Belieber
Like any other Belieber, I was looking forward to the release of Justin Bieber’s Justice album. Personally, I’m a supporter of listening to any new album in order from beginning to end, so I eagerly applied that approach to this album. When I pressed play, though, I was confused not to hear Bieber’s voice, but rather Martin Luther King Jr. quoting his 1963 essay “Letter from Birmingham Jail” stating “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
This first song, “2 Much,” continues with Bieber singing lyrics such as “when you let down your hair, dancin’ like no one’s there” and “your head’s layin’ right on my chest;” just a wild guess, but pretty sure that Justin is not referring to MLK here. In fact, it seems as though the entire album is an ode to Hailey Bieber, his wife. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a nice love album, but the juxtaposition of the album’s title and references to MLK against the inclusion of love songs made me pause and reflect.
Most unsettling to me is the seventh track “MLK Interlude.” This almost two-minute long interlude is not a song, but rather a recording of a speech MLK made in 1967, ending with the powerful repetition of “You died when you refused to stand up for right, You died when you refused to stand up for truth, You died when you refused to stand up for justice.” To be perfectly honest, my first time even listening to this entire interlude was right before writing this article. Every single time I have listened to this album with friends, if “MLK Interlude” comes on I’d be surprised if it played for more than 5 seconds before being skipped. Although Bieber may have intended to use his platform to amplify MLK’s voice and messages of social justice, sticking this between love songs makes it easily overlooked.
Even more questionable is the decision to place the track “Die for You” immediately after the interlude. While MLK discusses his sacrifices for standing up for basic human rights, Justin Bieber expresses his willingness to die for his love, singing “I would walk through burning fire even if your kiss could kill me-You know I would die for you.” Although his love for Hailey is admirable, the juxtaposition of the two songs, at least in my mind, equates dying for “right,” “truth,” or “justice” to dying for a kiss.
After the Black Lives Matter movement grew in 2020, many celebrities have made an effort to use their voice to bring awareness to injustices, yet sometimes this manifests as just checking a box. In one respect, Justin Bieber is a very spiritual person and an advocate over social media promoting love and peace, yet on the other hand naming the album “Justice” and throwing in some MLK references can come off as very surface level. The difference between performative and real activism requires a delicate balance. I won’t pretend that it is easy, but rather that Bieber could’ve used his voice in other ways. He could’ve released the album under a different name, without the interlude or “2 Much” intro, and nobody would’ve thought twice about it. Or rather, he could’ve donated some of the profits from this album to various charities supporting justice for minorities.
All of that said, I will not pretend that I haven’t had this album on repeat for the past couple of weeks. Likewise, I will not argue that “I got my peaches out in Georgia, I get my weed from California” are not super catchy lyrics, but rather just question the merits of associating this with social justice.
