My World 2.0

My World 2.0 is the debut studio album by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It was released on March 19, 2010, by Island Records. It is considered the second half of a two-piece project, supplementing Bieber's debut extended play (EP) My World (2009). After signing a recording contract in light of his growing popularity on YouTube, Bieber worked with collaborators including his mentor Usher, and producers Tricky Stewart, The-Dream, and MIDI Mafia. The record follows in the same vein as My World, incorporating teen pop and R&B elements. Lyrically, it discusses teen romance and coming of age situations.

Upon its release, My World 2.0 received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who complimented its production. It debuted at number 1 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart with first-week sales of 283,000 copies. Bieber became the youngest solo male artist to top the album chart since Stevie Wonder in 1963. With My World peaking at number 5 on the chart that week, Bieber became the first artist to occupy two Top 5 positions on the ranking since Nelly in 2004. The album's sales were larger in its second week of release in the US, becoming the first album since the Beatles' 1 (2000) to debut at number 1 there, and have a stronger-selling second week. Bieber also had his second consecutive number 1 album in Canada, and in its second week of release the album peaked at number 1 in Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. It also charted in the Top 10 of fifteen other countries.

The album was preceded by the lead single, "Baby", featuring American rapper Ludacris, which was released on January 18, 2010, and two promotional digital singles, "Never Let You Go" on March 2, 2010, and "U Smile" on March 16, 2010. "Somebody to Love" aired on the radio as the album's third official single on April 20, 2010, and "U Smile" was eventually released to radio as the album's fourth official single on August 24, 2010. Bieber also supported the album with his first headlining worldwide concert tour, the My World Tour (2010–2011). He was the ninth solo artist to chart on the Billboard 200 under the age of 18, as well as the third solo male artist to do so since Stevie Wonder's Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius for 47 years. The album received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards.

Background and composition

In 2009, in an interview with Billboard at the Z100 Jingle Ball, Bieber explained the reasoning behind splitting his debut release into two parts, My World and My World 2.0. Bieber said that people do not want to wait "over a year and a half" for new music, and it was decided best to give it in parts. In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, Bieber stated, "I wanted to do something that was a little bit more R&B and that could reach out to everyone. I just wanted to be able to show my vocal abilities." In a piece with The New York Times Bieber stated that most of the production took place in Atlanta, and confirmed collaborating again with Tricky Stewart and The-Dream. Bieber said that he was hoping that the album would be much better, considering that My World was his first time in a studio, calling himself "a rookie last album because it was during my first year."

"I think I am growing up and that the lyrics show that. That song is about my dad and having him not always being there. But my dad and I now have a great relationship. And I'm fine that stuff like that is coming out. I want to sing about things that are going on in my life, and a lot of people will be able to relate to it."

Sara Anderson of AOL Music commented that "his sophomore release also showcases pop-y and hip-hop fused tracks". The record has also been said to mine "vintage teen-pop themes" but play as "2010-model bubblegum". It has also been called "catchy, upbeat and dreamy", bringing to mind "smash dance hits". The lyrical content consists of "necessary us-against-the-world teen-love dramatics." Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone commented that, "As long as there has been rock & roll, there have been pretty-boy singers like Bieber, offering a gentle introduction to the mysteries and heartaches of adolescence: songs flushed with romance but notably free of sex itself."

The album's lead single, "Baby", coined by Rolling Stone as a "consciously crafted throwback" draws from fifties music and doo-wop while incorporating a hip-hop influence. The lyrical contents refer to the departure of a first love in lines such as, "And I wanna play it cool/But I'm losin' you.../I'm in pieces/Baby fix me...." Monica Herrera of Billboard said that "Somebody to Love" and "Eenie Meenie" were "hardwired for Top 40". "Somebody to Love" contains influences of European music, notably dance and disco, and is a "straightforward plea for a soul mate". "Eenie Meenie" has been described as "sultry reggaton", and references childhood rhymes. Two of the album's tracks, "Runaway Love" and "U Smile" echo Motown, and critics claimed the tracks go beyond Bieber's demographic. The former has been compared to the work of Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5, influenced by funk and disco. The song has been described as "lush" and "sauntering", giving off a summer vibe. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times said "Runaway Love" was a "winning amalgam" of New Edition and Depeche Mode's "Policy of Truth." However, the song's "breezy groove" has been said to reminisce Janet Jackson's "Runaway" and Justin Timberlake's "Rock Your Body." The latter, "U Smile", compared to Hall & Oates, has a "bluesy" feel, and makes use of metaphors such as, "You are my ends and my means/With you there's no in between."

Andy Kellman of Allmusic commented that the album's ballads could be considered adult contemporary "if the singer happened to be of age". The album's ballads, such as "Never Let You Go" and "Stuck in the Moment" mix "love-struck lyrics with big, lovable, choruses". The previous has been noted to have distinct similarities to Chris Brown's "Forever", while the latter makes references to doomed couples such as Romeo & Juliet, Bonnie & Clyde and Sonny & Cher. In "That Should Be Me", a "sobbing ballad", Bieber "plays the scorned ex", with lyrics like, "Did you forget all the plans that you made with me?". "Up"'s lyrics have Bieber realize love makes him invulnerable as he sings about how a relationship can only get better, with exaggerated lines such as, "We'll take it to the sky/Past the moon/Through the galaxies." A Wal-Mart bonus track, "Where Are You Now", an extension of sorts of My World's "Down To Earth", focuses on Bieber's feelings after his parents' splitting up.

Promotion

As he did with My World, Bieber went on a radio promotion spree in addition to other appearances. Bieber performed in Berlin for the Dome 53 on March 5, 2010. In the United Kingdom he appeared on British talk show Alan Carr: Chatty Man, on breakfast television show GMTV, and on Live from Studio Five. Bieber performed several songs from My World and My World 2.0 on QVC's "Q Sessions" on March 9, when his album was up for pre-sale on the network. He and Selena Gomez performed at a concert at the Houston Rodeo on March 21. Bieber also appeared on ABC's Nightline and in a CBS News segment interview with Katie Couric. on He also performed on The View on March 23, and returned on the show for the March 24, episode, during which he also performed on BET's 106 & Park and the Late Show with David Letterman. Bieber followed up the album with performances at the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards on March 27, 2010, and as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live in April. Bieber also promoted the album on The Oprah Winfrey Show on May 11, 2010, and performed on that season's American Idol. Bieber continued the album's promotion by performing on Today on June 4, 2010, and on June 19 at the "MuchMusic Awards".

Singles

"Baby" featuring Ludacris, was released as the album's lead single on January 18, 2010, and it went on to impact the mainstream and rhythmic radio formats. The song held Bieber's highest peaks at the time, reaching number 3 and 5, respectively, in Canada and the United States, and charted in the Top 10 of five other countries. "Somebody to Love" was sent to mainstream and rhythmic radio as the album's second single on April 20, 2010. It reached the Top 20 in most countries.

"U Smile", which was originally released as the second digital single, was played on the mainstream radio as the album's third single on August 24, 2010, and in on September 6, 2010. It has already peaked at numbers 17 and 21 in Canada and the United States, respectively. It also peaked at number 98 in the United Kingdom due to strong digital downloads.

"Never Let You Go" was released as the first digital-only single from the album on March 2, 2010. It debuted at numbers 14 and 21 in Canada and the United States, respectively. The song has an accompanying video, which was shot at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. It was thought to be the album's second single, but is unknown since "Somebody to Love" was sent to radio as the second single.

Critical reception

My World 2.0 received an average score of 68 of 100 at music review aggregator Metacritic. Andy Kellman of Allmusic has the album at a rating of four out of five stars, praising the album for its "upbeat R&B-flavored pop songs" along with Bieber's ballads that "might be termed adult contemporary if the singer happened to be of age". He also complimented the dance-pop songs, calling them, "light on the ears yet memorable; and that "the unrequited material sounds deeply felt; the ballads have all the necessary us-against-the-world teen-love dramatics." Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B rating, stating that it "won't likely affect any adults, not in the direct blast radius of Bieber's target range", however, she praised how many tracks reminded her "the sanitized R&B swagger of early-days Usher and Justin Timberlake", along with commending the song "U Smile" as a "shimmery slice of Hall & Oates-style blue-eyed souland", and finally stating "there's a real talent, it seems, under all that hair."

However, Sputnikmusic's Rudy Klapper found that his producers "do him little favors" and commented on its substance, "Nearly every song requires some sort of suspension of belief thanks to the lyrics, but if one ignores just what bull*** Bieber is spewing at any given time, My World 2.0 reveals itself as a largely unobjectionable slice of harmless pop music." Luke O'Neil of The Boston Globe criticized the music's "recycling" of different styles and wrote in conclusion, "will anyone care about this record of au courant R&B, soul, and junior high pop five minutes into the future? Give it some time." Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called the album "an amiable collection of age-appropriate panting with intermittent bursts of misplaced precociousness", but added that "Bieber's fumbles are easily muffled by his production — more technology — which, while less ambitious here than on his debut EP, is still brutally effective." Rolling Stone gave it three out of five stars and called it "a seriously good pop record, one that mines vintage teen-pop themes but plays like a primer on 2010-model bubblegum."

Commercial performance

My World 2.0 debuted at number 1 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 283,000 copies in its first week. This became Bieber's first US number 1 debut and his second Top 10 album. In its second week, the album fell to number 2 behind Usher's Raymond v. Raymond, selling an additional 291,000 copies, which was a 3% increase. In its third week, the album returned to number 1 on the chart, selling 102,000 more copies, which was a 65% decrease from its previous week. In its fourth week, the album remained at number 1 on the chart, selling 92,000 copies, bringing its four-week total to 768,000 copies. As of December 2015, the album has sold 3,330,000 copies in the US. On June 24, 2020, the album was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over four million units in the United States.

Track listing

The track listing was confirmed on Bieber's official website on February 26, 2010.

My Worlds

My Worlds is the reissue of Bieber's first extended play My World. It includes both the My World EP and Bieber's debut album My World 2.0 on its tracklisting. The album was released on March 19, 2010, the same day as My World 2.0.

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Release history

• My Worlds is a re-release of My World (2009) with the 10 new tracks of My World 2.0 added.

See also

• Justin Bieber discography

External links

• at Discogs