God dammit.
I think we all know the story of Justin Bieber by now. The rambunctious 16-year old was picked up by Island Records (thanks to the good will of famous pop artist Usher) and subsequently released his depressingly dull debut 'album' "
My World." Despite the generic, pre-programmed drumbeats, similar-sounding songs, and an overuse of Autotune so bad it should be illegal, it sold over one million copies and was officially certified platinum by the RIAA. Island Records clearly want to keep the momentum going, as they have churned out another album by Bieber a mere four months after his last: the originally-titled "
My World 2.0," which will be the subject of this review today.
The first question that probably popped into your mind reading this was, "Is this album any good?" Then you saw the rating... so that answers that. But then the second question that occurred to you was probably, "What does this sound like?" Well, you're in luck, as that's an easy question to answer. Pop in your copy of the original "
My World" (which is hopefully collecting dust by now, or otherwise being used as a sturdy cup holder). Play the first track. Now take it out of the CD player (I don't want to torture you for longer than is necessary). The answer is that this album sounds nearly identical to its predecessor. The drums are still programmed, the vocals still Autotuned, and the album is still as abysmal as ever.
The songs themselves range from your typical radio pop-ballad ('
U Smile,' closer '
That Should Be Me,') to slightly more upbeat numbers (opener '
Baby [which features Ludacris in a brief appearance]' and '
Eenie Meenie,') to... well, that's about it. The only genre present on here is the same annoying, sickeningly empty brand of pop as featured on his first record. The album highlight is second track '
Somebody To Love,' which actually has an interesting-sounding main line played on what I'm guessing is some sort of synthesizer. The aforementioned '
Eenie Meenie' is also catchy, despite having some of the worst lyrics and also the dumbest title of the whole album.
Last time I blamed Usher. This time I blame
you, the readers. Don't get me wrong- I'm still furious at the US Records owner, but it's primarily the community's fault for creating the teenage, oddly high-pitched monster you hear on nearly every commercial radio station today. Had we just stayed away, this kid could have fallen off after his first album, but no. We had to buy the record, listen to the music, smile at its infectious quality. Well, I hope you're happy now.
Here's to "
My World 3.0..."
