Dervon Rodriguez

I guess Justin is sticking to the pop genre, but its not even the catchy kind of chart toppers that he is known for and has clearly mastered with Purpose; his greatest work to date. Honestly, the expectation after 'Purpose' as a fan was for the 'What Do You Mean' singer to deliver more projects like his relatively unknown album 'Journals'. That was the natural progression after 'Purpose'. The singer has outgrown and mastered pop, there was no need to revisit that genre with Changes, a semi failure and unrelatable album and now with Justice, it seems like the Canadian native has no intention to develop and grow with his fans, who are now finishing college and or working, jamming out to albums such as Blinding Lights, and Bruno Mar's recent "Leave The Door Open". These artists are not just growing, but maturing musically and Justin is failing to compete at that frequency with this new joint called Justice. The best track on the album is called Peaches, and guess what - its a R&B jam, Justin's natural style of music vocally speaking. All together this album is probably his worst, a generic pop mess that reflects that Justin is not growing with his fans. Take a listen to Harry's 'Fine Line' album if you want to stick with the pop genre.

What seems to be a period of that slow, heartbroken, healing era of music that kicked of 2020 with Selena Gomez's 'Rare', Changes by the 'What Do You Mean' singer and Jhené's 'Chilombo', Lauv's 'how i'm feeling' sits at the center of these not so chart topping features. It's not a rip on his songs or style in this album, its just that the aforementioned albums won't be carrying us through the rest of the year or making it through summer. Lauv is captivating, smooth and catchy with all of his track, they are consistent in their mood, tempo and vocals. 'how i'm feeling' is not depressing or gives you 'tabancca' as Chilombo nor is it as poppy and happy as the tracks on Justin's 'Changes'. Its mellow, soothing and calming, a whole album that can played at a coffee cafe anytime during the day when you want to relax and kick back while doing research, home work or catching up with the New York Times or Guardian Newspapers. It sits at the center of Bieber and Aiko. I wouldn't be surprised if it grabs a few nominations at the Grammys but it most likely would not. Altogether, Lauv hits the mark with this album, I can listen to it four more times with ease. 4/5.

From "I got a secret place that we can go" to "that's what love is", this album truly represents 'changes' pun intended in Bieber's emotional game. His vocal ability is on full display, his sound is more mature and definitively happy. These songs aren't gonna top any billboard charts and in this case it's not a bad thing, because Bieber isn't poppy here, he is clearly moving away from those teenage days and moving into a more mature genre, we've gotten a taste of that with Yummy - his album debut track. In changes the 'What do you mean singer' is bold stepping into and almost competing with the audiences of Adele, Beyonce, Drake, Chris Brown and The Weeknd, key phrase "stepping into". He still has a large ladder to climb in getting away from his teen days. In my view 'Purpose' is still his best work to date, it's almost where Bieber belongs, but that's the pop nature in me. What keeps this album from being a hit and a chart topper is the lack of catchy tunes and chart toppers. It's all new territory for the Canadian Pop Star. A solid 3.5/5

I can easily, comfortably and satisfyingly go from Chris Brown's 'Indigo' album to MGK's - Hotel Diablo. Take that statement anyway you want to, it's certainly a compliment. MGK continues to tell a story throughout all his studio albums since his big break in 2012. Known as the guy who got featured on Wrestlemania 28 to a mainstream audience; Machine Gun Kelly has certainly earned his place in music Hollywood with this album and several other hits. Hotel Diablo has a song for everyone, it features several genres with consistent lyrics, flow, sound and rhythm. There is a story here, there is soul here, there is passion here, there's something that isn't being talked about enough and that's 'Hotel Diablo'. All in all ★★★★★