Justin Bieber to Release ‘Swag II’ Album Tonight

It looks like Justin Bieber isn’t turning his swag off just yet.

via: Variety

In a surprise post on Thursday, Justin Bieber announced that he will release his “Swag II” album at “midnight tonight” (presumably 12 a.m. ET/ 9 p.m. PT).

The album is the follow-up to “Swag,” his surprise-released first album in four years, in July. The new album follows the same surprise announcement and quick-drop model as its predecessor, via an Instagram post (although the first one was preceded by billboards in Iceland, Atlanta and Los Angeles depicting an image of Bieber accompanied by the title).

No further information was shared beyond an all-pink cover, but rumors were rife of a second album at the time of the first one’s release, and it seems safe to assume that the album will feature at least some of the same collaborators: Gunna, Sexyy Red, Druski, Dijon, Lil B, Cash Cobain, Eddie Benjamin and Marvin Winans on the closer “Forgiveness,” a rendition of “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High.” Bieber handled production on “Swag” alongside Carter Lang, Dylan Wiggins, Daniel Caesar, mk.gee, Daniel Chetrit, Knox Fortune and more.

Musically, “Swag” represented a dramatic change of direction for the singer that reflects the challenges he’s faced in recent years, which saw his behavior sometimes erratic as he rejected many of the trappings of stardom and embrace life with his wife Hailey and their young son, as well as his faith. The album meshed a loose, indie-rock approach with the sounds of late ’80s R&B and early ’90s pop, as Variety‘s Thania Garcia wrote in her review of the album.

“It’s not a return to the “Journals”-era R&Bieber of 2013,” she continued, “but it’s some of his most impassioned work in recent years, rooted in the Usher school of R&B and pop balladry. Opener “All I Can Take” brims with Michael Jackson-esque syncopated drums and vocal urgency. Follow-ups “Daisies” and “Yukon” have a fresh energy, guided by Mk.gee-infused guitar textures and spacious R&B backdrops.”