Bieber fever continues to dominate the pop world. With multiple platinum albums under his belt, Justin Bieber returns this week with his fifth studio set, Under the Mistletoe, which is predicted to be another mountainous Billboard 200 landing. The 17-year-old Canadian born pop singer takes as many risks a teenager can take with several of Christmas' favorite classics, including Mariah Carey's "All I Want is You." One would expect Mistletoe to be a half-hearted attempt to carve out an iconic place next to the great legends that have come before. However, Bieber proves he is a mainstay in the industry by crafting a highly energetic and expressive album that is filled to the brim with eggnog flavored treats, ranging from straight up pop and R&B to country.
The opening track, "Only Thing I Ever Get for Christmas," cowritten by Bieber with Christopher Stewart, Aaron Pearce, and Tim Miner, is a sweet and delicious ode to his girlfriend. With his tender vocals, Bieber croons and melts the hearts of ever teen girl across America. "Thing," with bells and a light pop beatboxing, channels his inner magic maker. Despite being a little heavy handed, Bieber obviously understands how to master clever hooks.
"Mistletoe," the lead single written by Nasri Atweh and Adam Messinger, dives head first into a sleigh bell-decorated and guitar-driven sensibility. "The wisemen followed the star like I followed my heart," Bieber sings around the one minute and twenty-six second mark. The listener can easily get lost in a perfectly engineered world that hits the right musical spot much like a hot cup of cocoa. Bieber's vocals have matured, as is evidenced throughout Mistletoe, and on the title track he explores his lower register unlike in any performance before. This allows him to dig within his artistic psyche to deliver something quite magical, even throwing in some "shawty" for good measure.
The first Christmas standard Bieber tackles on this set turns out to be "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)," which was written in 1944 by Mel Torme and Robert Wells. It was later recorded for the first time in 1946 by the Nat King Cole Trio, and then later again by Cole himself, and has been named the most performed Christmas song by BMI. As a duet with R&B staple and mentor Usher, Bieber reinvents "Chestnuts" into a sweeping and charming recording that fits snuggly by the roaring fire that is the modern era. An electric guitar solo takes a simple performance and rachets up the ante to manipulate a stellar album cut.
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