Fresh off the surprise release of what’s being hailed as one of the year’s best albums, Justin Bieber is taking a moment to reflect on how far he’s come.
On Tuesday, the pop star shared a throwback clip from a 2008 interview with Canada’s Etalk, back when he was still on the rise. In the video, a young Bieber humbly says, “I never thought this opportunity would happen,” calling the experience “out of this world.”
In the throwback clip, the interviewer asked a young Bieber if he ever got nervous before performing, to which he casually replied, “No, not really.” He was also asked to envision the kind of career he hoped to have once he landed a record deal.
“Well, I see myself doing more, like, R&B,” a young Justin Bieber said in the 2008 interview, just before signing with Island Records later that year. “Sort of like Usher, Justin, or like an old Michael Jackson.”
The nod to the late King of Pop feels especially fitting now, with the release of SWAG. Fans have been quick to point out the clear MJ-inspired vocal flair woven throughout the 21-track album, drawing even more attention to Bieber’s early vision coming full circle.
Bieber’s seventh studio album, SWAG, arrives just over four years after Justice, his chart-topping project featuring Chance the Rapper, which followed 2020’s Changes—another No. 1 hit. With SWAG, Bieber might be setting up a similar release pattern, hinting that fans could see another full-length project within the next year—or even sooner.
But even without what’s next, SWAG holds its own. Give it a listen, then revisit the journey that led to its surprise drop.
