Justin Bieber is going through changes. Or … he already went through them? Something is changing and it’s certainly not his love for cringey lyrics. After a break to work on his health, Justin Bieber’s fifth studio album, Changes, details the same three moods he’s always had: sentimental, horny, and spiritual. The Biebs contains multitudes. While the majority of the album is about how much he loves Hailey Bieber née Baldwin, he can’t help but get a little preachy and in-his-feelings. It’s the Hillsong Church in him. Here are some of the most Bieber-in-essence lyrics from Changes.
“All Around Me”
Justin Bieber is a walking compendium of cliché love metaphors. He kicks off the album with “Anything’s possible since you made my heart melt /
Gave me the best hand that I’d ever been dealt,” and it just goes down from there. Maybe that’s what happens when you find your soulmate — another 20 percent of your brain unlocks and it’s just worse versions of things a Nora Ephron character would say.
“Habitual”
“Aggressive but softly, you place your lips on my lips / We’re each other’s vice / Our feelings, they go deep, deeper than the touching / Deeper than the ocean, so we ain’t never rushing through / Our days or our nights, ain’t no repercussions / Never get enough, I’m only for your consumption”
Excuse me, Justin Bieber, but isn’t the ocean going through enough right now? Leave her alone, get a job! She most certainly did not ask to be part of this song about having sex with Hailey Bieber! We got the subtext in “Yummy,” but on “Habitual,” Justin Bieber declares he is also for “consumption” (a word that has never been seen as sexy until Changes). Be on the lookout for the Hailey remix of “Yummy.”
“Come Around Me”
I love the image of Justin Bieber thumbing through a thesaurus, glasses on, licking his mustache, and suddenly … he’s got it. “Let’s get it in … expeditiously,” he murmurs to himself while quickly jotting it down in a notebook. There is no other possible scenario for how that lyric was written.
“Who taught you how to drive stick? / You a fool with it, love the way you fool with it / And the way you motion, motion in my lap / Love the way you move with it.”
Won’t be able to look a manual car in the eye after this.
“Intentions ft. Quavo”
On “Intentions,” Bieber takes it back down a notch, back to his regular ol’ simp self. “Picture perfect, you don’t need no filter / Gorgeous, make ‘em drop dead, you a killer,” he compliments his wife. But that’s not enough! He has to go to the source, too. “Shout-out to your mom and dad for makin’ you / Standin’ ovation, they did a great job raisin’ you,” he sings. Invoking the parents just one song after singing “Love it when I’m in it, shawty”? Yeah, that’s a bonus horny lyric from “Come Around Me.” Justin Bieber is lawless, man.
“Yummy”
I think we know all we need to know about “Yummy,” but let’s just, for the sake of completion, note that “Rollin’ eyes back in my head, make my toes curl, yeah, yeah,” is an image Justin Bieber invited us to imagine.
“Available”
On “Available,” Bieber combines his Drake-like soft-boy energy with his general horniness. “I get frustrated when you’re busy,” he sings. “Lately that’s been more than often, baby, what is this? / It’s like, ‘Do you even miss me?’” We get it, you don’t like when she’s wearing less and going out more. Unless, that is, she’s coming to him. “Hurry up and get here now but don’t speed,” he adds. “I’ll never get over you up under me.” Ladies, get you a man who doesn’t mind if you drive safely to your destination.
“Forever ft. Post Malone and Clever”
Justin Bieber spends forever on “Forever” trying to convince someone that he didn’t almost immediately start dating Hailey after breaking up with Selena Gomez in 2018. “Set my feelings to the side, they all got dusty on the shelf,” he says. “You wiped them down when I had nothin’ left.” Wait, so is Hailey a Swiffer in this metaphor?
“Running Over Me ft. Lil Dicky”
“Keep runnin’ over me with your lovin’ / I’m only right here for your consumption,” he sings, saying the word “consumption” for the second time. Should we be alarmed? Is Scooter Braun feeding Justin?
“Take It Out on Me”
Straight from a value pack of Valentine’s Day cards: “And when your battery gets low / I’ma be the one to charge you up.”
“Confirmation”
Justin Bieber spreads a word on “Confirmation.” He’s got his nice church Drew House merch on and he’s approaching the pulpit. “Take a moment to cherish this space,” he preaches, although it comes off like a Co-Star “Day at a Glance” push notification. “So quick to move forward, no pressure.”
“Changes”
After spending an entire song talking about how he’s “going through changes,” Justin Bieber let’s us know what hasn’t changed: his wife is hot. Okay, just kidding. “Uh, people change, circumstances change / But God always remains the same,” he finishes. Noted.
“That’s What Love Is”
“That’s What Love Is” is probably talking about Hailey some more, but doesn’t it sound like he’s talking about Jesus? “Ooh, and I can feel you / Even though I haven’t touched you / Yeah, that’s what love is,” he opens.
“I reach out to you, but my hands can’t hold enough / Enough of your greatness,” he continues. You know who else is described as great and present even if He’s not physically there? God. At least, the one Justin Bieber likes. But it definitely is about Hailey simply because Justin ends with “God bless your maker” and we already know he’s a Stephen Baldwin fan.