Justin Bieber Graduates To 'Adult Game' On New Album

'We've seen him [with] 'Baby,' now we're watching him grow up,' producer Kuk Harrell tells MTV News.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Vanessa White Wolf


Justin Bieber
Photo: Getty Images

Justin Bieber has said that he wants to pull a Justin Timberlake on his next album. So what exactly does that mean? His longtime vocal producer, Kuk Harrell, spoke to MTV News about the early stages of Bieber's next release.

"The only conversation we've had about Justin's album that we're about to do is it's really important that it's the proper transition because we've seen him [with] 'Baby,' now we're watching him grow up," said Harrell, who has also worked with Rihanna on her Talk That Talk record. "And we can't just throw him into the adult game right away. It has to be the proper transition. There's a record in between."

With further details on this next album being kept under wraps, Bieber is busy celebrating the holidays. He's slated to release his video for "All I Want for Christmas," co-starring Mariah Carey, on Wednesday. Harrell worked with Bieber on his Under the Mistletoe LP and says agreeing to do a Christmas album with the teen phenomenon was an easy yes.

"That's why I think this Christmas album was really important because it gave everybody the opportunity to hear him, see him and get used to his voice changing," he said. "That was a huge thing going into this album. We were able to get a running start on where he's at vocally 'cause it's a natural thing. When his proper album comes out, everybody's going to really be looking at that."

What will be noticeably different on this next album, which was teased on his holiday album, is that Bieber's voice will be much deeper. So does Harrell think it'll be changing a lot more for this next record? "I think he's pretty good right now," he said. "It's just a matter of him settling [into] where he is."

Regardless of what magic does end up making the final cut on this album, which Bieber has said may include work from Drake and Kanye West, Harrell notes that the 17-year-old is "always willing to bring a new fire."

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Lady Gaga's Barneys Workshop Is 'Essence Of Her'

Little Monsters gush to MTV News about Gaga's holiday-themed workshop and windows at famed Madison Avenue store.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Brian Phares


Lady Gaga premieres the Lady Gaga Workshop at Barneys New York
Photo: Getty Images

Lady Gaga is taking fans inside her world at the holiday-themed Gaga's Workshop at Barneys New York. Mother Monster-inspired products like head-shaped candles, leather jackets, her favorite books and chocolates shaped like shoes hit the shelves last week, and it's exactly the kind of stuff a Little Monster would ask Santa for.

MTV News caught up with some of the pop star's devotees as they were admired the Gaga windows outside the famed New York City department store. They gushed to us about the chance to pick out items hand-selected by Gaga and her stylist Nicola Formichetti.

"I think Gaga's Workshop, it's the essence of her," Hollis Gehrett said. "You walk in and you feel like you're in her apartment. I came to see her cut the ribbon, which was really cool, and she looked fabulous."

Fan Catherine Lloyd was also on hand when Gaga, decked out in a big white gown, cut the ribbon two Mondays ago at Barneys. "It's in her hometown. It's decorated to the nines, it's completely beautiful," she said. "The unveiling was beautiful — when she came out she looked like Glenda the Good Witch. There was just a lot of celebrities and fashion people walking around, so it was just a fun event in general."

Laura Donnelly said "the first thing I thought was 'fun,' like the colors and all the statues. I just thought it was a lot of fun."

"Kids can come and enjoy it. Adults can come and enjoy it [and] teenagers," Kyle Larkins noted about the in-store pop-up shop. "It really appeals to everyone."

Erin Sebestyen enjoyed how the workshop and windows show off Gaga's whimsical side: "It shows her holiday spirit, and how many celebrities really do that?"

After Gaga opened the store with a ribbon-cutting, her friend and collaborator DJ White Shadow, stopped by the MTV News offices to talk about the event and share his favorite item.

"I just was perusing the goods ... and there were some books that were her favorite books, and they have a special Barneys cover. I was trying to grab small things," he recalled. "But there's these hulking giant candles [in the shape of Gaga's head] that you light from the top. It's like you light the candles in the back and then the wax drips down through the eyes of the candle. So I was pretty impressed with it. I definitely procured one."

Have you checked out Gaga's Workshop yet? Tell us in the comments!

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Lady Gaga Doubles Up At Grammy Nominations Special

Gaga opens and closes the show, with an assist from country duo Sugarland.
By James Montgomery


Lady Gaga opens the "Grammy Nominations Concert Live!!"
Photo: Lester Cohen/ WireImage

Anyone who has ever seen Lady Gaga is aware that she knows how to work a look. And on Wednesday's (November 30) "Grammy Nominations Concert Live!!," she worked two of them, both about as different as could be.

As she announced earlier, Gaga served as both the opening and closing act during the telecast, and, of course, those two roles required two totally different sides of the Mother Monster. She started things off with a steampunk-y version of "Marry the Night," opening the song on a stage littered with smoking pipes and scattered bits of scrap metal. Her face done up like a skeleton (or perhaps Zombie Boy?), wearing a black cloak, she solemnly sang the song's opening lines, as a group of gothed-up dancers cavorted around her.

Take a closer look at this year's Grammy nominees through photos!

As the beat kicked in, she shed her cloak (revealing a sport coat, matching underwear set and, of course, thigh-high boots) and hit the harmonies hard, while guitars wailed and those dancers posed and popped. Then the whole thing gave way to a particularly fierce dance segment, which brought the performance to a close and earned a standing ovation from the industry-heavy crowd (David Guetta seemed particularly pumped, it should be noted).

And after the nominations were revealed, Gaga was back to wrap things up, and she did so in true Grammy style, joined onstage by country duo Sugarland for a husky, musky version of "Yoü and I." Seated at the piano, she traded verses (and a whole lot of suggestive glances) with Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles. Gaga changed a couple of the song's lines — "With your high cowboy boots on," "Oh Sugarland, it's been six whole years" — to fit the occasion and pounded on the keys as the song built to a bluesy guitar solo from Sugarland's Kristian Bush.

The whole performance wound down with Gaga and Nettles swapping extended vocal runs, and as the audience gave them another standing O, the three embraced and laughed mid-stage. All in all, it was pretty much the kind of night we've come to expect from Gaga: She worked two seemingly disparate looks, brought together some equally disparate musical genres and, oh yeah, even picked up an Album of the Year nomination for Born This Way. And, as always, she made it look pretty effortless.

What did you think of Gaga's performance? Let us know in the comments!

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