[RobynYoBank]

8 REVIEWS
MEAN: 73
MEDIAN: 80
METACRITIC AVERAGE: 74

LOS ANGELES TIMES [88/100]

Yet if Bieber's voice has gotten relatively short shrift over the two years since he released “My World 2.0,” the Canadian-born pop star's new sophomore full-length serves as a gentle correction: For all its cutting-edge production and grown-up talk of “swag, swag, swag,” “Believe” feels designed primarily to showcase his increasing vocal ability; it might be the year's most beautifully sung recording

In these songs Bieber seems perfectly comfortable inhabiting his producers' high-tech soundscapes; he's young enough to have had computers define his existence. But “Believe” also strikes an unexpectedly lifelike note. It reminds you that Bieber Fever is a communicable disease, one passed from human to human.

88/100

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/musi...ocal-game.html

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY [83/100]

As a star birthed by YouTube and raised by Twitter, Justin Bieber has never had the luxury of growing up outside the public eye. In the two years between his breakout 2010 LP, My World 2.0, and Believe, his second proper full-length, Bieber has had to go through cultural puberty and actual puberty — a tough gauntlet by any measure.

Luckily, his instincts (or at least the instincts of the small republic of people employed ? to steer the USS Bieber) are strong, and Believe works surprisingly well as a ¬reinvention and a reintroduction. It's the rare album that tries to be everything to everyone and largely succeeds. Like his mentor Usher, Bieber fully embraces both Ibiza beats (see dubsteppy bangers ''All Around the World'' and ''Take You'') and urban swagger (Drake and Nicki Minaj each drop by). Believe also updates his signature sounds. ''Catching Feelings'' would have been a smooth spoonful of radio sugar on his debut, but the new Bieber turns it into a soulful R&B campfire jam. Biology has robbed him of some of his range, but he makes up for it in confidence: First-gen Bieber couldn't have handled the goosebumpy swoop of ''Fall,'' but this JB turns it into the album's profound emotional climax. It's a prime showcase for his new voice and burgeoning mettle, proving that Bieber isn't just maturing, he's evolving. B+

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20603635,00.html

THE GUARDIAN [80/100]

The blissfully descending melisma of a five-syllabled "die" in Die in Your Arms sounds like a forgotten Jackson 5 gem. In fact, the track samples Michael Jackson's We've Got a Good Thing Going and bonus track Maria is another MJ-esque treat – a paternity-protesting song to file right next to Billie Jean. Bieber's final burst of "she's not my girl!" is uncanny.

Infant Bieber was a precocious drummer and the beats here are deft as well as driving. Surprisingly, EDM stylings such as the juddering bassline of As Long As You Love Me work well with his plaintive and still unmistakeably teenage voice.

But the lachrymal tween fanbase still needs feeding, hence the godawful mawkishness of Fall, with all its guff about angels who forgot to fly. The record ends with the title track, an anthemic tub-thumper to hammer home the Bieber mythos of following your dreams, never saying never and all those other aspirational bromides as earnest as they are vague. With a gospel choir followed by, I kid you not, a key change, it's totally egregious in sentiment as well as sound. But, after enough fine material to make those of us who are not nine-year-old-girls feel unabashed about our Beliebing, he has, I think, earned the right to vaunt.

[size]80/100[/size]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012...?newsfeed=true

ALLMUSIC 80/100

If you subtract the remixes, acoustic versions, live takes, and holiday material that filled Justin Bieber's releases from 2009-2011, Believe falls only a few tracks shy of doubling the singer's quantity of original songs. That fact alone will satisfy a large portion of his fans. More notably, Believe finds Bieber co-writing all but one song and handling his "not a boy, not quite a man" status with poise, despite some considerable contrast between his age and what he has been through. He's at a point in his life where he would fully deserve a pass for taking himself too seriously, but there's "Boyfriend" -- a G-rated "Wait (The Whisper Song)" with a My World-like chorus -- in which he compares himself to Buzz Lightyear. He has endured puberty, including a voice change, all the while undergoing intense public scrutiny that has included fallout from a paternity accusation. He addresses the paternity issue head-on in "Maria," a real-life, modern-day rewrite of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean": "That ain't my baby/That ain't my girl." (The song is not on the shorter 13-track edition, but it's the most significant song in Bieber's catalog thus far.) Given the space allowed by an hour-long release, Bieber aims for just about every pop market. Believe incorporates appearances from Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Big Sean, while Ludacris is back for the first time. A song featuring slabs of dubstep bass is followed by an acoustic ballad. The throwback "Die in Your Arms" heavily references young MJ, harpsichord and all, and is driven by a well-known breakbeat. The title song involves a gospel choir, while the sound of an acoustic guitar is almost as common as a dance beat. Lyrically, Bieber seems to be in no rush to enter Chris Brown territory. He stays PG, flattering and flirting or stating devotion throughout the majority of the songs; "Loving you is so damn easy" might be the line most likely to raise an eyebrow, while several others, like "Everyone's itching for beauty, but you're scratchin' the surface," have a goofy/awkward teenage charm to them. Believe has enough strong material to keep most of the followers satisfied for another year, while elders should feel relieved that nothing is as sickly sweet as "Baby."

80/100

http://www.allmusic.com/album/believe-mw0002357910

BBC Music [80/100]

Believe doesn’t take as many risks as it might (those are saved for bonus tracks), but it’s not meant to be a big and bold collection. It’s simply, elegantly, propelling Bieber into the next chapter of his career. And for an album whose aims are so remarkably graceful, Believe exceeds all expectations.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/qfcg

BILLBOARD [74/100]

Overall, "Believe" sinks its tendrils into the listener's brain by riding the dance music phenomenon and offering some whizz-bang production alongside Bieber's sticky-sweet singing voice. The lyrics are unfussy and at times too complacent in their rhymes, but the music powers the weaker moments through unnoticed. This is a pop record, and even if the flashes of poetic brilliance aren't there, the hooks very much are.

"Believe" does not offer any moments of transcendence, nor does it include a "Cry Me A River." And that's okay. Justin Bieber may not have crossed over into the fearless stomping grounds of the Timberlakes yet, but he may very well get there someday, and that's all we need to know for now.

74/100

http://www.billboard.com/new-release...07312152.story

ROLLING STONE [60/100]

The best song on Believe, "Thought of You," has it both ways, combining the impulse to wait with the impulse to get down into a pure-pop fever dream. Over producer Diplo's superhero piano stabs, double-time hand claps and a whoosh-trance build that leads to a chorus Lady Gaga would give her favorite wig for, Bieber goes into spirals of falsetto rapture as a cyclone of contradictory emotion: "I'm in love with the thought of you/Not the things you do," he admits. It's the moment where Justin lives most honestly in the swag-and fondue-deprived world of his fans – crushed out to the point of asphyxiation, pulled in a million directions, chasing feelings he can't understand to consequences he'll probably regret. It's where he's a kid again.

60/100
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/al...#ixzz1xu2d57Wb

THE INDEPENDENT UK [40/100]

I realise that teen idoldom is hardly the territory to hunt for innovation, but even so, this is a pitifully timid affair.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...y-7851780.html

Non-Metacritic Reviewers:

Chicago Tribune: positive
CNN: 83/100
Digital Spy: 80/100
District: 90/100
Edmonton Journal: 70/100
Entertainment Wise: positive
Gulf News: positive
Huffington Post: positive
National Post: positive
PopCrush: 60/100
The New York Times: positive
Time: very positive
Vancouver Sun: 70/100

[PopBoi]

You should have waited, early review threads always jinx it

[RobynYoBank]

Originally posted by PopBoi

You should have waited, early review threads always jinx it

I don't believe in witchcraft

[Peep Show]

I hope his metacritic score will be above 70

[Starburst]

Hype reviews usually aren't a good indication of the album's critical appeal.

[Duca]

Originally posted by PopBoi

You should have waited, early review threads always jinx it

True.

None of these count on Metacritic anyway.

[RobynYoBank]

Originally posted by Duca

True.

None of these count on Metacritic anyway.

Who said they did. Maybe I just wanted the thread.

[WarriorQueen]

Album of the year

[pika]

Peep Show, RobynYoBank, and WarriorQueen are like the only Bieber stans on here. Believe was a pretty good album. I can see it's metacritic score being around 64-68.

[Peep Show]

Originally posted by Duca

True.

None of these count on Metacritic anyway.

We know

I'll keep up with some of the whispers for now until full-length reviews are posted, and then I'll keep this thread updated with those.

[Duca]

Originally posted by RobynYoBank

Who said they did. Maybe I just wanted the thread.

I was implying they didn't matter.

[RobynYoBank]

Originally posted by Duca

I was implying they didn't matter.

Name a more reputable critical authority than MTV.

[Gui Blackout]

Originally posted by Peep Show

I hope his metacritic score will be above 70

[Gomez]

Originally posted by Duca

I was implying they didn't matter.

Why are you here?

[Peep Show]

Originally posted by Gui Blackout

Never say never

[RobynYoBank]

Originally posted by Peep Show

I hope his metacritic score will be above 70

The meltdowns if he out scores all of the pop girls from last era...

[Duca]

Originally posted by RobynYoBank

Name a more reputable critical authority than MTV.

MTV uses everyone for ratings. Simple as that. They named "Talk That Talk" the best album of 2011 a week before it came out and ranked it #18 on their best albums of 2011 list that came out only a month after.

[Peep Show]

Originally posted by RobynYoBank

The meltdowns if he out scores all of the pop girls from last era...

It would be priceless

[Duca]

Originally posted by RobynYoBank

The meltdowns if he out scores all of the pop girls from last era...

It doesn't matter if the score is based on less than 15 critics again.

My World 65/100 based on 6 critics
My World 2.0 68/100 based on 8 critics

[Damien M]

The album's already leaked?