Rapid React is an Interns series that gets out our initial thoughts on a big song release.
Justin Bieber has returned with his comeback single Yummy. It's the first taste of a new album rumoured to be dropping March and it also marks his first solo single since Friends in 2015.
The stakes are big. Bieber has never really fumbled a lead-single before and his last record Purpose was arguably his biggest to date, producing three number one singles in the US.
With this in mind, it's hard to process why this was chosen as the lead-single. Yummy feels like an offcut at best, churning out the same mid-tempo R&B that Post Malone and Khalid have been leading the charts with since Bieber's departure. It's also a sound that that gave Ariana Grande (part of the same management team as Bieber) her most successful era to date with thank u, next.
The difference with the aforementioned artists is that they bring some kind of personality to latch onto. R&Bieber sounds bored on Yummy. There's no delectable melody and even his vocals sound more processed than usual. It feels like a lazy snatch for relevancy that really wasn't necessary. Bieber is still capable of setting trends but here he's following one and doing it badly.
The Best Part: The final bridge starts to kick the song into gear. His trademark falsetto is out on full display and it feels like he could finally bring it home strong.
The Worst Part: The meandering, pointless chorus that uses the word 'Yummy' to absolutely zero effect.
Best Lyric: "Drew House slippers on with a smile on my face," is the most personal he gets.
Worst Lyric: "Yeah, you got that yummy-yum / That yummy-yum, that yummy-yummy," is peak laziness.
