Justin Bieber set the music world on fire on Thursday with news that he would be releasing his seventh studio album later that night.

Bieber revealed that his latest album, Swag, would be available at midnight ET/9 p.m. PT, accompanied by the unveiling of billboards globally and a flurry of social media activity.

At 31, the popular musician intrigued fans with fresh tracks containing mysterious lyrics. The song Walking Away seems to hint at presumed marital issues with his 28-year-old wife, Hailey Bieber.

One particular piece, Therapy Session, featured merely a skit with Bieber and actor/comedian Druski. In it, they appeared to address his mental health and recent unusual behavior on social media, countering fans’ opinions that ‘he’s losing his mind.’

Justin released the album, which features 21 songs, four years after his previous album Justice dropped to mixed reviews but solid sales.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, insiders confirmed that Swag features guest vocals from Gunna, Sexyy Red and Cash Cobain.

Justin Bieber set the music world on fire on Thursday with news that he would be releasing his seventh studio album later that night. His new LP Swag dropped at midnight ET/9 p.m. PT

The cover featured a stark black background with ‘SWAG’ written in the center in capital letters

As Bieber quickly publicized the album, he and his wife Hailey shared numerous moody photographs of the two and their son Jack Blues that appeared to have been shot for the album

As Bieber quickly publicized the album, he and his wife Hailey shared numerous moody photographs of the two and their 10-month-old son Jack Blues that appeared to have been shot for the album. 

The singer launched multiple billboards around the globe on Thursday that appeared to promote the album, with images spotted in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Reykjavík, Iceland.

Some of the promotional images included what looked like a track listing for the LP, though it wasn’t certain if they reflected the final track order. 

The apparent song titles for Swag include All I Can Take, Daisies, Yukon, Go Baby, Things You Do, Butterflies, Way It Is, First Place, Soulful, Walking Away, Glory Voice Memo, Devotion, Dadz Love, Therapy Session, Sweet Spot, 405, Swag, Zuma House, Too Long and Forgiveness. 

One song title that was notably missing from the billboard track listings was number 16, Standing On Business. 

It’s not a full-fledged song, but rather another skit between Bieber and Druski that features audio from a confrontation the singer had with paparazzi last month in which he uttered the viral phrase, ‘It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business, is it?’

Justin’s song Walking Away featured lyrics that appeared to allude to his marriage to Hailey and their recent highly publicized struggles.

‘Days go by so fast, don’t wanna spend them with you / So tell me why you’re throwing stones at my back / You know I’m defenseless,’ he sings in the first verse.

The 31-year-old hitmaker left fans plenty to chew on with newly released songs featuring cryptic lyrics, including Walking Away, which seems to allude to his reported marriage problems with his wife Hailey Bieber, 28

Justin and Hailey have been engulfed in rumors of marital strife in recent months, but the photos tried to paint a portrait of a loving couple starting a family

Justin’s song Walking Away featured lyrics that appeared to allude to his marriage to Hailey and their recent highly publicized struggles

One fan wrote on X, ‘I want everyone who said Justin and Hailey gonna divorce to listen right here cause he ain’t walking away’

‘Justin Love Hailely… liKe that’s his TRUE LOVE!!!’ another fan gushed in response to the album

One fan was particularly moved by Walking Away and said Hailey was ‘Justin Bieber’s muse’

Other early listeners singled out Devotion, with one fan saying it ‘might be one of Justin’s best love songs ever. Miss Hailey idk what you doing but keep doing it PLEASE’

But some fans didn’t buy the more romantic tunes, with one suggesting that his songs that appeared to be inspired by Hailey felt ‘so forced’ compared to earlier pop songs that fans believed were inspired by his ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez

‘Girl, we better stop before we say some s*** / We’ve been testing our patience / I think we better off if we just take a break,’ he continues.

But the chorus and subsequent verses paint a picture of enduring love despite strife.

‘Baby, I ain’t walking away / You were my diamond / Gave you a ring / I made you a promise / I told you, “I’d change” / It’s just human nature / These growing pains / And baby, I ain’t walking away,’ Bieber sings in the chorus.

One fan wrote on X, ‘I want everyone who said Justin and Hailey gonna divorce to listen right here cause he ain’t walking away.’ 

‘Justin Love Hailely… liKe that’s his TRUE LOVE!!!’ another fan gushed in response to the album. 

One fan was particularly moved by Walking Away and said Hailey was ‘Justin Bieber’s muse.’ 

Other early listeners singled out the love song Devotion, with one fan saying it ‘might be one of Justin’s best love songs ever. 

‘Miss Hailey idk what you doing but keep doing it PLEASE,’ they added. 

The singer launched multiple billboards around the globe on Thursday that appeared to promote the album. Some of the promotional images included what looked like a track listing for the LP, though it wasn’t certain if they reflected the final track order

The apparent song titles for Swag include All I Can Take, Daisies, Yukon, Go Baby, Things You Do, Butterflies, Way It Is, First Place, Soulful, Walking Away, Glory Voice Memo, Devotion, Dadz Love, Therapy Session, Sweet Spot, 405, Swag, Zuma House, Too Long and Forgiveness

Some songs had seemingly autobiographical titles, like Dadz Love, which could refer to Justin becoming a father last year. The song was also a clue to how long Bieber had been sitting on the material, as one fan clocked it as the tune soundtracking their pregnancy announcement

‘I’m startin’ to be open to / The idea that you know me too / I like when you hold me to ya / I like when you scold me too,’ Justin sings in the first verse.

But some fans didn’t buy the more romantic tunes, with one suggesting that his songs that appeared to be inspired by Hailey felt ‘so forced’ compared to earlier pop songs that fans believed were inspired by his ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez.

Some of the songs had potentially autobiographical titles, like Dadz Love, which could refer to Justin becoming a first-time father last year.

The song was also a clue to how long Bieber had been sitting on the material, as one fan clocked it as the tune that soundtracked their social media post announcing Hailey’s pregnancy with Jack.

Others, like Therapy Session and Forgiveness, seemed to allude to reports of marital strife between him and Hailey in recent months, as well as to his bizarre public displays.

But other titles seemed primed for love songs, such as Devotion, Soulful and Sweet Spot.

The latter tune came in for criticism from some earlier listeners for an unexpectedly X-rated guest verse from Sexxy Red that conflicted with the more romantic tone Justin set with his lyrics.

Several posters urged the pop star to put out a new ‘solo’ version of the song without Sexxy Red’s verse, or to do a remix with a different performer in her place. 

The latter tune came in for criticism from some earlier listeners for an unexpectedly X-rated guest verse from Sexxy Red that conflicted with the more romantic tone Justin set with his lyrics

 

 

Several posters urged the pop star to put out a new ‘solo’ version of the song without Sexxy Red’s verse, or to do a remix with a different performer in her place

One fan suggested that Justin couldn’t pull off the steamy tone that the song called for. ‘Sweet Spot should’ve been a Chris Brown or Usher song,’ adding that, ‘Justin needs to quit the act like fr.’

Another user joked, ‘OG Justin fans gon hear sexy redd on sweet spot and ain’t gon know what to do [sic]’

Bieber didn’t clarify in advance which image was meant to be his album cover, though a simple black box with ‘SWAG’ was the final image

Bieber used his highly anticipated album drop to help promote another business, his new fashion project Skylrk. The clothing brand announced a surprise drop on its website, and several of the 20 items had already sold out by Thursday evening

One fan suggested that Justin couldn’t pull off the steamy tone that the song called for. 

‘Sweet Spot should’ve been a Chris Brown or Usher song,’ they wrote, adding that, ‘Justin needs to quit the act like fr.’ 

Another user joked, ‘OG Justin fans gon hear sexy redd on sweet spot and ain’t gon know what to do 😂😂 [sic].’ 

Although Bieber didn’t clarify which — if any — of the images he shared are intended as Swag’s album cover, one prominent black-and-white photo showed him shirtless from behind while Hailey stood in front of them and held Jack in her arms.

They appeared to be standing at the entrance to a barn bathed in darkness aside from a small rectangular door open on the other side that let in a sliver of light. 

To the left, Swag was written in capital letters over a completely black background.

Other images featuring the Swag graphic showed a the titled in a minimalist black box, while next to it was a black-and-white photo of a shirtless Justin holding Jack in front of a sofa placed just inside of the the makeshift barn.

Bieber appeared to use his massively anticipated album drop to help promote another of his business, his new fashion project Skylrk.

He had reportedly been nearing completion of an album way back in May 2022. It’s unclear if the album being released as Swag is the same project he was working on back then, or if it represents primarily new material

The clothing brand, which he moved on to after publicly denouncing his previous apparel company Drew House, announced a surprise drop on its website.

The site now has two nondescript $160 hoodies in a light blue, faded black or yellow, along with multiple pastel tank tops, beanies, sunglasses and a variety of slide sandals.

As of Thursday evening, several of the 20 different items appeared to have already sold out.

Although it was a surprise to fans that Bieber was so close to releasing his seventh album, he hasn’t exactly been hiding that he was working on it.

The artist posted several photos of him at work in the studio in recent months, suggesting he was making progress. 

However, he had reportedly been nearing completion of an album way back in May 2022.

It’s unclear if the album being released as Swag is essentially the same project he was working on as far back as 2022, or if it represents primarily new material. 

Bieber’s most recent collection of multiple songs was his 2021 gospel-influenced EP Freedom 

He released his sixth studio album, Justice, earlier that year. 

It received only mixed reviews, but it managed to top the Billboard 200 albums chart and was certified 2x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Justin’s previous LPs include Changes (2020), Purpose (2015), Believe (2012), the Christmas album Under The Mistletoe (2011) and My World 2.0 (2010).