Never Say Never: The Remixes

Never Say Never: The Remixes
Remix album by Justin Bieber
Released	February 14, 2011
Genre	R&B, dance-pop, teen pop
Length	26:47
Label	Island, RBMG
Producer	Usher Raymond IV (exec.), Scooter Braun (exec.), Antonio "L.A." Reid (exec.),Kanye West, The Messengers, The Stereotypes, Dirty Swift, Bruce Waynne, Dapo Torimiro, Mel & Mus, Jan Smith, Brandon Blue Hamilton
Justin Bieber chronology
My Worlds Acoustic (2010) Never Say Never: The Remixes (2011) Under the Mistletoe (2011)
Singles from Never Say Never: The Remixes
"Never Say Never" Released: 25 January 2011 (2011-01-25)

Never Say Never: The Remixes is the second remix album by Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber. Released on February 14, 2011, the album accompanies the release of his film, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. The album includes remixes of several songs from his first album, My World 2.0, featuring guest appearances from Jaden Smith, Rascal Flatts, Usher, Chris Brown, Kanye West, Raekwon, and Miley Cyrus. In addition a new track is also included. The Jaden Smith-assisted "Never Say Never", originally the theme song for The Karate Kid, was re-released as the album's lead single on January 25, 2011. 600,000 copies have been sold worldwide as of 2011.

Background

Kanye West (left) and Miley Cyrus (right) are two of the artists that have featured appearances on the album.

In late December 2010, Bieber stated that he was collaborating with American country band Rascal Flatts, presumably for his second studio album. In an interview with WSIX, lead singer Gary LeVox said "[Justin] asked us to do a duet with him on his next record. It's actually a really good song! The kid is really talented. He plays five or six different instruments really well."^[1] Bieber also confirmed the collaboration in-the-works on Twitter. Also a conversation on Twitter, American R&B singer Chris Brown and Bieber revealed that they were also working together on new music.^[2]

In early January 2011, it was rumored that Bieber was planning to release an album to accompanying the release of his 3D biopic-concert film, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. On January 6, 2011, Bieber's manager Scooter Braun held a live chat with fans, stating that new music should be expected from the singer around Valentine's Day.^[3] Just after winning a Golden Globe award for the "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" from the film, Burlesque, on January 18, 2011, songwriter Diane Warren confirmed that she was had just completed a song, "Born to Be Somebody" to included on album to support Bieber's new film.^[4] Warren said "It's a beautiful song. That's a good age difference between Cher and Justin – 40 years!"^[4] Additionally, singer-songwriter Ester Dean confirmed she worked on the project for Bieber's film.^[5]

On January 31, 2011, the official announcement of a musical counterpart to the film was revealed, and that it would be released on February 14, 2011, the Monday following the film's opening weekend.^[2] The album was said to contain the previously released Jaden Smith collaboration and theme song to The Karate Kid, "Never Say Never", as well as the remix of his single "Somebody to Love", which features mentor Usher.^[2] A previous intentionally-leaked remix of Bieber's "Runaway Love", which was produced by Kanye West, featuring himself and Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon was also added to the album.^[2] New contributions came from Rascal Flatts and Chris Brown adding parts to "That Should Be Me" and "Up", respectiveley.^[2] A live version of Bieber performing "Overboard" alongside fellow pop singer Miley Cyrus on his My World Tour at Madison Square Garden is included as a track.^[2] The Diane Warren-penned "Born to Be Somebody" is a previously unheard track on the album stating that you are born to be this or that, whatever you want to be, you are Born to Be Somebody.

Reception

Bieber performing at the Sentul International Convention Center on the My World Tour on April 23, 2011.

Critical reception

Margaret Wappler of The Los Angeles Times positively reviewed the album, giving it three out of four stars, commenting that the "most savvy quality" of the set was "how many aspects of the pop spectrum it effectively tickles while never corrupting the purity of Bieber’s enthusiasm, both cartoon-like and genuine."^[6] Wappler also complimented how it satisfied multiple demographics, collaborating with Jaden Smith and Miley Cyrus on the teen spectrum, and Kanye West and Raekwon "to secure street cred with the cool kids," while having "innocence to neutralize whatever sex appeal they court."^[6]

Sabrina Cognata of WXRK gave the album a positive review, saying the album "legitimizes the teen dream", writing, "The album may only have seven tracks, but what it lacks in size it makes up for with panache."^[7] Cognata appreciated the album's mixture, stating "the album actually has something for all walks of life and not just Beliebers."^[7] She highly complimented the Kanye West remix, commenting "Justin Bieber isn’t exactly known for being “hard” so the juxtaposition between really edgy hip-hop artists remixed with his bubble gum pop presents an interesting audio voyage that appeals to more than his core audience."^[7]

Commerical performance

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, opening with over 165,000 copies sold.^[8] It marked Bieber's second time at the pole of the chart, after debuting at number one with his first studio album, My World 2.0 in March 2010.^[8] It was also Bieber's fourth consecutive top ten release on the chart, following My World 2.0, and My World (2009), and My Worlds Acoustic, which peaked at numbers five and seven, respectively.^[8] All four of Bieber's albums appeared in the top forty of Billboard the week Never Say Never – The Remixes debuted, with making Bieber the first artist since American country singer Garth Brooks in January 1993 to have four albums in those positions on the chart.^[8] Likewise, the album was the first remix album in almost a decade, with Jennifer Lopez's J to tha L-O! The Remixes led for two weeks in February 2002.^[8] In its second week, the album fell to number two with 102,000 copies sold. With My World 2.0 jumping from number eight to five that week, Bieber is the first artist to have two albums in the top five since he himself achieved it in April 2010.^[9] The album sold 676,000 as of July 2011.^[10][11]

Track listing

Standard edition[2]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Never Say Never" (featuring Jaden Smith)	Adam Messinger, Nasri Atweh, Justin Bieber, Thaddis Harrell, Jaden Smith, Omarr Rambert	The Messengers	3:47
2.	"That Should Be Me" (Remix featuring Rascal Flatts)	Nasri Atweh, Adam Messinger, Luke Boyd, Justin Bieber	The Messengers	3:50
3.	"Somebody to Love" (Remix featuring Usher)	Jonathan Yip, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus, Heather Bright, Justin Bieber	The Stereotypes	3:40
4.	"Up" (Remix featuring Chris Brown)	Nasri Atweh, Adam Messinger, Justin Bieber	The Messengers	3:55
5.	"Overboard (Live)" (featuring Miley Cyrus)	Waynne Nugent, Kevin Risto, Dapo Torimiro, Taurian Shropshire, Justin Bieber	Midi Mafia, Dapo Torimiro	5:07
6.	"Runaway Love (Kanye West Remix)" (featuring Kanye West and Raekwon)	Melvin Hough II, Rivelino Wouter, Timothy Thomas, Theron Thomas, Bieber, Dalvin DeGrate, Donald DeGrate, Dennis Coles, Robert Diggs, Gary Grice, Lamont Hawkins, Isaac Hayes, Jason Hunter, Russell Jones, David Porter, Clifford Smith, Corey Woods	Kanye West	4:47
7.	"Born to Be Somebody"	Diane Warren	Jan Smith, Brandon Blue Hamilton	3:01

Note:

• "Runaway Love" contains interpolations from "Freek'n You (Remix)" by Jodeci and "C.R.E.A.M." by the Wu-Tang Clan.

Charts

Chart (2011)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart[12]	16
Canadian Albums Chart[13]	1
French Albums Chart[14]	71
German Albums Chart[15]	72
Italian Albums Chart[16]	20
Mexican Albums Chart[13]	8
Scottish Albums Chart[17]	20
UK Albums Chart[18]	17
US Billboard 200[19]	1

Certifications

Country	Certification
United States	Platinum[20]

References

1. ^ "Justin Bieber Working On New Music With Rascal Flatts". MTV News. MTV Networks (Viacom). 2010-12-20. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1654606/justin-bieber-working-on-new-music-with-rascal-flatts.jhtml. Retrieved 2011-01-31. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Dinh, James (2011-01-31). "Justin Bieber's Never Say Never – The Remixes Due Valentine's Day". MTV News. MTV Networks (Viacom). http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1656968/justin-bieber-never-say-never-remixes.jhtml. Retrieved 2011-01-31. 
3. ^ "Justin Bieber Plans Collabos With Kanye West, Drake, Chris Brown". MTV News. MTV Networks (Viacom). 2011-01-06. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1655402/justin-bieber-plans-collabos-with-kanye-west-drake-chris-brown.jhtml. Retrieved 2011-01-31. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Diane Warren Pens Song for Justin Bieber Movie". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2011-01-18. http://www.billboard.com/artist/justin-bieber/1099520#/news/diane-warren-pens-song-for-justin-bieber-1004139255.story. Retrieved 2011-01-31. 
5. ^ "Justin Bieber Preps 'Never Say Never' Soundtrack, Hits Studio With 'Firework' Songwriter Ester Dean". AOL Popeater. AOL. 2011-01-24. http://www.popeater.com/2011/01/24/justin-bieber-soundtrack-ester-dean-katy-perry/. Retrieved 2011-01-31. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Wappler, Margaret (2011-02-14). "Album review: Justin Bieber's 'Never Say Never: The Remixes'". The Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2011/02/album-review-justin-biebers-never-say-never-the-remixes.html. Retrieved 2011-02-14. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} Cognata, Sabrina. "Street Date: Justin Bieber’s "Never Say Never: The Remixes Legitimizes" The Teen Dream". WXRK. CBS Radio, Inc. http://923now.radio.com/2011/02/16/album-review-justin-biebers-never-say-never-the-remixes-legitimizes-the-teen-dream/. Retrieved 2011-02-16. 
8. ^ ^{a b c d e} Caufield, Keith (2011-02-23). "Justin Bieber Scores Second No. 1 Album with 'Never Say Never' Remixes". Billboard. Los Angeles, California: Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/news/justin-bieber-scores-second-no-1-album-with-1005044522.story#/news/justin-bieber-scores-second-no-1-album-with-1005044522.story. Retrieved 2011-02-24. 
9. ^ Adele's '21' Sells Over 350k to Top Billboard 200 – Billboard.com
10. ^ http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/74381/chart-watch-extra-top-10-albums-at-mid-year/
11. ^ http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/retail/top-selling-albums-of-2011-so-far-1005267092.story
12. ^ australian-charts.com – Justin Bieber – Never Say Never – The Remixes. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
13. ^ ^{a b} http://greaves.tv/amprofon3/Top100.pdf
14. ^ lescharts.com – Justin Biebber – Never Say Never – The Remixes
15. ^ Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche – musicline.de
16. ^ – Justin Bieber – Never Say Never – The Remixes. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
17. ^ Scottish Albums Chart
18. ^ Album Top 40 from the Official UK Charts Company
19. ^ Caulfield, Keith (2011-02-23). "Justin Bieber Scores Second No. 1 Album With 'Never Say Never' Remixes". Billboard. http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts-articles/chart-alert/justin-bieber-scores-second-no-1-album-with-1005044352.story. Retrieved 2011-02-23. 
20. ^ http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?content_selector=gold-platinum-searchable-database