[Single Review] Justin Bieber – “Boyfriend”

Last November was when I finally decided to give in to Bieber Fever. The then 17-year-old’s Jason Mraz knock-off “Mistletoe” had unexpectedly slayed me, I had resigned to the fact that “Baby” was amazing (despite only ever having heard it about three times in my entire life), and even though he was still total jailbait at that point, I had to accept that Bieber was hella hot. Plus, how could I not be a fan of the biggest teen idol since Britney Spears, especially when he was going around claiming that Justin Timberlake’s Justified (aka one of my favorite albums of all-time) was inspiring his transition into musical manhood?

But then Bieber dropped his first big boy single “Boyfriend”, and suddenly listening to him channel Timberlake wasn’t quite as pleasant as I had first imagined.

Produced and co-written by Mike Posner, “Boyfriend” teleports us right back to 2002 just when NSYNC’s “Girlfriend” was cooling on the charts and JT was unleashing “Like I Love You” onto the world. Beibz tries to let us know that he’s all grown up from the get go, channeling the Ying Yang Twins by opening the song with a whispered rap over a sparse beat, before lush acoustic strums drop in and the teen dream whips out the falsetto to coo about making some young fangirl’s dreams come true.

It’s one of the most minimalist and rhythmic-leaning pieces of pop out right now, and it would’ve been quite innovative if it wasn’t so blatantly borrowed from the book of Timberlake. Considering all the similarities between the pair –both multi-talented teen idols with pop star girlfriends and the same first name– you’d think that Bieber would try to avoid further JT comparisons, rather than so blatantly invite them in. We all saw how well people reacted to Lady GaGa’s Madonna copying, didn’t we?

Still, Posner’s production is strong despite the obvious unoriginality, but the song makes a major misstep lyrically, with Bieber embarrassingly rapping about swag, eatin’ fondue, and even Buzz Lightyear. I initially thought that it was a failed attempt at creating coolness through a tongue-in-cheek wink, but after hearing Posner state that the pair had created the song to be “hater-proof”, the truth became clear — Biebz is for real.

Lyrical misfires and a severe case of copycatting have turned the most-anticipated pop single of the year into the most disappointing. Bieber may be 18-years-old now, but slipping on a William Rast shirt and rehashing an era that passed a decade ago proves that he still has a lot of growing up to do.

What do you think Justin Timberlake would have to say if he heard “Boyfriend”? I can think of one word: reductive.

Score: 2.75/5

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 28th, 2012 at 10:00 am and is filed under New Music, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • Heavymetallamb

    This post was spot on.

  • Reductivered

    Ugh, child needs to stop. He could make a living just posting in boxers and quite frankly the girls and some of the gay community would pay big money just to see that. :|

  • Matthew

    thank god you’ve made up your mind, because at first you called the single ‘amazing’ and that really made me question your taste…

  • N. Beezy

    I hate Mike Posner. Those lyrics are shitty shit on a shit stick. However I have a feeling that there will be some serious bangers on the Biebz’s album… but this is not one of them.

  • Alex K

    Your blind stanning for Justin Timberlake has deluded you into thinking that his work with Timbaland — perhaps the king of reductive music — was somehow original.

    Fact: JT was swagger-jacking Michael Jackson and Prince.

    If JB is echoing JT, it’s not because JT was doing anything original. It’s a tired and true model for male teen-pop singers: embrace rhythmic music. There are very few successful male soloists who sing straight-up pop music.

    Anyway, despite my adoration for the Biebs, I don’t think the song is anything great, but I’m hoping he finds success with it because he deserves to make a successful transition to mainstream pop. I’m looking forward to the more melodic side of his new album, though. Rhythmic music ain’t my bag.

  • theprophetblog

    .

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Pingo-McGraw/100002169160218 Pingo McGraw

    it’s kinda depressing, being who he is. Like X-tina channeling Marilyn: we need new idols, thats the point.

  • http://twitter.com/rentrule12 ana

    i like this song jb is heavily influence by jt i see myself listening to  this in my car and not changing station

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1127181558 Andrés Felipe Rodríguez

    I keep what I say before, this song is ok, but the falsetto part is awful he sound like a cross between the bad falsetto of Nick Carter and Ryan Cabrera, he needs some advice from Usher of how to use right the falsetto (just like he did on “Climax”)  cause is awful, this is not on JT level at all, come on is not even Jesse Mccartney level. And I still think that the thing is too short like for first single and in general the ending have no creativity is like “ok so we are out of ideas so let’s just sing “na na na na na” all the way” instead of do something cool like a other “trying so hard to be hardcore rap” ending like the verses or at least repeat one of the verses on background while on the top of it he improvise some vocals like the singers usually do on the final chorus of a song. And I still think he’s trying so hard to impress and tell the world “i’m a grow up”.

  • Swpro_1

    He *honestly* could be his own girlfriend. It’s incredible!

  • Guest

    Yeah, I too can’t get over how Justin Timberlake this is. It’s cool he didn’t release an overproduced dance song, but the unoriginality of the song kind of makes me feel he should have just released another reductive Dr Luke/Redone production. Sorry, JB, I know this was suppose to be your Slave 4 U grown up transition.

  • Swaggie

    Swaggie43 up, 76 downIt’s when a man gets two slices of bread and ejaculates a massive load on each slice, then spreads it so the semen acts like mayo.

  • nonminti

    I feel VERY weird.Like definitely listening to Mr Posner but it’s not him.

  • Guest

    Except that if you think about it, Justin Bieber is one of today’s most talented pop acts. He can actually sing, dance, and is a good performer. You know, things that are optional for pop stars these days.

  • JT>JB

    I don’t think this sounds anything like a JT song .. It lacks the class. Nice review but Lady Gaga being in every one of your posts is getting so tired and makes me roll my eyes. Not a fan of JB but I prefer this song over anything in the top 20 right now. It actually sounds fresh. Just like the pressed Gaga comments, dance is tired.

  • JT>JB

    yeah, he can sing when he sits still lmao. he can’t dance .. c’mon he looks so awkward and unnatural when he “dances”. and i guess you’ve never seen an actual performance ..

  • mimifan

    i love it! he is so hot! LOL!

  • Greg M.

    He’s been hanging with rappers/creatures like Lil Wayne & Mike Posner too damn much b/c this nigga really thinks he’s the Ying Yang Twins & Gucci Man “Brrr” “Swaggie” Really?

    But on the real, the guitar part is cool & the rap is at least funny (Laughing at JB) but seriously Proph, what isn’t “redudctive” that’s out right now in your book? Maybe Azealia Banks or Lana Del Rey?? For the most part, reductive is all around the music industry ….

  • addicy

    Get the FUCK outta here with this shit!!!

  • davidsask

    Reductive indeed the only thing is his fans weren’t around for the first songs and artists he majorly rips off in not trying to be his own guy at all! 

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=624747333 Tyler Robinson

    it doesn’t actually sound anything like a JT song really, his voice is just similar. But alright. The songs good and a step in the right direction for him.

  • J2201987

    It sounds like Mike Posner SHOULD HAVE did this song two years ago. 

    And I don’t even like TimberFAKE but comparing this to him is reaching.

  • Guest

    i don’t really agree with the JT comparison, i think it’s different enough from his work to stand on its own.

    my review:
    beat: 4/5 – love the production and the bird-call in the background is insanely addictive
    singing – 3/5 – his vocals have matured and generally sounds pretty good, except for some of the wailing in the background
    rapping – 1/5 – horrible flow and he doesn’t sound really clear when rapping
    lyrics – 2/5 – i expected them too be cheesy but some parts were appalling
    chorus – 5/5 – absolutely love it, addicted from the first listen.

    all in all i’d say it’s pretty good, and although he is definitely taking advantage of his fanbase with the message, who can really blame him? i give it a 4/5 – mainly because of the beat and chorus.

  • http://www.facebook.com/thebLainekelley BLaine Kelley

     BULLSHIT! if this fucking toddler can dance why the hell did he need a female DANCE DOUBLE in that ‘somebody to love’ remix video?!?!?! all he did was the still standing shots.

  • animasaurus

    The chorus is NIIICEEE, but the song is a bit meh and the lame whispering can gtfo. Somehow, at this rate I doubt I’ll become a fan of this kid’s music.

  • Lol

    I think part of the Proph’s criticism is unJUSTIFIED (heehee) because my generation was born too late to be able to compare this with JT’s music, or really remember it at all. 

  • Bullshit

    If JT isn’t doing it, then SOMEONE has to bring R&B songs for white people to turn on while fucking, and this does the trick. I mean, haters gonna hate for real, this is solid.

  • Bullshit

    What is this JT stanning nonsense. Can you really say JT didn’t swaggerjack MJ? From the looks to the dance moves, going through the intro for Like I Love You mirroring Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough’s. I’ll admit that the production value of Justified being retro is a more Neptunes thing (whispering, one drumset, Off The Wall-esque melodies) which happens in almost every track Pharrel’s been featured in/produced, but you can’t deny that the marketing for JT was “a new MJ”, period.

    Also, saying JT co-wrote all the songs in Justified is a stretch, it’s like saying Beyonce writes her own songs. For example, Britney’s “Boys” sounds exactly like a Justified track and he had nothing to do with it. Same goes for the original Neptunes version of Wind It Up, Pharrel’s solo album, Snoop Dogg’s Beautiful et al, before the Black Eyed Peas swaggerjacked everyone in existence.

    Just… it’s ok to like JT and I think he’s a big influence on lots of people nowadays and whatnot, but let’s call a spade a spade.

  • Bullshit

    OH and come on, Justin’s singing style in Justified is just Pharrel’s.

  • http://twitter.com/HyunAKnowles HyunA Knowles

    I like the song, very Justified but I’m not complaining. And he’s kinda hot in the pic hahaha!

  • Trevor Szuba-Schneider

    why does it seem that the most “reductive” songs of our era have the greatest swag and appeal to the masses?

    it’s because pop artists who are smart take the tried and true formula of a great pop song from the past and make it their own for our day and age.

    i don’t hate on the people who “copy” cause they aren’t doing that at all.  pop music is about taking what worked and doing it in your own way. 

    Lady GaGa did it well, now Bieber did.

    It’s a very good song, regardless of everything else we think about it.

  • Wtfwithmusicnowadays

    I admit his voice is sounding more mature. Really? Wtf is with the lryics is this what people call music? I swear you Make this shit up In the basement of your mothers house. Its pathetic. Seems like music now a days just need a beat and 3 word lyrics and you make millions. This sounds like something from the disney show kickin it where they create a boyband called love ninja.