On Monday (Jan. 27), Justin Bieber dropped the first four episodes of his YouTube docuseries Justin Bieber: Seasons. All of them give an inside look at Justin's return to music, including several sneak peeks at what's to come on his forthcoming album.
Episodes two, three and four — which are only available to YouTube Premium members — mostly feature footage from inside the studio, usually a pretty private place for Bieber while he's creating. Fans will hear snippets of never-before-heard songs, get a glimpse at titles of potential album tracks, and find out just how much involvement his wife, Hailey, had (hint: a lot).
Take a look at the biggest revelations from episodes two through four below.
Episode 2: "Bieber is Back"
Scooter Braun wasn’t as involved in the making of this album as he has been in the past.
“I’ve tried to take a real step back and allow him his process,” Justin's manager Scooter Braun explained. “My involvement in the earlier albums was finding songs, finding producers, finding writers. But really from 2013’s] Journals on, his process usually begins with him just experimenting for a solid six months before we even talk one song.” Later in the episode, Justin’s longtime producer Josh Godwin echoed the independence he’s shown now, adding that Justin is “fully accountable” for the choices he made while creating the album.
Hailey has been in the studio with Justin as much as she can.
Justin does not shy away from gushing over his wife in any of the episodes, so it was no surprise when she revealed that she was in the studio with him for most of the album creation. “I love watching him do what he’s so good at, even if it means me laying on the couch until 3, 4 in the morning binge-watching TV shows and just being around,” she said. “I just enjoy the energy that goes into it. We turn it into a really fun process.”
Episode 3: "Making Magic"
There may be a Spanish-tinged song on his album.
At the beginning of the episode, Justin is working on a song titled “La Bomba,” seemingly singing in Spanish with ease. But he is quick to admit he can’t actually speak the language. “Singers are good at imitating, so I guess I’m just good at imitating? I can hear it and repeat it.” While it’s unclear if the song actually made the album track list, Justin’s reaction to the song certainly hinted he thinks it's a banger.
Tainy made one of Justin’s favorite songs on the album.
Gudwin explained that he had Latin producer Tainy (Bad Bunny, Ozuna) send him some beats, which ended up with Justin's longtime collaborator Poo Bear — who partnered with Justin on the entire album — before they landed with Justin. Poo Bear dropped some smooth vocals on a track called “Habitual” that got Justin pumped in the studio. After Justin declared that it’s one of his favorite songs he recorded, Gudwin revealed that JB cut the song the night he heard it — a rarity for his recording process.
Justin’s studio team is very small.
Braun said that Justin has always been an artist who doesn’t want a lot of people around in the studio. It’s usually just Justin and Gudwin when he’s recording, and Poo Bear when writing.
Episode 4: "Justin & Hailey"
Hailey didn’t care for Justin the first time they met.
Justin recalled meeting Hailey when her dad, Steven Baldwin, brought her to his Today show performance in 2009. “She didn’t care at all,” he said with a smile. There’s even footage of that very moment… he’s not wrong.
Hailey loves the album.
Since Hailey has been around for the entire album creation process, Justin confidently declared that she loves the album. But his reasoning for that confidence is the sweetest part: “I think she loves me being happy, and even if the music sucks, she’s so awesome and cares about me so much, she’d just love the fact that I’m doing what I love, even if it was wack.”
Justin took Hailey’s input for most of the album.
Good insisted that he can see a difference in Justin’s studio performance when Hailey’s there, but just as importantly, Braun and Poo Bear said Hailey actually gives input that Justin trusts. “We care about what Hailey thinks,” Poo Bear said. “Her opinion is overly valued.”
Everyone in Justin’s life loves Hailey as much as he does.
Justin has made it very clear that Hailey has changed his life, and has already reiterated it several times in the first four episodes of Seasons. One thing that became apparent from the docuseries, though, is how much the people around him also appreciate her impact.
“I sleep great now that Justin is married and that she’s around,” Allison Kaye, who is on Justin's management team, said. “Not only because I don’t worry about what call I’m going to wake up to, which is what the case was five years ago, but also because I know that someone is there with him if something goes wrong, there’s this very confident, capable, smart adult that is there to help him with it, and I also know that he’s much happier than the Justin Bieber five years ago.”
