August 28, 2015
by Bradley SternScooter Braun deserves all of the managerial accolades this year, because two of his acts are quietly running the show.
By now, it’s been firmly established that Carly Rae Jepsen‘s new record, E•MO•TION, is pure, glimmering pop gold, and “Run Away With Me” is one of the major contenders for song of the year — no matter how many detractors try to write her off.
The other potential candidate? “Where Are Ü Now?”, Justin Bieber‘s collaboration with Diplo and Skrillex (AKA Jack Ü), a lonely dispatch from a distant planet that worked better than anyone probably anticipated. It’s so good, it even warranted a beat-by-beat visual deep-dive by the New York Times — watch that.
After taking some time away from the music scene as a solo artist to embark on an unofficial public apology tour for his various egg, spit and pee-related shenanigans (remember that seemingly sincere “sorry” speech during his Comedy Central Roast?), Bieber’s tip-toed back into the spotlight again in the past few months with collaborations with Cody Simpson and Jack Ü.
Now, he’s coming back on his own with the Poo Bear co-crafted “What Do You Mean?” — and he’s just done it again.
What do I mean? What do you mean?
The song might be about frustration over mixed messages from a lady friend (“girls are often just flip-floppy” was his official explanation on On Air With Ryan Seacrest, amazing), but his delivery makes the song sound more like an invitation to jump on his back, hop on that dumb hoverboard and glide back to his place.
Kicking off with a light piano melody and a metronome-like beat, Justin gently croons his way into the calm production as warm, tropical House pulsations luxuriously fill out the track, bringing Kygo (“Stole The Show”) to mind — and yes, a strong hint of Felix Jaehn‘s inescapable remix of OMI‘s “Cheerleader” too.
“What do you mean? / When you nod your head yes, but you wanna say no / What do you mean? / When you don’t want me to move, but you tell me to go / What do you mean?”
Girls: Can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em. Am I right, Justin? Also, it’s basically a response track to P!nk‘s “Leave Me Alone (I’m Lonely).”
To be clear, “What Do You Mean?” isn’t necessarily better than “Where Are Ü Now?”. That being said, it does feel like the most logical sonic continuation from where Bieb’s hypnotizing Jack Ü pairing left off — and it’s arguably even more universal in its appeal. Because hey, if everyone was really that into “Cheerleader”…
While the chilly echoes of “Where Are Ü Now?” fit in with the final, icy throes of winter months ago when it debuted at the end of February, “What Do You Mean?” feels like the final ray of sunlight skimming the water’s surface during the last beach outing of the season.
It’s both understated and maddeningly catchy, and could/should be an end-of-summer smash, thus bookending the Summer of 2015 with two excellent servings of Bieber.
Best of all, the song is Godney approved…and sponsored by the newly installed Piece Of Me Slot Machine®. Do you dare take a spin?™
https://twitter.com/justinbieber/status/637067528007761921
Audio to come once the Biebs makes it official.
“What Do You Mean?” will be released on August 28. (iTunes)
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