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Pitchfork had recently rated Justin Bieber's album SWAG 7.3/10. The album was dropped on Friday, July 11, 2025. Notably, as stated by the outlet, this marks Justin's first studio album release since he officially cut ties with Scooter Braun back in 2023.
The two had also reportedly reached a $31.5 million settlement ahead of the album release. Meanwhile, netizens flooded social media platforms like X, in order to react to the rating given by Pitchfork. The news was further circulated through several tweets across the platform.
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One such tweet was uploaded by Pop Base on July 16, 2025. The post garnered more than 140K views as well as over 1.6K likes. One user wrote under the post:
"A 7.3 from Pitchfork? That’s basically a Grammy in Bieber language 🎯✨ 'SWAG' really did what it came to do!"
Another netizen tweeted:
"Why are we still giving Pitchfork attention!"
"This is why no one takes them seriously. It deserves an even lower score," added a tweet.
"Pitchfork being way too generous once again," wrote a netizen.
Many other responses had flooded the social media platform after Pitchfork's rating of SWAG went public. While some felt that the album did not deserve the rating, and that it should have gotten a lesser score, many felt otherwise. Fans had expressed that the album seemed to be a good project. One user commented:
"Should have been a full 10."
"7.3 is a solid score Looks like Bieber's 'SWAG' is winning over critics. Definitely worth a listen," wrote another one.
"Pitchfork always gives the harshest ratings so this actually ain't that bad 😂," stated a netizen.
The latest album by Justin Bieber reportedly revolved around a lot of themes that were connected to him on a personal level. This involved fatherhood and his relationship with wife Hailey Bieber.
Justin Bieber's SWAG had become one of his lowest rated albums as of now
Justin Bieber dropped his latest studio album surprisingly without any promotions and press notes. According to The Indian Express, while this move created a buzz surrounding the album initially, it eventually began fading out. Within hours of its release, SWAG topped on both Apple Music and Spotify.
One of the songs from the album, DAISIES, reportedly garnered about 8.5 million streams on the first day itself. However, according to the outlet, by July 14, the hype on the album had faded away.
By this time, DAISIES had lost its top position and slipped to fifth one. According to album review aggregator Album of the Year, this studio album received a critics' score of 55, becoming the second lowest for Justin. Notably, it was Justin Bieber's 2020 album Changes that reportedly got a score of 54, thus occupying the lowest spot.
The Indian Express reported that many critics believed that while the album had experimentation in it, "ambition" seemed to be lacking in the project. The outlet, however, shared that the project might not be a total flop. According to reports by The Hollywood Reporter, it was speculated that between 150,000 to 175,000 album-equivalent units were moved in the first week.
Justin Bieber's SWAG surfaced surprisingly and the only teasers that fans got were through billboards appearing across Los Angeles, Iceland, and Atlanta. The singer further dropped the album cover art on Instagram stories, which shared photos of him with his family including Hailey and baby Jack.
Justin Bieber had spoken about a lot of personal issues on his latest album
As aformentioned, Justin Bieber opened about his personal struggles surrounding his mental health as well as relationship with his wife, in his latest album. The New York Post even described SWAG as one of his most personal projects. One of the songs titled WALKING AWAY, hinted at his marriage with Hailey.
In the first verse of the song, Justin sang:
"Days go by so fast, don't wanna spend them with you / So tell me why you're throwing stones at my back / You know I'm defenseless."
In the song, he also seemingly addressed the divorce rumors surrounding him and Hailey. The singer further sang:
"Baby, I ain't walking away / You were my diamond / Gave you a ring / I made you a promise / I told you, 'I'd change' / It's just human nature / These growing pains / And baby, I ain't walking away."
The album features a number of celebrity artists including Sexyy Red, Dijon, Lil B, Gunna, Cash Cobain, 2 Chainz, Druski, and more.
