Breaking Down Bieber's 'Baby'

Justin Bieber is a Canadian singer who was discovered and signed to Usher’s music label, Raymond Braun Media Group in 2008. Since that time, Bieber has had a heavy Urban and R&B influence which shows strongly in the January 2010 release of the hit single, ‘Baby’, from his first full studio release ‘My World 2.0’. The song ‘Baby’ is a result of R&B and Hip-Hop heavy weights Christopher ‘Tricky’ Stewart, Terius ‘The Dream’ Nash and Christina Milian who collaborated with Justin to develop the lyrics and help establish credibility to Justin in the industry.

Bieber’s rise in the industry is noteworthy because he has transcended many barriers in an industry that is not known for being tolerant or forgiving. It is culturally significant that a Canadian white male was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun off of a You Tube video and then signed after meeting with Usher a short time later that year. Usher, who is a R&B powerhouse and holder of many awards in his genre, recognized Justin’s talent and referred to him as ‘a prodigy’.  Generally speaking, few white males have been accepted into this genre. Bieber did and was able to blend the style into a unique sound under Usher’s guidance.

‘Baby’ contains within it many different elements that come together functionally regardless of the glaring discrepancies between the beat, lyrics and video. The song is a mixture of contradictions, yet has become very successful. The lyrics describe a painful time where a young man found love, only to have it scorned. Regardless of repeated attempts to reason and win the girl back, our protagonist is unsuccessful. Due to the constraints of the medium, the assumption is made that this is based on a real life situation. To mix things up, the song is set to a positive beat that directly contradicts the somber tone of what Justin is singing. Perhaps this is why the lyrics had a subtle change from ‘Baby, Baby, noooo’, to ‘Baby, baby, oooh’.

It is equally interesting to note the combination of singing styles represented in the song. There is a mixture of Hip-Hop, R&B and Doo-Wop, which reminisces to the 1950’s Blues genre.  Much as Elvis acted as a cultural and racial bridge for Blues, Bieber may be having a similar impact on today’s music social and racial boundaries. This idea is underscored by the inclusion of Ludacris, who is given a verse to bring the addition of rap to the song. The introduction of a Rap star into a pre-teen song adds yet another layer to the music that is already pushing multiple boundaries. The spot does flows well with the music, and Ludacris does reference ‘when I was 13’ to keep things relative in the song. However, this does raise a question, as Rap stars are known to intensely protect their reputation and ‘street credibility’. What would motivate an established star such as Ludicris with hits such as ‘Act a Fool’, ‘Pimpin’ All over the World’ and ‘One More Drink’ to have a cameo in a 15 year-old’s song? Perhaps this is homage to the rising generation that is not tethered down as much by racial bias and the motivation is to celebrate and encourage this movement. It could also be another benefit of Justin working with giants in the industry.

Norwegian Ray Kay directed the video that was released shortly after the song in 2010.  By June 2010 it had become the most viewed video in history on You Tube. How appropriate that the medium that directly led to Justin being discovered, later had its own records smashed by his success. To date, there have been over 500 million views on You Tube alone. You Tube and Bieber were not the only success stories here. Ray Kay has now become the most sought after Video Director, to which he directs his meteoric rise to the ‘Baby’ Video. Here he directed the video to stay in line with the beat of the song, keeping away from the angst of love lost found in the words of the song. There is a definite lack of objectification towards women that gives it a feel of being produced by the Disney Channel. In fact, there is no sexual innuendo is observable throughout the entire video, which is rare. The only observable contact is a fleeting embrace during the dance-off scene and a quick shot of holding hands at the conclusion of the video. It is a bit unrealistic that all participants of the video are modestly, yet fashionably dressed. This is not indicative of teens today. It is equally out of place to see Ludacris dressed in this manner with form fitting jeans and very little ‘bling’. He is wearing a hoodie, which seems to be a nod to his status as a rapper, but it is worn in a manner that bring the image of a sweater vest to mind. The look was in harmony with the dress theme of the video, but was less than one would expect of an established rapper. Could this be a hint for cleaning up the image of the industry? This will definitely play well with pre-teens. Another reason for bringing in Ludacris could be to up the appeal to an older and broader audience. Oddly, this song did much better in the European Market than in the United States.

The dancing is choreographed well, matches the tempo and entertaining to watch. Though it does not match the lyrics, it still works. The dancing choreography is very effective enough that the words are not needed to understand the story the video is trying to tell. During the initial advancement of Justin on the girl, the moves are especially raw. Two sides of dancers face off according to gender and form the classic boy vs. girl scenario. This ultimately results in a group dance-off, complete with standout dancers performing various forms of break dancing. The director does an excellent job easing the dancing styles in a way that mirrors calming emotions as the girl begins to accept and enjoy the interaction with Justin. This works very well until the lyrics are added back in.

The photography is commendable. The camera was effectively used to spin around Justin symbolizing his spinning emotions over the girl. Towards the end of the video, there were quick shots of Justin standing or dancing alone. Perhaps to reinforce him as a standout in the story they were trying to create against the lyrics. It was a nice touch to show glimpses of Hard Rock Café and City Walk which is known for having blended themes of both modern and classic genre. Could this be another bow towards recreating what was old onto a new platform? It is possible that this is the musical equivalent of remaking the Chevy Camaro with styling throwbacks to the 1960’s. This is supported with the wardrobe throwbacks that invoke the 1980’s. Many of the actors appear to be wearing what appear to be versions of Van shoes or Converses. The selection of a bowling alley as a meeting one was sensible as there has been a resurgence of popularity in popularity of bowling alleys with young teens. Short of a skate rink, there are no other venues that could be used that would conceivably have loud music and teens dancing.

Overall, this is an effective video and song if taken independently. The success of both will attest to this. The music and video direction are edgy for what it leaves out as well as the boundaries that are pushed. Even though it was the most played video on You Tube, it should also be mentioned that it had the second highest amount of dislikes. The ‘teens’ in this video were presented in a manner that is more akin to the popular 1990’s TV Sitcom, ‘Saved By the Bell’ taking away much of the realism. The approach to life is good entertainment, but hardly grounded in reality. Director Kay chose well to fundamentally change the song to mirror the beat. The public has forgiven very weak lyrics in the past for a good beat. The video told the more satisfying tell and wrapped up with a win for Bieber.