Believe Acoustic
remix album
ArtistJustin Bieber
CoverBelieve Acoustic.jpg
ReleasedJanuary 29, 2013
GenreAcoustic
Length36:22
Label
Producer
Prev year2012
Next year2013

Believe Acoustic is the third remix album by the Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It was released on January 29, 2013, by Island Records as the follow-up to his second remix album, Never Say Never: The Remixes (2011). It is Bieber's second acoustic album, following My Worlds Acoustic (2010). The album has acoustic and live versions of songs from his third studio album Believe (2012), as well as three new recordings. The album went to number one on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, making this Bieber's fifth number-one album and seventh consecutive top 10 album in the United States.

Background

Bieber confirmed the project on December 8, 2012, by tweeting, "Been writing a lot...new stuff...and yeah. the acoustic album, new arrangements, is happening."[1] The track listing for the (then) EP was revealed on December 22, 2012, with eight tracks.[2] On January 6, 2013, it was announced that 11 tracks would be on the album instead, including new songs "Nothing Like Us", "Yellow Raincoat" and "I Would".[3]

Critical reception

Believe Acoustic received mixed reviews from music critics. Robert Copsey of Digital Spy wrote that the removal of the multi-layered production and "studio trickery" on Believe reveals a "smoother and less [...] babyish vocal than most will be familiar with". He noted that "embarrassingly weak lyrics" are a recurring issue throughout the album, though it is "largely saved" by Kanter, who "ensures the melodic hooks remain largely intact". He noted that it is "less of an issue" on the album's three new songs. He concluded, "We'd prefer the polished, shinier and glossier Justin Bieber any day."[4] Andrew Leahy of The Washington Times cited Believe Acoustic as a way of "squeezing extra cash out of material that already has been released". He wrote that only a few of the new arrangements "shine any new light" on the original versions.[5]

Andy Kellman of Allmusic wrote that like My Worlds Acoustic (2010), Believe Acoustic "maintains the flow of Bieber product following a proper studio album". He noted that the "playful side" of Believe is not "well-suited for earnest, stripped-down renderings" and added, "Party anthems like 'Beauty and a Beat' and lines like 'Chillin' by the fire while we eatin' fondue,' from 'Boyfriend,' seem silly when performed with the singer in serious artist mode."[6] Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone wrote that as "cash-grab" remix albums go, Believe Acoustic offers a "little added value, for hardcore fans, at least". According to Rosen, the acoustic versions of "blustery" dance-pop songs like "All Around the World" and "Beauty and a Beat" sound "a tad wan", with "a six-string standing in for the synths and bludgeoning rhythms". She, however, thought that Bieber "gives the songs his best, and his raspy, soulful vocal tone stands out nicely against the stark musical backdrop". Rosen thought the best songs on the album were the three new studio tracks.[7]

On February 9, 2013, Bieber gave a debut performance of "Nothing Like Us", a bonus track on Believe Acoustic on Saturday Night Live. He was both the host and musical guest and also performed an acoustic set of "As Long as You Love Me".[8]

Track listing

Note: (*) denotes a co-producer

Personnel

Credits adapted from album's liner notes.[9]

  • Justin Bieber — vocals (all tracks), producer (tracks 1–9, 11), guitar (tracks 8, 9)
  • Tim Carmon — grand piano (track 1)
  • Aaron Michael Cox — producer and instrumentation (track 10)
  • Da Internz — producer (track 10)
  • Josh Gudwin — co-producer and engineer (tracks 1–9, 11)
  • Brendan McReynolds — assistant engineer (tracks 1,3,4)
  • Wizard Jones — grand piano (track 6)
  • Jaycen Joshua — mixing (track 10)
  • Dan Kanter — producer (tracks 1–8), guitar (tracks 1–5, 8)
  • Dave Kutch — mastering
  • Manny Marroquin — mixing (tracks 1–5, 7, 9)
  • Tom Strahle — guitar (tracks 7, 9), producer (track 9)
  • Phil Tan — mixing (tracks 6, 8, 11)

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2013)Peak
position
Argentine Albums (CAPIF)[10]1
scope="row"
scope="row"
scope="row"
scope="row"
Brazilian Albums (Billboard)[11]1
scope="row"
scope="row"
scope="row"
scope="row"
scope="row"
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[12]16
scope="row"
scope="row"
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[13]50
Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)[14]1
scope="row"
scope="row"
scope="row"
scope="row"
scope="row"
scope="row"
scope="row"
scope="row"
US Billboard 200[15]1
Venezuelan Albums (Recordland)[16]1

Year-end charts

Chart (2013)Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[17]134
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[18]33
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[19]42
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[20]52
UK Albums (OCC)[21]192
US Billboard 200[22]72

References

  1. ^ Corner, Lewis (December 8, 2012). "Justin Bieber confirms acoustic album". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  2. ^ "Justin Bieber Releases 'Believe: Acoustic' Cover Artwork & Tracklist". Idolator. December 22, 2012. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  3. ^ "Justin Bieber acoustic album features three new tracks". Contactmusic. January 10, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  4. ^ "Justin Bieber: 'Believe Acoustic'". Digital Spy. January 30, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  5. ^ Leahy, Andrew (January 28, 2013). "Justin Bieber's 'Believe Acoustic,' Kris Kristofferson's 'Feeling Mortal'". Washington Times. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  6. ^ Kellman, Andy. "Believe Acoustic - Justin Bieber". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  7. ^ Dolan, Jon. "Believe: Acoustic". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  8. ^ "Justin Bieber Sorry for Smoking Weed, Performs on 'SNL' (VIDEO)". Vibe. 10 February 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  9. ^ Believe Acoustic (booklet). *Island, RBMG, Schoolboy. 2013.
  10. ^ "CAPIF". February 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  11. ^ "Brazil Albums (March 23, 2013)". Billboard. Archived March 18, 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  12. ^ "MAHASZ – Magyar Hangfelvétel-kiadók Szövetsége". Archived from the original on 2012-09-24. Retrieved 2013-02-20.
  13. ^ "ビリーヴ〜アコースティック" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  14. ^ "Mexico Top 100". AMPROFON. Archived from the original on August 8, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  15. ^ Caulfield, Keith (February 9, 2013). "Official: 1 of 7 Justin Bieber Scores Fifth No. 1 on Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
  16. ^ "RecordLand". Archived 2013-03-03 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
  17. ^ "Rapports Annuels 2013". Ultratop. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  18. ^ "Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  19. ^ "Top 100 Albums Annual 2013". El portal de Música. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  20. ^ "Årslista Album – År 2013" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  21. ^ "End Of Year Charts: 2013". UKChartsPlus. p. 9. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  22. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved August 22, 2020.