Justin Bieber, Swag and the year of the dad album

The paparazzi video quickly went viral. 

“I’m a dad,” said Justin Bieber. “I’m a husband. You’re not getting it. It’s not clocking to you.”

Clad in a slouchy blue hoodie and baggy pants, the pop star heatedly confronted the photographers who chased him to the beach and swarmed his car.

“It’s not clocking to you that I’m standing on business, is it?” he said.

While most fans latched onto, and later memed, Bieber “standing on business,” his mention of being a dad was significant. It was June, a few days before Father’s Day; Bieber’s son, Jack Blues, was born last August; and approximately a month later, Bieber would drop his comeback album, Swag, a sprawling, lo-fi R&B record exploring themes of love, faith and, for the first time, fatherhood. 

It marked a fresh theme for Bieber as an artist and new parent, one that would prove true for a number of dad artists in 2025.

Swag entered the world as a surprise: billboards popped up around the globe on July 10 with the album title, tracklist and promotional imagery less than 24 hours before its release. And the focal point of the photos was baby Bieber, cradled in his mother’s arms in one shot and nestled atop his father’s shoulders in another.

The pictures “clearly indicated that his new music would be influenced by major changes in his personal life,” said Kai Arne Hansen, a music professor at the University of Inland Norway and the author of Pop Masculinities.

And it was. The candy-coated track Dadz Love celebrated being a father. Devotion, a gentle love song used in 2024 to announce his wife Hailey’s pregnancy, was a tribute to her as a lover and parent. The music video for Yukon featured intimate footage of Jack. And the tumultuous paparazzi standoff was also included in the form of a skit, aptly titled Standing on Business.

WATCH | The official audio for Dadz Love by Justin Bieber and Lil B:

A creative sonic change-up

Swag was part of a large streak of dad albums in 2025, with heartfelt projects by Dominic Fike, Loyle Carner, Jon Bellion, Tobias Jesso Jr., Dijon and more also spotlighting fatherhood. Lyrically and visually, their sons’ fingerprints are all over their albums: Fike’s mixtape, Rocket, is named after his son, as is Dijon’s album Baby; Carner’s son appears on the cover of hopefully!. and his son’s uncredited vocals feature on the title track; Bellion’s Father Figure is dedicated to his wife and sons.

Most pop songs are about romantic relationships, according to musicologist Jacqueline Warwick, the academic dean at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD).

“I would like to think [this new trend is] part of a social shift in recognizing that what fathers do is important and that parenting isn’t just about mothers; fathers have an important role to play, and the emotional landscape of the father-child relationship is rich and beautiful and precious,” she said.

Sonically, Swag was a drastic departure from the hitmaking polish of Bieber’s previous albums, trading in big pop hooks for pared-back production. It was a bold exercise in creative control, evident in Bieber’s choice of unexpected indie collaborators including Dijon and Mk.gee, as well as experimental sounds.

WATCH | The official music video for Yukon by Justin Bieber:

“From a listener’s point of view, the minimal arrangements and lo-fi sound of some songs can be perceived as more intimate and honest,” said Hansen, who added that this strategy can “potentially heighten the emotional credibility of Bieber’s songs and buttress fans’ investment in the image of him as a family man.”

“I think that soundscape of voice and acoustic guitar has long, long, very deep associations with sincerity and authenticity,” said Warwick. “I’m pretty sure that’s why Justin would choose it to express himself and be vulnerable, and express his truest, most innermost, unvarnished self.”

Swag reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200, with 16 tracks also landing on the Hot 100, including Dadz Love.

“Dads love/ that’s love,” Bieber sings giddily on the saccharine song. Assisted by rapper Lil B, the track is a beacon of unity and hope: “That’s love (pure love)/ that’s love (it’s all around us).” And in a full-circle moment, Bieber honours his inner child on the song by sampling a drum pattern he made as a toddler.

WATCH | Justin Bieber playing the drums as a child:

“I think fathers will connect with Justin Bieber’s song [Dadz Love] and maybe even become better fathers because the message he’s sending is so passionate, and it really talks about him really being embedded in that role,” said child and family therapist Joanna Seidel.

Swag II extends Bieber’s parental joy

On Sept. 5, Bieber shocked the world again by surprise-dropping Swag II. In the vein of the first project, slotted among the emotionally charged love songs were Everything Hallelujah, where Bieber sings “Baby Jack, hallelujah,” and Mother In You, a tender ode to Jack.

“You opened your eyes/ that was when I knew/ oh, it would change me/ there’s a beautiful world that’s waiting for you,” Bieber croons on verse 1 of Mother In You, his vocals aching with adoration.

“Oh, child, everyday/ you’re the best part,” he later sings after vowing to be a dutiful dad. The song’s tone is that of pure joy, with Bieber relishing parenthood.

WATCH | The official audio for Mother In You:

“Justin Bieber has a lot of access to enjoy fatherhood,” said Seidel, adding that he may have “more free time than a dad who has to really work outside of the home every single day to provide.”

“Financially, that stress is removed, time-wise, right?” she added.

Warwick says Bieber can happily embrace being a dad because “he has a kind of privilege there that he can draw on that allows him to take this step.”

Less than two months after Swag II’s release it was Halloween. Toddler Jack was costumed in a white jacket and purple hoodie, transforming into a mini version of his father during his My World era. 

A week later, Swag earned four Grammy nominations, including best pop vocal album and album of the year.