Justin Bieber’s Valentine’s release, Changes, is dedicated to his love for Hailey

It’s surely no coincidence that Justin Bieber is dropping his first album in more than four years on Valentine’s Day. The Canadian pop star has been married to Hailey Bieber—a model who has appeared in major ad campaigns for Calvin Klein and Guess—since autumn 2018, and Changes frequently feels like a love letter to his wife. At a playback event in London this week, and later that evening at an intimate fan event at the Indigo2, 25-year-old Bieber was on relaxed form, introducing each track with playful enthusiasm and speaking candidly about how much his wife means to him.

“This album is super-dedicated to her and my love towards her. Hopefully that translates.” It definitely does.

Here’s are 10 things to know about Changes, Bieber’s most personal album to date.

1. Changes is Justin Bieber’s most laid-back album ever.

“I kinda went back to my R&B roots,” he points out at the playback. Where 2015’s Purpose saw Bieber explore club-ready sounds with help from Diplo and Skrillex—who can forget the album’s infectious reggaeton bop “Sorry”?—Changes sees Biebs lean into R&B. The low-key trap beats and subdued, woozy production of lead single Yummy aren’t misleading; the album sustains this dreamy and intimate vibe for much of its 51 minutes.

2. It started life as a sequel to Bieber’s underrated Journals project.

In 2013, Bieber pivoted away from the chart-ready dance-pop of the previous year’s Believe album by dropping a series of moody R&B tunes exploring love and heartbreak. These were later collected into his Journals project. At the playback, Bieber said that Changes was originally going to be called Journals 2, but he changed its name after the album developed a vibe of its own. Still, there’s no doubt that Changes' hazy R&B songs have their roots in the Journals era.

3. Though it’s super personal, Changes isn’t a totally solo effort.

R&B singer Kehlani duets with Bieber on the romantic “Get Me”, while Migos rapper Quavo guests on “Intentions”, a breezy track on which Bieber tells Hailey she’s “picture perfect” and “don’t need no filter”. Other tracks feature Travis Scott, Post Malone and Lil Dicky, whom Bieber described as “kind of a comedy rapper” who’s “actually a really good rapper, too”.

4. We learn that Bieber isn’t the kind of guy who likes to be alone.

A stripped down song featuring a bluesy guitar riff, “E.T.A” finds him “biting my nails” while he waits for someone—Hailey, presumably—to get home. “Drop a pin for me now so I can know your location,” he sings anxiously. On “Available”, a song about being emotionally and physically available, he spells it out even more plainly by admitting: “I get frustrated when you’re busy." During the playback event, he even tried to FaceTime his wife because he missed her. Sadly, the transatlantic time difference meant she was still fast asleep, something which Bieber was probably a little grateful for. “She’ll hate me for doing this,” he admitted with a laugh as he attempted to call her.

5. He really loves being in a long-term relationship.

At the playback, he asked everyone with a “significant other”—his term—to raise their hands, then expressed sympathy for the singletons in the house. He sings about commitment and intimacy on “Come Around Me”, which features the slightly clingy couplet: “Treat me like you miss me, even though you’ve been with me”. On the catchy “Forever”, which sounds like a future single, he even asks: “Could you be with me forever-ever-ever?”.

6. He credits his wife with improving his sense of self-worth.

That’s What Love Is, one of several guitar-led tracks at the end of the album, features some pretty revealing lyrics. “If my self-esteem gets low, you lift it right up through the ceiling,” he sings, and it’s a genuinely affecting moment.

7. The record covers his mental health struggles and Lyme disease diagnosis.

“It’s been a rough couple of years, I was going through a lot of different changes, it’s been interesting,” he told fans at the Indigo2, where he also played five acoustic songs, including “Yummy”, “Changes” and “Intentions”. “I think this music really reflects that, some of the hardships, some of the challenges, some of the changes. I got married too, to a beautiful, beautiful lady, inside and out.” He promised that the record addresses his low points, which he hopes will encourage his fans to feel they’re not alone. “We all go through our unique, individual changes. We can either handle it with grace and love, patience and kindness or we can choose to be angry and bitter and resentful. Hopefully my journey can inspire you guys to know that we can push forward.”

8. Though it’s an R&B album, iconic folk singer Tracy Chapman is an influence.

At the playback, Bieber hailed Chapman’s “Fast Car” as “one of my favourite songs ever”, and said it directly inspired the penultimate track “At Least for Now”. It’s a song that really shows Bieber’s vulnerable side. “I forgot to mention I’m going on strike, at least for now,” he sings, perhaps alluding to the Purpose tour dates he cancelled in 2017. Either way, this emotional song features one of Bieber’s best ever vocal performances—his upper register is especially glorious.

9. At least one song is sort of about sex.

Bieber told us that “Take It Out on Me”, a bass-heavy bedroom jam, is about letting his wife know that “whatever happens in life, she can take it out on me… In the sack, know what I mean?” Yes, Justin, we think we do. At the fan performance, Bieber went one further when, asked by a fan what he did on his day off, he replied: “Depends who I’m with. If it’s my wife we like to, um... You guys can guess what we do all day. It gets pretty crazy, I can tell you that. That’s pretty much all we do. We like to watch movies. We like to uh... Netflix and chill. We do more of the chilling part, but yeah…!”

10. Bieber also sings about God.

Religion has become increasingly important to Bieber in recent years: he and Hailey became close after bumping into one another at the New York outpost of Hillsong, an evangelical church popular with celebrities. On the album’s wistful title track, Bieber outlines his new philosophy grounded in faith: “People change, circumstances change, but God remains the same”.

Changes by Justin Bieber is out now

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