Journals (album)

Journals
Compilation album by
Justin Bieber
ReleasedDecember 23, 2013 (2013-12-23)
RecordedNovember 2012–November 2013
Genre
Length55:03
Label
Producer
Justin Bieber chronology
Believe Acoustic
(2013) 		Journals
(2013) 		Purpose
(2015)
Singles from Journals
  1. "Heartbreaker"
    Released: October 7, 2013
  2. "All That Matters"
    Released: October 14, 2013
  3. "Hold Tight"
    Released: October 21, 2013
  4. "Recovery"
    Released: October 28, 2013
  5. "Bad Day"
    Released: November 4, 2013
  6. "All Bad"
    Released: November 11, 2013
  7. "PYD"
    Released: November 18, 2013
  8. "Roller Coaster"
    Released: November 25, 2013
  9. "Change Me"
    Released: December 2, 2013
  10. "Confident"
    Released: December 9, 2013

Journals is the second compilation album by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It was released through Island Records on December 23, 2013. The album features guest appearances from R. Kelly, Chance the Rapper, Lil Wayne, Future, and Big Sean.[3][4] Journals is a R&B album that sees Bieber mostly deal with themes of heartbreak and forgiveness in a romantic relationship.[5] To achieve a more mature sound, production was handled by a variety of record producers, such as new producers Poo Bear, Maejor Ali, Andre Harris, D.K. the Punisher, Soundz, and the Audibles, as well as previous producers Chef Tone, T-Minus, Diplo, Darkchild and Sir Nolan. A ten-week digital download campaign entitled Music Mondays, in which one new song was released every Monday night, was held from October 7, 2013, to December 9, 2013. In addition to the songs released on Music Mondays, Journals is also composed of five other previously unreleased songs. The recording sessions took place while Bieber was on his Believe Tour (2012—2013), which generated one or two songs a day throughout the entire tour.

Despite promotion of the album making Bieber reach number one on the Billboard Social 50 popularity chart in the United States and plans for the release to capitalize on the sales rush before Christmas, the album was not submitted for sales tracking to Nielsen SoundScan, thus it did not rank on the US Billboard 200 due to its first-week sales going unreported.[citation needed] It has been certified platinum by the RIAA. It reached the top-forty in some countries and debuted in the top 10 only in Denmark and Norway.

The compilation was meant to be released physically, but due to Bieber's record label not fully agreeing with him venturing into R&B for the project, they did not support it being physically released. It was, however, eventually released on LP in 2016.[6] The album met with lukewarm reviews from music critics. Although some praised its mature direction and labeled it his best material, others dismissed its similar themes and "unfinished" production. The album has since come to be regarded as a cult favorite among Bieber's fans.[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference spin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Menyes, Carolyn (December 23, 2013). "Review: Justin Bieber releases five new R&B influenced songs to complete 'Journals' album [LISTEN]". Music Times. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  3. ^ Werde, Bill (December 9, 2013). "Justin Bieber's 'Journals' Collection to Drop In Time For Christmas (Exclusive)". Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  4. ^ Coleman, Miriam (9 December 2013). "Justin Bieber Dropping Limited-Release 'Journals'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  5. ^ Williott, Cole (23 November 2015). "Justice For 'Journals' In Defense Of Justin Bieber's Overlooked 2013 -Album". Idolator. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  6. ^ "Journals". Amazon.com. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  7. ^ "How Justin Bieber's 'Journals' Laid the Foundation For His Turn to R&B". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-12-03.