By Carla Rubio
After Justin Bieber’s rollercoaster of a decade—including his rise to fame, multiple arrests for assault and careless driving, his controversial personal life— it was only fitting that he entered the new year with an announcement of an upcoming album, docu-series, and tour as well as the release of his lead single: the stupidly catchy “Yummy.”
This high-anticipated return came as a surprise to many and “Yummy” is officially the first solo song Bieber has released in five years since his previous album “Purpose,” excluding collaborations with artists such as Billie Eilish and Dan + Shay.
The song as a whole is monumental to all of his fans (Beliebers) worldwide who have been following his ups and downs since his 2012 record-breaking hit “Baby.”
“Yummy” follows Bieber’s affection for his wife, supermodel Hailey Baldwin, with lyrics such as the annoyingly repetitive chorus of “Yeah, you got that yummy-yum that yummy-yum, that yummy-yummy.”
The song debuted at the #13 spot on the Billboard charts and #2 on the Spotify charts, leaving Bieber evidently desperate to be at the #1 spot.
Bieber posted a now-deleted step-by-step guide on “How to get Yummy to #1” on his social media platforms. The instructions tell fans to create a playlist with the songs on repeat, let it play on low volume while they sleep, and buy the song multiple times from Bieber’s website.
Once the post and his new TikTok account circled the internet, many believed it was a desperate jab at the number one spot. Although other artists have used similar tactics to get their songs to number one, Bieber makes it plainly obvious, feeding him to the critics hungry to hate on his every move.
Excluding the toddler-like chorus, this shell and excuse of an R&B song fails have the components of a smash hit. Nor can it begin to compare to Bieber’s well thought-out chart topping singles “What Do You Mean?” and “Love Yourself” or to current pop smashes such as Selena Gomez’s “Lose You to Love Me” and Roddy Rich’s “The Box.”
Easy to say that fans are hoping, possibly praying at this point, to see more from his new album.
But “Yummy” is, simply a mediocre comeback.
