The only defense I will offer to Justin Bieber’s fifth studio album, Changes, is that I went into it with a negative mindset. The 16 song tracklist is far too long for listeners to withstand with its lack of range or uniqueness. Each song is bland in both musical composition and lyrical substance. Listening to this album was like listening to the same song on repeat for 48 minutes. Changes was a major disappointment for me, and I wasn’t even expecting very much.

For months leading up to 2020, Justin Bieber promoted his single ‘Yummy.’ The song is equally as vapid as the others on Changes, yet it earned the number two spot on the Billboard Hot 100. However, I was still willing to give Changes a chance. Taylor Swift is, in my opinion, another artist notorious for picking the worst songs on an album to make the singles. Unfortunately, ‘Yummy’ was a perfectly accurate representation of the rest of Changes.

One of my major problems with Changes is the personal and sexual content of the songs. The album seems more like a Valentine’s Day gift to Hailey Bieber than a musicians’ work of art. Each song describes, in detail, either a sexual encounter between Bieber and his wife or a reason why he loves his wife. Don’t get me wrong, this is a lovely thing to hear from an artist, for maybe one or two songs. But, after 16 songs, the topic gets a bit old.

In contrast, Bieber’s fourth album, Purpose, is upbeat and fun. This was another reason my disappointment in Changes was so extensive. Bieber is typically an artist who releases fun radio hits every few years, this was always his appeal to me anyway. His carefree musical style is completely lost in Changes. Listeners will be neither entertained nor upset by Changes. The album is perfectly mediocre, especially after so many months of promotion.