Justin Bieber Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Beauty and a Beat” is a song by Justin Bieber featuring Trinidian rapper Nicki Minaj, released on June 15, 2012. It was written by Max Martin, Anton Zavslaski and Savan Kotecha, with additional writting of Onika Maraj on her verse. It is the only song from Believe that Bieber did not co-write. The song became the third official single from Believe.

Background[]

“...Bieber was actually the first, or his people hit us up. They heard the song and they were like, ’Please, let’s try it out.’ And I wasn’t convinced at first, to be completely honest. But then it started with the fact that he was early in the studio, which just never happens — like never happens. And then he was just extremely fast. He nailed the song in an hour and sounded amazing. And then it was no question for me. I don’t need to try someone else out if I know this is right.
Zedd on working with Justin Bieber on “Beauty and a Beat.” [3]

"Beauty and a Beat" was originally written by Anton Zaslavski for his debut album, Clarity. Zaslavski, however, felt the song did not quite fit his new album's style.[4] Zedd had Justin Bieber's A&R in the studio and showed this track he wrote. The A&R wanted Justin on it so Zedd sent the song to Max Martin and then he wrote the vocals to it.[5]

Scooter Braun told MTV News how the collaboration with Nicki Minaj came together. "Nicki was getting on another one of our records, and then we did 'Beauty and the Beat,' and she heard it, and she was like, 'I want to get on that.' And, actually, we were gonna put Usher on it at first, but then we heard Nicki's verse, and we were like, 'Damn.' "[6]

Bieber later spoke upon the collaboration with Minaj, saying: "I wanted a female rapper and I think that she is the best choice. I felt she just fit on the song perfectly."[7] An album of remixes was released on December 11, 2012.

Justin Bieber revealed he never really liked the song on The Bert Show in 2015 but understood it was music that was popular at its time.

Composition and lyrics[]

Justin_Bieber_-_Beauty_And_A_Beat_(Audio)_ft._Nicki_Minaj

Justin Bieber - Beauty And A Beat (Audio) ft. Nicki Minaj

"Beauty and a Beat" is an uptempo EDM[8] and electropop[9] song that lasts 3 minutes and 48 seconds. With the chord progression of F–Dm7–Am–Gsus, the song is written in the key of A minor in common time.[10] The song moves at a tempo of 128 beats per minute.[11]

The song contains elements of R&B.[12] Sarah Deen of Metro described it as a "frantic dance track",[8] while Rolling Stone's Jon Dolan called the song a "disco-inferno".[13] "Beauty and a Beat" contains fast-paced drum beats and an acid house break down.[8] Bieber's then-girlfriend Selena Gomez is referenced in the song during Minaj's rap:[8] "Justin Bieber/You know I'm gonna hit 'em with the ether/Buns out, wiener/But I gotta keep an eye out for Selener."[13]

Music video[]


On September 7, Alfredo Flores, a director who works frequently with Bieber,[14] tweeted: "We about to shoot a video"[15]. The tweet was later retweeted by Bieber. Nick DeMoura, a backup dancer of Bieber,[16] said on his tweeter "Tonight is the night beauty and a beat video"[17] and was retweeted by Bieber. This confirmed that the video was filmed. The next day, September 8, Minaj tweeted: "Just wrapped a very VERY cool video."[18] and was retweeted by Bieber.

The music video was released on October 12, 2012 on Bieber's YouTube channel. According to the video's storyline, in October 2012, 3 hours of personal footage was stolen from Justin. The story continues, this footage was then illegally uploaded by an anonymous blogger. It starts with a short montage of video clips, and heads into a party at a waterpark featuring dancers, and Nicki Minaj rapping beside Justin in a pool. The video ends with Justin sliding down a waterslide. A gameplay clip of Good Feeling by Flo Rida from Just Dance 4 was featured.

Bieber wrote the video's storyline himself and co-directed the video itself with Jon Chu.[19] All of the waterpark footage was shot on scene at Raging Waters in San Dimas, a suburb of Los Angeles.[20] Most of the clip was recorded on a GoPro Hero 2 by Bieber, with some footage shots on the Olympus Tough TG-1.[21]

The video racked up a huge 10.6 million views in its first 24 hours of being online. In doing so Justin surpassed the previous VEVO record held by One Direction's "Live While We 're Young," which claimed 8.24 million views within its first day. As of May 2022, the music video had received more than 1 billion views. [22]

Continuity errors[]

Lyrics[]

 
[Intro: Nicki Minaj]
Yeah, Young Money, Nicki Minaj, Justin

[Verse 1: Justin Bieber]
Show you off
Tonight, I wanna show you off (aye-aye-aye)
What you got
A billion could've never bought (aye-aye-aye)

[Pre-Chorus: Justin Bieber]
We gonna party like it's 3012 tonight
I wanna show you all the finer things in life
So just forget about the world, we young tonight
I'm coming for ya, I'm coming for ya

[Chorus: Justin Bieber]
Cause all I need is a beauty and a beat
Who can make my life complete
It's all 'bout you
When the music makes you move
Baby, do it like you do

[Verse 2: Justin Bieber]
Body rock
Girl, I can feel your body rock (aye-aye-aye)
Take a bow
You're on the hottest ticket now, ooh (aye-aye-aye)

[Pre-Chorus: Justin Bieber]
We gonna party like it's 3012 tonight
I want to show you all the finer things in life
So just forget about the world, we young tonight
I'm coming for ya, I'm coming for ya

[Chorus: Justin Bieber]
Cause all I need is a beauty and a beat
Who can make my life complete
It's all 'bout you
When the music makes you move
Baby, do it like you do

[Verse 3: Nicki Minaj]
In time, ink lines
Bitches couldn't get on my incline
World tours, it's mine
Ten little letters on a big sign
Justin Bieber, you know I'mma hit 'em with the ether
Buns out, weiner, but I gotta keep an eye out for Selener
Beauty, beauty and the beast
Beauty from the East
Beautiful confessions of the priest
Beast, beauty from the streets, beat will get deceased
Every time Beauty on the beat

[Break: Justin Bieber + (Nicki Minaj)]
Body rock (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Girl, I wanna feel your body rock (let's go, let's go)

[Chorus: Justin Bieber]
Cause all I need is a beauty and a beat
Who can make my life complete
It's all 'bout you
When the music makes you move
Baby, do it like you do


Remix Album[]

On December 11, 2012, a remix album of "Beauty and a Beat" was released, featuring 12 remixes of the song.[23]

Performances[]

Awards and nominations[]

Year Award Nomination Result
2013 Kids' Choice Awards Argentina Favorite International Song Nominated
Kids' Choice Awards México Favorite Song Nominated
MTV Video Music Awards Japan Best Pop Video Nominated
NRJ Music Awards Music Video of the Year Nominated
Premios Telehit Canción del Publico Won
YouTube Music Awards Video of the Year Nominated
2014 ASCAP Pop Music Awards Most Performance Song Won

References[]

  1. Deen, Sarah (June 12, 2012). "Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj duet Beauty And A Beat leaks online". Metro. 
  2. "Justin Bieber, ‘Believe’: Track-By-Track Review". Billboard. June 13, 2012. 
  3. "Justin Bieber Didn’t ‘Convince’ ‘Beauty And A Beat’ Producer Zedd At First". MTV. October 17, 2012. 
  4. "Zedd On Giving "Beauty And A Beat" to Justin Bieber - Ultra Music Festival 2013". YouTube. March 19, 2013. 
  5. "Zedd Breaks Down His Most Iconic Tracks". YouTube. December 10, 2018. 
  6. Vena, Jocelyn (June 22, 2012). "Justin Bieber: Six Degrees Of Believe". MTV. 
  7. "Justin Bieber and Lil Wayne Collaborate on 'Backpack'". Rap-Up (Devin Lazerine). June 25, 2012. 
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Deen, Sarah (June 12, 2012). "Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj duet Beauty And A Beat leaks online". Metro (Associated Newspapers). 
  9. Lipshutz, Jason (June 13, 2012). "Justin Bieber, 'Believe': Track-By-Track Review". Billboard (Prometheus Global Media). 
  10. Max, Martin (26 October 2012). "Justin Bieber "Beauty and a Beat" Sheet Music in C Major (transposable)". musicnotes.com. 
  11. "Beauty And A Beat - Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj - Spot On Track" (in en). 
  12. Longmire, Becca (2012-06-18). "Review: Justin Bieber Releases New Album 'Believe'". Entertainmentwise (Giant Digital). 
  13. 13.0 13.1 Dolan, Jon (June 15, 2012). "Justin Bieber – Believe". Rolling Stone (Wenner Media). 
  14. ALfredo Flores TV - Biography Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  15. Twitter: We about to shoot a videoooo!!!!!!! #BELIEVE Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  16. LegalBeliebers.com - Get To Know: Justin's Backup Dancers Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  17. Twitter: Tonight is the night beauty and a beat video!!! Let's go @justinbieber ! Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  18. Just wrapped a very VERY cool video :) Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  19. "(EXCLUSIVE) Justin Bieber's "Beauty and a Beat" ft. Nicki Minaj - Behind the Scenes [DS2DIO"]. YouTube. 
  20. "'Beauty and a Beat' by Justin Bieber featuring Nicki Minaj". 
  21. "Justin Bieber vs Olympus Tough TG-1 | Olympus Imaging Australia". Olympus.com.au. October 16, 2012. 
  22. "Justin Bieber - Beauty And A Beat ft. Nicki Minaj". Retrieved May 25, 2022. 
  23. Amazon.com: Beauty And A Beat (Remixes): Justin Bieber: MP3 Downloads



Advertisement