: April 20, 2010

About a month after My World 2.0 was released, Justin released "Somebody to Love" as his second single from the album. So let's talk about it...

Let's say there's a show being performed and you have multiple performers coming out one after the other. You don't want to be the one that has to follow the showstopping performance of the evening, or follow the biggest star there. But somebody has to, usually, and that's the way it goes. I could say the same goes for Justin and "Baby." "Baby" is his most successful song of his entire career. How do you top that? I say, it's darn near hard to do. But Justin was able to match it.

The first time I heard this song was when it was covered during season 2 of Glee. When I did first hear it performed on that show, I thought, this is a great song. It's got a catchy hook. It's a song that transcends teen pop (since there's R&B influences once again), 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 a full-on non-Bieber fan who couldn't stand him, I would still have to recognize the significance, quality, and hook of songs like this one as well as ones like "Baby." There's no getting around that.

The hook, what grabs you in where you go, that's a catchy song, is of course in the chorus. There's also some other moments during the song where you hear Justin singing the lyrics a little bit faster; those parts are used to great effect as well. And "Somebody to Love" received positive reviews among the critics, which solidifies the standing of the song further.

Apparently, "Somebody to Love" was originally supposed to be on one of Usher's records. But that was scrapped, and was eventually recorded by Justin. Usher provided background vocals to the song. And not too long after Justin released the single, the two of them did a remix of the song, and Usher ended up having considerably more vocal time. I listened to this remix, and enjoyed that version as well. I don't think any of the changes affected the quality at all.

And they did a music video for the remix version. With the storyline of the song, they could have easily translated that story into a music video. But instead, it was just as if they were performing on a stage; the focus was very much on the choreography and dance moves of Justin, Usher and the background dancers. And they pulled it off quite brilliantly, I thought.

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, I'll be reviewing Justin's third single from My World 2.0, "U Smile."

To stay updated on everything related to Bieber Guy and when the next blog article 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" / My World 2.0 - Part 1 / My World 2.0 - Part 2 / My World 2.0 - Part 3

Review: My World 2.0 [Part 3]

Album: My World 2.0
Release Date: March 19, 2010

READ PART 1 & PART 2

And now, here's the conclusion to my review of Justin Bieber's second music release, My World 2.0.

Track 9 is "Up." You always want your strongest songs to be released as singles. And I wonder if record company's ever struggle with if they should release a slower song for a single. Because slower songs, depending on how they sound, might not catch on. Now, obviously, that's not always the case. But we usually see the more upbeat songs promoted. I mean, just look at Justin. His more upbeat songs were singles ("Baby," "Somebody to Love,"). But then there's also "U Smile."

But sometimes amongst all the slower non-singles, you can find some pretty special songs. And "Up" may be one of them. It's definitely a slower song; I'm not sure if it would be considered a ballad or not, but anyway. To me at least, it's a very understated song. But it's that understatement that makes this song have meaning on My World 2.0. "It's a big, big world" is one of the standout moments, musically. And I think it's actually the start of the chorus, "Nowhere but up, from here, my dear," that has something about it that I can't quite put my finger on. Actually, these parts may in fact be the most mellow and understated parts of the song. They glide right through with fluidity.

The final song is "That Should Be Me." The feel of "Up" seems to be continuing on into this song. Sometimes on albums, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of thought put into the final track or two; it's almost like they decided to just put the weakest songs at the very end so we might not notice them as much. But I love when albums end on a high note. You want to start off the album on top and end at least near that same high. And "That Should Be Me" accomplishes that.

In my Part 1 Review, I said that before starting Bieber Guy, I had only previously heard three songs on this album before. But I guess I should bump up that number to four. Because I now realize that I have heard this song before, when he performed it as a duet with Rascal Flatts for a TV special. But I'll refrain from reviewing that duet for now, until I get to the Remixes release.

I have to say, this is one of my favorite songs on My World 2.0, and I think my favorite of all the non-singles on the album. "That Should Be Me" is a ballad, and Justin sings it with such conviction; he's standing his ground and metaphorically yelling out who the girl should really be with.

And while non-Bieber fans might roll their eyes at the story of the song, it's in the way that he sings it that makes it a brilliant song. The best example of that is in the latter half of the chorus. After he sings, "That should be me, holdin' your hand" etc., he repeats the title a couple of times in the middle. Then he really just goes all in and you can hear the strength and validity in his voice when he continues with "That should be me, feelin' your kiss" etc. There's much more of a vocal emphasis, almost like a pounding, on some of the words in that part of the chorus.

I can almost picture him singing this, watching a girl with another guy, and he stands there and puts all the emotion he can into the words and into his voice, pouring his heart out to the girl and telling her "That should be me."

That was the last track on the album. But there were two bonus songs released. The first is an iTunes bonus track called "Kiss and Tell." Musically and melodically, the strongest part of the song is at the start of the chorus: "Baby, I know that you cool with rockin' with me / But I can't have you tellin' everybody you got me all twisted." But outside of the chorus, it's more of a generic song. And for that, I can see why it didn't make the album.

The second is a Wal-Mart bonus song called "Where Are You Now." It's definitely the stronger song of the two. I actually wish they had included this on the standard release, because it's a beautiful song that really lets Justin show off his voice in a pure way without all the pumped up melodies. It's a very enjoyable listen. My favorite part, melody-wise is, "So take my hand and walk with me / Show me what to be / I need you to set me free." I've said this in previous reviews, but to those people out there who are very anti-Bieber, I would say to check out songs like this one, because if you strip everything away and just focus on the vocals, you will see that he can sing and does have good voice.

Just as with My World, My World 2.0 received generally positive reviews from critics. And it debuted on the charts at #1. Justin said that, "I wanted to do something that was a little bit more R&B and that could reach out to everyone. I just wanted to be able to show my vocal abilities." I agree with what he said there. There's R&B influences on the album, which gives it a lot of credibility. My favorite tracks are "Baby," "Somebody to Love," "U Smile," "Never Let You Go," "Up," and "That Should Be Me."

I graded each of the seven tracks based on the GPA grading system (i.e. A=4.0, A-=3.7, B+=3.3, etc). After averaging it out, the final grade was between 3.5 and 3.7 (just like it was with My World). So I'm going to round it up again, and give Justin Bieber's My World 2.0 an A-. Over the course of these two albums, I have been pleasantly surprised that his music is not strictly teen pop; there's heavy R&B influences, and he does a great job on ballads as well.

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).

Just days after the album release, Sean Kingston released "Eenie Meenie" as his single. And a month later, Justin released "Somebody to Love" as his next single. So my next review will be an in-depth review of one of those two songs.

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" / My World 2.0 - Part 1 / My World 2.0 Part 2

Review: My World 2.0 [Part 2]

Album: My World 2.0
Release Date: March 19, 2010

READ PART 1 HERE

Last week, I reviewed the first third of Justin Bieber's My World 2.0, which included the songs "Baby," "Somebody to Love," "Stuck in the Moment," and "U Smile." So far, just by these four songs, it's a pretty good album so far. So let's get right back into it and take a closer look at the next four songs.

Next up is "Runaway Love." On any given album, no matter who the artist is, there will be songs that aren't those catchy single-worthy songs and songs that may not stand out for other reasons as well. And "Runaway Love" seems to be one of them. After a few listens, I've got the beat down and know the basics of what the song sounds like at this point.

At first, this was my feeling of the song: 'this song is, in some ways, kind of what I would call a filler song. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the song, but it's just there on the album and it's not the one on the album that people may remember above others. Then again, that may not even matter. Because I'm sure Beliebers have memorized every single song and can tell me why each and every song is recognizable in their own way.' That's what I thought at first of the song.

But after listening to it more and more, what stands out now is part of the chorus, especially moments like this: "I'm running out of time, where is my runaway love?" The hook of the song is obviously in the chorus where that lyric is located. The hook with the beat of the song is not too bad.

And on a non-lyric related comment, I was intrigued by the intro of the song when just the instruments are playing before Justin's voice comes in. That moment when it sounds like something's gone wrong and it's slowing down as if someone pulled the plug and it's turning off. It's little things like that that I find enjoyable.

On a final note, I will say this: The last time I listened to the song right before finishing this part of the review, I found myself singing along to the chorus. So I guess maybe the song does have traction in terms of catch-ability. But on an overall moment, it may not stand out as much as "Baby" or "Somebody to Love" or "U Smile," but it's not that bad of a song. Plus, it's got some pretty good R&B influences, which, again, are prevalent on this album. With the type of R&B infused into this song, I actually could easily see an actual R&B artist singing this song; it'd obviously be in a lower register, but no matter.

The 6th track is "Never Let You Go." Click HERE to read my in-depth review. In that review, I said that some of my favorite parts were: "It's like an angel came by and took me to heaven." Musically and lyrically, it's excellent. It's the mix of the words with how it's interpreted. Another standout part for me was here: "Let the music blast, we gon' do our dance." What stuck with me here is the vocal bounces, as I call them, where he take his voice up on certain words; they sort of bounce, if you will, with the vocal emphasis being on the start of "music" and on "do." Listening to "Never Let You Go" for this album review, I actually like it better now than when I reviewed it a couple of weeks ago.

Track 7 is "Overboard." What stands out with this song is the metaphor of being overboard and needing you to help me; I need you, and such: "I'm overboard and I need your love, Pull me up / I can't swim on my own, It's too much / Feels like I'm drowning without your love." I have to say, metaphors like this can be powerful. And they make an impact because it's so obvious what it represents. Even though most of the song is in metaphor, we all can tell what the song is about; we know what all that overboard stuff represents.

Now, I think the metaphorical nature worked up to a point. The part where I think the songwriter took it a tad overboard (pardon the pun) was the back to back to back (and on and on and on) use of "My life saver." Even though I understood the metaphor of that line, the repeated use of it back to back to back, etc. really didn't help the song. This part of it, in a way, took it into cheesy territory.

I hate to say this, but I found "Overboard" to be kind of a generic song. It didn't stand out to me. Actually, I think the musical beat of the song sounds like it's been done before in other songs; maybe that's why it doesn't sound new or anything like that to me. Outside of the overboard metaphors, there are some generic lyrics: "It's supposed to be some give and take, I know / You're only taking and not givin' anymore."

On a final note with this song, I have no idea who this Jessica Jarrell singer is. I had to do a Google search of her. Apparently, she's a teen singer. I found it a little odd that she's the one who opens the song and sings for a good while before Justin even starts in.

The next song, track 8, is "Eenie Meenie," with Sean Kingston. Until I did an online search of the song to find out more about it, I didn't know that it's actually a Sean Kingston song, not a Justin Bieber song. Four days after My World 2.0 was released, Sean dropped this song as one of his singles. And based on what we hear of the two of them in the song, I would certainly say that this is a Kingston song, not a Bieber song. But I'm glad that they included it on Justin's CD, especially since they're not label mates or anything like that.

I'm not going to go all in-depth or analyze the song or anything like that, because that's not the point of this song. "Eenie Meenie" is just supposed to be a fun song with a fun collaboration. It's a play on words, with the "Eenie Meenie Miney Mo" rhyme being played around with to fit a song about a girl. The girl they're talking about is indecisive, but don't look anywhere else because I'm Mr. Right.

Now that I've found out that the song is Sean Kingston's and was one of his singles, I may do a more in-depth review on it some other time. So stay tuned for that.

Now that I'm almost done reviewing the album, I can say that so far My World 2.0 is overall a strong album.

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 will be the conclusion of my My World 2.0 review.

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" / My World 2.0 (Part 1)

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"

Review: My World 2.0 Promo Single #1 - "Never Let You Go"

Song: "Never Let You Go" (Promo Single #1)
From Album: My World 2.0
Release Date: March 2, 2010

After last week's review of the extremely catchy and uber successful "Baby," let's keep the My World 2.0 train moving along. Today, it's time for the first promotional single from the full-length album, "Never Let You Go."

Even though it technically wasn't an official single, it was still a promotional single, meaning the song was used to promote the album. And it does have importance, because it was the song released closest to the album release date; only 17 days before.

Justin Bieber came off a successful EP with My World the previous fall, and his biggest single to date just a month and a half before "Never Let You Go." So really, in a way, it didn't really matter what song he put out to promote the album with; he had already solidified himself as a bonafide star. Tween and teen girls everywhere were already on board and willing to listen to whatever he had to put out. And I'm sure the record execs wanted to make sure that the absolute best songs were saved for official singles later on (i.e. "Somebody to Love" and "U Smile"). So what does that leave us with? Granted, I've only heard about four of the songs on the album. So as of right now, I'm sure if there would have been a better song or not to promote with.

But having said that, "Never Let You Go" is a pretty good song. The main reason is in the lyrics, yet again. The continuous pattern here of songs about girls just keeps going on and on, doesn't it? A coincidence, perhaps? Kidding.

The best lyric in terms of the beat of the song is here: "It's like an angel came by and took me to heaven." Out of the whole song, that part really stands out; the mix of the words with how it's interpreted is great. Another standout part is this: "Let the music blast, we gon' do our dance." I focus on this one as well because this particular lyric does remind me a little of the beat of some of Justin's upbeat teen pop songs, where you have the vocal emphasis on the start of "music" and on "do." I've mentioned in previous reviews how doing those bounces, as I like to call them, catch my attention.

Even though the song isn't about this, what I took note of was, "Bring the doubters on, they don't matter at all," because it's almost like he's calling out his critics here. The "doubters" are his critics, but they don't matter. What does matter is the girl referred to in the song, and the girl is a metaphor for his fans. The critics don't matter, but the fans do. Am I going out on a limb here with this metaphor? Anybody?...

The music video for "Never Let You Go" reflects the slowness of the song (and I don't mean slowness in a bad way). There's no fast pumping beats or anything like that, and the video mirrors that, taking on that ballad-y nature. It's a love song, pure and simple, and video successfully brings that to life.

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)

Exactly 17 days after "Never Let You Go," My World 2.0 was released. And so, that means next week's review will be Part 1 of Bieber Guy's My World 2.0 Review.

If you are a Bieber fan and would like to share your story of why you're a fan of Justin Bieber, your thoughts on his music, have you ever met him in person or been to a concert?, etc., I want to hear from you. And you just might have your story featured here on Bieber Guy. Also, I particularly want to hear from male Bieber fans, aka other Bieber Guys. Click HERE to contact me (and put 'Bieber' somewhere in the subject line so I know what it's about).

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"

Review: My World 2.0 Single #1 - "Baby"

Song: "Baby" (Single #1)
From Album: My World 2.0
Release Date: January 18, 2010

During these past several weeks, I have been reviewing songs from Justin's My World EP. Last week, I capped it off with an overall review of the entire EP. Now it's time to venture into My World 2.0, his full-length album. And it's only fitting to start with the first single from the album - "Baby."

"Baby" is the song that put him on the scene. It's his signature song, his highest charting song to date, and the song that got people to pay attention to him. This is when he really hit it big. Before "Baby," he certainly had a huge following already. But "Baby," in a way, introduced Justin to the masses, a wider audience. If you didn't know about Justin Bieber before this song, you certainly did after. And I would include myself in that statement. I didn't know who he was. But all of a sudden, "Baby" was playing everywhere on TV, and I got introduced to him as an artist that way.

And of his three official singles so far ("One Time," "One Less Lonely Girl," and "Baby"), "Baby" is by far the best. The storyline of the song is that a girl has left him. And Ludacris makes a cameo near the end with some rapping.

Is the song catchy? Oh sure, you betcha! It's extremely memorable, can get stuck in your head, and has a catchy hook: "baby, baby, baby, ohhhh (I thought you'd always be mine)." It's not just the repetition of the word "baby," but in the way it's repeated, the beat, the tone, and the addition of his voice going into a high register for "ohhhh." On a related note, I read that when Justin's voice began changing, he had to start singing these parts of the song in a lower register. Yeah, I can imagine he would have to, considering how high his voice would have to go there.

Whenever I have heard this song on TV or wherever, I don't think I've ever heard the Ludacris interlude. And I hate to say this, but I wish I hadn't now. So hear me out first. When it comes to rapping, I'm not the biggest fan. But having said that, I'm not always against it, depending on how it's included in a song. And Ludacris' rapping in "Baby" wasn't the best use of it, in my opinion. But I can certainly see why it's included. In fact, they were smart by putting it in the song. And why is that, you might ask? Well, it's because the inclusion of this R&B/Hip Hop gives the song more "street cred," for lack of a better term. It's not that the song was bad before the rapping, but people might take Justin more seriously after listening to a song like this, that it's not just teen pop; there's R&B and Hip Hop influences in his music.

"Baby" received great reviews from the critics, saying it surpasses his previous work. And they also said that having Ludacris featured props the song up to a new level.

In the UK, "Baby" was released as a remix featuring Chipmunk (That's Chipmunk the rapper, not to be confused with the animated animal characters). Check out the remix here...

...Actually, on second thought, I think I prefer the Ludacris cameo. But, hey, that's just me.

The music video for "Baby," released February 19, 2010, plays out the storyline in the lyrics of the song. Justin is trying to get the girl back after they split up. It takes place at a bowling alley. The girl and her friends are bowling. Justin and his friends show up and are bowling a few lanes down from them. They notice each other, and try to one up each other by bowling strikes. Did they eventually get back together? You'll have to watch the video to find out; as if you haven't already, right? And I'm sure teen girls everywhere were thinking, "how could she leave him? Who would ever want to break up with Justin Bieber?" Am I right? Well, am I?

Speaking of this vid, the Guinness World Records 2012 book was recently released, and Justin Bieber's "Baby" music video broke the world record for the most popular online video. Bieber Guy reported on the news last week.

I've said in previous reviews that singles are important, because they should be an indicator of what the album as a whole will sound like. And just as important are lead singles, because it's our first ever taste of the new music. Now, I may have only heard a few of the songs from My World 2.0 over the past year or so, but even so, "Baby" is a perfect single to lead the album off with for promotion.

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).

The next review will be for the first promotional single from My World 2.0, "Never Let You Go." So stay tuned for that next week.

On a final, closing note: If you are a Bieber fan and would like to share your story of why you're a fan of Justin Bieber, your thoughts on his music, have you ever met him in person or been to a concert?, etc., I want to hear from you. And you just might have your story featured here on Bieber Guy. Also, I particularly want to hear from male Bieber fans, aka other Bieber Guys. Click HERE to contact me (and put Bieber somewhere in the subject line so I know what it's about).

To stay updated on everything related to Bieber Guy and when the next blog 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

Review: Debut Release - 'My World' EP

Album: My World (EP)

Release Date: November 17, 2009

After reviewing his first two singles, plus the two iTunes promotional singles, it's now time to look at Justin Bieber's debut release, My World EP. Since I've already reviewed four of the seven songs on the album, I already had a pretty good sense of what the album as a whole was going to be like.

My World starts out with his debut single, "One Time." Click HERE for my initial thoughts on the song (and HERE for the updated review). It's a great start to the EP. Even though each individual song should be able to stand on its own, especially in the digital age of downloading individual songs instead of entire albums, the order of the tracks is extremely important. There should be some sort of a progression as you're making your way through the album. And just as important is track #1 - the very first song you'll hear upon hitting play.

After having listened to "One Time" many times now, it really has grown on me over time. I mean, just look at my comments in the initial review vs. my updated review. The song is definitely catchy, and that's what makes it successful. Listeners will want to keep listening to the album after hearing this one.

Next up is "Favorite Girl" (HERE's my track review). "Favorite Girl" keeps up the momentum carried over from "One Time" and ramps it up even more. I would think that, to tween and teen girls, if "One Time" brings the Beliebers on board, then "Favorite Girl" keeps them aboard. I'm not a songwriter, nor could I ever be. But when a songwriter can do things to a song, whether that's in the phrasing, the tempo, melody, notes or range, that make it stand above other songs, that's a success. And FG does that when it comes to the melody in the chorus. I call them the bounces in the song: "My prized possession, one and only." His voice goes up on such words as "possession" and "only." That's what hooked me in. That's what kept me wanting to listen to the song again.

"Down to Earth" is by far the most poignant and heartfelt song on the whole album. Read the lyrics as he's singing them:

Whenever I've reviewed each of the songs, I always like to do a little research and read up on the background, what the songs are about, how Justin interprets them, etc. Justin co-wrote three of the songs on My World, including this one. "Down to Earth" is about his parent's divorcing, and having to grow up in the aftermath of it all. Knowing this, it really does bring a whole new meaning to the song. My World started off with fun, upbeat, catchy songs. Then we slow it down quite a bit on this one. It doesn't feel out of place at all, though. Since I came into the song knowing the background on it, I really payed attention to the words, what was being said. I paid attention to how he projected his voice to convey that meaning. I can't really compare it to the upbeat songs, since they're completely different types of songs. But "Down to Earth" is by far one of the best songs to come out of My World. There's no denying the power of words. And really, no matter who's singing them, we hope that the message is still conveyed. On a song like Miley Cyrus' "The Climb," I'm not a fan of Miley's voice, but I love that song and the theme within it. Same with Demi Lovato and "Skyscraper." Even for those who are not Justin Bieber fans, I hope they would be able to listen to "Down to Earth" and react in a similar way that I did.

I found this video on YouTube of Justin singing "Down to Earth" in concert. At times, it seems like he's a little uncomfortable singing it. Just pay attention to his facial expressions, his mannerisms, the way he moves around, and especially the way he completely embodies the song while singing it. The song does mean a lot to him, and you can tell in this video:

"Bigger" is up next. Is anyone else tired of hearing these "Mafia" tags? It's not just with Justin's (Mafia is heard both on "Down to Earth" and Bigger"), but many other artists. I have all of Fantasia's albums (Fantasia of American Idol fame), and I hear it on there too. Does Midi Mafia have to include it on every song they're a part of?

Anyways...sorry about that mini-rant there. I just had to get that off my chest. But "Bigger" is a decent-enough song to include, giving My World an R&B flavor with this one. The bounces I referred to with "Favorite Girl" are back again.

"One Less Lonely World," while not has catchy as some of the other songs, has lyrics that his female fans can connect to. In my review of this song, I didn't give it the highest rating. But I found out that there's a French Adaptation only on the Canadian release of My World. Justin goes back and forth between singing some lines in English and some in French. And I have to say, I prefer this French Adaptation over the original by far. What is is about certain foreign languages, like French, that can do that? I had no idea that he could speak French. Even though he's from Canada, I don't know if it's required for students to learn French or what percentage do. So I didn't know that he could. But I loved the French parts of the song.

Celine Dion is my favorite singer of all time. And she does have some songs on her American albums sung in French. And I love them. And I really want to get her French releases. So really, the French language seems to make things even better, doesn't it?

Regardless of what I said about "Bigger" and "One Less Lonely Girl," "First Dance" may be the weakest song on the EP. With similarities in tempo Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone," this one is mainly teen pop, and features Usher. But the R&B flavor infused near the end seems out of place. And in terms of the overall feeling I got from the song as a whole, I found it a little forgettable. The catchiness that I keep talking about in the other songs seems lost here. But since the song is about prom, it caters extremely well to his female fans.

I mentioned earlier that the first track of an album is critical because it sets the tone for the rest of the album. "One Time" succeeded on that front. And now that we're at the end, I will say that the final track is also important. You want to go out with a bang, if you will. Sometimes on albums, the best tracks are at the start and/or middle, and not much energy is taken into the ending. But My World again succeeds here with this. "Love Me" is a great way to end the album (read my review HERE). It brings the tempo back up, it's catchy, upbeat, and fun. And it's one of my favorites of all the songs.

My World received generally positive reviews from critics. I've given it a mostly positive review as well, and this is coming from a non-fan, though someone who isn't a hater either. And the album was a smash on the charts as well, having the best-selling debut of a new artist in 2009.

My absolute favorite tracks on the EP are "Down to Earth," "Love Me," "Favorite Girl," and "One Time." After those four, I would order these songs (starting with the best) as "One Less Lonely Girl," "Bigger," and "First Dance." There's was also another track included on this release, but only on iTunes, which was "Common Denominator." In terms of tempo and pacing, I would compare it to "First Dance."

I graded each of the seven tracks based on the GPA grading system (i.e. A=4.0, A-=3.7, B+=3.3, etc). After averaging it out, the final grade was between 3.5 and 3.7. I'm going to round it up, and give Justin Bieber's debut EP, My World, an A-. The songs cater to his core demographic of teen and tween girls. The R&B infusion into some of the songs gives it more credibility with other people. And with a song like "Down to Earth," Justin has shown that there can be deep layers to some of his songs and his music beyond just catering to girls.

This isn't an album I would normally buy. If you look at my CD collection, I don't have any teen/tween-type albums; the one that comes closest is Taylor Swift, but her music has transcended beyond just that fan base and into mainstream critical acclaim by people of all ages and backgrounds. As Justin becomes an adult and has to make that transition with his music as well, can he do the same? I can't wait to find out.

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 HERE).

The next music review will be the kick-off of the My World 2.0 reviews, with "Baby." I might do a non-music review before then; I'm still trying to finalize the order of these next couple of reviews. So pay attention to Twitter for the latest on that.

To stay updated on everything related to Bieber Guy and when the next blog 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"