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2U

Credits

Release Date

Record Label

Performance

Reviewer

Adam R. Holz

Album Review

French DJ and producer David Guetta may not enjoy the immediate name recognition of the singers he recruits for his hit singles. But make no mistake: When it comes to electronic dance music (EDM), Guetta is king of the hill.

So when he rings up the likes of, say, Rihanna, Usher, Chris Brown, Sia, Nicki Minaj or (as he does on his latest hit) Justin Bieber, I imagine these superstars waste little time clearing out their calendars for studio time with Mr. Guetta.

The French music maestro’s songs tend to follow a pretty plug-and-play formula, with upbeat EDM beats and that genre’s signature sounds (the requisite bass drop; those odd, bird-like synth; happy-sounding major-key progressions) providing a generic (but catchy) backdrop for the frontman du jour.

This time around, Bieber is crooning about complete commitment … with only a hint of mildly suggestive stuff creeping into a couple of lines. (Though the video, as we’ll see, is another story.)

Wings, Tears, Breaths, Mountains & Vows

Justin Bieber sounds a like a man who knows he’s found the girl of his dreams on “2U.” And the sky’s the limit when it comes to his emotions and the promises he’s willing to make because of them. “No limit in the sky/That I won’t fly for ya’,” he earnestly emotes. “No amount of tears in my eyes/That I won’t cry for ya’, oh no.”

Those opening couplets are representative of almost every lyric that follows. Bieber’s barely done expressing one gushing, romantic vow before he delivers another. And then another. “With every breath that I take,” he coos, “I want you to share that air with me.” Next: “there’s no promise that I won’t keep/I’ll climb a mountain, there’s none too steep.”

Though he never uses the word marriage, it sure sounds as if Bieber’s talking about a lifetime commitment here. “Share my life, it’s yours to keep/Now that I give to you all of me, oh.” Then he adds, “When it comes to you/Comes to you/Want you to share that.” (With “that” apparently being a lifetime together.)

Bieber mostly avoids the common pop-music temptation to talk about love and sex interchangeably. But one couplet does glance in that direction: “Open up your mind, clear your head/Ain’t gotta wake up to an empty bed,” Biebes suggests. In addition, another spiritual-sounding lyric could also allude to a more carnal connection: “Let’s take both of our souls/And intertwine.”

Those caveats are relatively minor ones, however, in a song that majors more on romantic commitment than flirting with sensual naughtiness.

Victoria, What Are You Doing Here?

The same can’t be said for one of the videos for this song. There’s no “official” video for “2U” yet, but the one that currently tops Guetta’s YouTube page features Victoria’s Secret lingerie models lip-syncing this tune in their skimpy undies as they do a rooftop photo shoot.

So even if the song itself mostly manages to avoid egregious content, this video more than makes up for that lack. Anyone looking for this song online—including, and perhaps especially, younger fans—may very well stumble into this lingerie-clad performance of it.

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Adam R. Holz

After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.