Never Say Never: The Remixes

Background

In 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." 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.

In 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. 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 had just completed a song, "Born to Be Somebody", to be included on album to support Bieber's new film. Warren said "It's a beautiful song. That's a good age difference between Cher and Justin – 40 years!" Additionally, singer-songwriter Ester Dean confirmed she worked on the project for Bieber's film.

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. 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. 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. New contributions came from Rascal Flatts and Chris Brown adding parts to "That Should Be Me" and "Up", respectively. 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. The Diane Warren-penned "Born to Be Somebody" is a previously unheard track on the album, stating that you are born to be whatever you want to be; to "light up the sky like lighting;" to Be somebody.

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." 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."

Sabrina Cognata of WNOW-FM 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." Cognata appreciated the album's mixture, stating "the album actually has something for all walks of life and not just Beliebers." 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."

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, opening with 179,000 copies in the first week. It marked Bieber's second time at the top of the chart, after debuting at number one with his first studio album, My World 2.0 (released on March 23, 2010). 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 5 and 7, respectively. 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 as of January 1993, to have four albums in those positions on the chart. 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. In its second week, the album fell to number 2, with 102,000 copies sold. With My World 2.0 jumping from number 8 to 5 on that week, Bieber is the first artist to have two albums in the top five since he himself achieved it in April 2010. As of July 2011, the album sold 676,000 copies in the United States.

Track listing