With the release of Justin Bieber‘s new Skrillex-produced album, Purpose, almost upon us, the young EDM/pop crossover star has released a handful of tracks early – the most recent of which being “Love Yourself.” The song was co-written by Ed Sheeran and features vocals by singer/songwriter Halsey, and although Skrillex’s influence isn’t as evident as the last two (if it’s even there at all), the song better fits Bieber’s style than those that preceded it.
Stripping down to the bare essentials, “Love Yourself” features only instrumentals and vocals, but somehow comes across as the most sincere and poignant track from the album thus far. Whenever another songwriter is credited it’s hard to say how much of the lyrical content can be attributed to Bieber, but verses like “My momma don’t like you and she likes everyone” almost certainly came from him.
“I haven’t even met her yet,” Bieber said of Halsey, before explaining they couldn’t find time to actually get into the studio together because of tour conflicts. “I ran across her videos and told [manager] Scooter [Braun] I was a fan… It was organic.”
Listen to Justin Bieber‘s “Love Yourself” below and let us know if it makes you look forward to the rest of Purpose in the comments section.