Justin Bieber 'Changes' Album Review Round Up: What Are Critics Saying?

Justin Bieber just dropped his latest studio album, Changes, on Valentine’s Day (February 14).

The album includes lead single “Yummy,” as well as “Intentions” with Quavo and “Forever” with Post Malone and Clever. The album also features Lil Dicky, Travis Scott and Kehlani.

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Justin Bieber

This is Justin‘s first studio album since his 2015 record, Purpose, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2017 Grammys.

What are the critics saying about Changes? Click here to listen to the album!

Click inside to read the reviews of Justin Bieber’s Changes…

Rolling Stone gave the album 2 out of 5 stars, writing: “What’s ultimately missing from this album is Bieber’s charming malleability as an artist. He has positioned Changes as ‘R&Bieber,’ but his new music is devoid of the dangerous eroticism that marked his excellent 2013 mixtape, Journals, a true R&Bieber moment.”

The Guardian gave the album 3 out of 5 stars, writing: “It just feels subdued and unassuming, which are curious things for mainstream pop to be. It’s a tentative, rather than all-guns-blazing, return, with a by-any-means-necessary bubblegum single dutifully tacked on to throw his record label a bone. In fact, it feels exactly like the kind of album that the clearly damaged man at the centre of the Seasons documentary would make.”

Pitchfork gave the album a 4.5, writing: “His fifth studio album is pitched as an invitation to bask in Bieber’s newfound domestic bliss, but while his contentment might be heaven for him and his managers, the resulting album has all the glow and eroticism of an airport terminal.”

Clash gave the album a 5/10, writing: “The main problem with Changes is that it isn’t exciting or dynamic and suffers from dragging in places. Part of this is down to the lack of variation on the album. Yes, the backing tracks sound great and Bieber’s voice is strong, but the songs never really go anywhere or do anything.”

The New York Times gave a positive review, writing: “On Changes, he finally stakes his claim, honing a vocal approach that’s soothing, tender although maybe slightly tentative, a middle ground between comfort and reluctance. It is an effective album, and also a deliberately unflashy one — Bieber is consistent and confident, and also not drawing too much attention to himself.”

AV Club gave the album a C+, writing: “Artists can certainly grow up and mature without losing their edge or creative spark. Changes, however, is ultimately a transitional record that finds Bieber navigating how to reconcile adulthood with pop stardom—and discovering that, at least in his case, this merger is a tricky one.”

The LA Times gave the album a somewhat positive review, writing: “The singer makes yet another cocoon for himself on Changes, a low-key set of gentle electro-R&B jams that depicts his relationship with [Hailey] Baldwin as a refuge from the unkind world he’s still not quite ready to reenter.”

The Evening Standard gave the album 3 out of 5 stars, writing: “A handful of acoustic tracks near the end seal the deal: happily married Bieber is boring.”

NME gave the album 2 out of 5 stars, writing: “Changes is a knackering listen. Overly reliant on trendy production and profound(ish) romantic proclamations, it’s a disappointing comeback from an artist who has a track record in creating hits. It may be an album filled with sex jams and lovelorn lyrics, but sadly this is one romp that never reaches climax.”