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Justin Bieber & BloodPop’s ‘Friends’ Single Drops Today, Will It Derail ‘Despacito’s’ 16 Week Record Attempt?

By Page Mackinley
Published on: 00:31 PST, Aug 17, 2017

Justin Bieber isn’t trekking on his Purpose World Tour anymore. But he is about to drop the mother of all bangers today — namely: “Friends.”

News of the upcoming single was first announced with a tweet shared at Justin’s official account on Sunday.

The superstar’s post asks, “Can we still be friends?”

That was encored by a second (now deleted) tweet which revealed the drop day as Friday.

However, on Monday Justin’s Instagrammed caption to his post of the single’s cover art revised the release date to Thursday (August 17), at noon.

As would be expected, online Bieber fans had a lot of questions about the new music to come.

Among them, “Who else is involved in the single?” and “Is ‘Friends’ the beginning of a new Bieber-era, or a music wrap to the Purpose era?”

The answers arrived Monday in the form of online teases shared by Justin, his team, and “Friends” collaborators.

Michael Tucker, otherwise known as BloodPop, produced the single. In fact, the song is listed as JB + BloodPop.

Bieber’s fans will already be familiar with Tucker. He and EDM titan Skrillex co-produced “Sorry,” which is the Biebs’ biggest solo hit to date and appears on the Canadian’s critically acclaimed 2015 Purpose album.

BloodPop also produced three others songs on the album — “I’ll Show You,” “Mark My Words,” and “Children.”

“Friends” is co-written by Bieber, famed songwriters Julia Michaels, Justin Tranter, and BloodPop. Michaels and Tranter co-wrote “Sorry” with Bieber, Skrillex, and BloodPop.

During his recent Purpose World Tour stop in Milan, Italy, Justin played a snippet of his forthcoming single to a group of fans.

Based on the sample, “Friends” is an EDM-Pop juggernaut ready-made for clubs.

The lyrics arc a universal theme that many people will understand: Can a couple (or ex couple) remain friends if the relationship ends?

First bridge lyrics read as, “Do you wonder why I’ve been callin’? / Like I’ve got ulterior motives.”

Justin continues, “Do we didn’t end this sober? / Did you know we had something so good? / I’m wondering.”

From there, it’s straight into the undeniable hook.

“Can we still be friends? / Can we still be friends? / It doesn’t have to end.”

The pop prince continues, “But if it ends, can we be friends?”

Will “Friends” be a hit? The combination of BloodPop, Bieber, Tranter, and Michaels’ talents and reputations and the quality of the song will undoubtedly propel it onto the charts.

Potentially, the single has a shot at delivering what could be the Biebs’ sixth Billboard No. 1.

Earlier this year, the heartthrob scored No. 1’s with “I’m The One” along with Chance The Rapper, Migos’ Quavo, Lil Wayne, and DJ Khaled.

The 23-year-old also notched Hot 100 #1’s with “Love Yourself,” “Sorry”, and “What Do You Mean?” since his stunning return to music in 2015.

The pop megastar has just notched his 14th week atop Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart with his feature on a remix of Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito.”

Currently, music pop culture is perched to see whether the Bieber remix will tie or even beat Mariah Carey’s 16 weeks No. 1 Billboard record with “One Sweet Day” with Boys II Men.

Among the haul of accolades the remix has to its name, is the “Most Streamed Song Of All Time” record.

The “Despacito” remix 14-weeks milestone ties for the second-longest Hot 100 No. 1 in the chart’s 59-year history.

The song also ties for the longest reign at No. 1 for a predominantly non-English language song, which ties the 14-week record of Los Del Rio’s “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” in 1996.

The remix also lands the longest rule of the Streaming Songs chart at 14 weeks.

There are just a few hours before Justin Bieber and BloodPop’s “Friends” is officially released on iTunes.

Will the new single derail the ‘Despacito’ remix’s ambitious attempt at breaking Carey’s long-held record?

Time will tell.

[Featured Image by Mat Hayward/Getty Images]

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