NEW YORK (AP) — Never say never! Justin Bieber surprised fans Friday by releasing “Swag,” his seventh studio album, hours after he teased it on billboards and social media posts.
It is his first album since 2021’s “Justice” and his first since becoming a father last year.
“Inspired by his devotion as a husband and father, this new era of music has fueled a deeper perspective and more reflective sound, resulting in some of his most personal music yet,” Def Jam Recordings said of the 21-track album.
Billboards depicting Bieber were found by fans Thursday in Reykjavik, Iceland, and Los Angeles. The singer also shared images of billboards on his official Instagram account along with a tracklist that included song names like “All I Can Take,” “Walking Away,” “Dadz Love” and “Forgiveness.”
There's a lot to love across the 21-tracks of the intimate “Swag.” Here are a few choice cuts.
1. “Daises” — The second track on the album may very well be its strongest; an exemplar in Bieber's slow-burn brand of alternative R&B-pop, now anchored with lo-fi guitar. Here, his sweet voice is pronounced — exactly what his most dedicated fans want to hear.
2. “Devotion” ft. Dijon — Dijon is a rising R&B voice; some fans might be familiar with his 2021 debut album “Absolutely” or his contribution to Bon Iver’s“SABLE, fABLE" from earlier this year. He makes for a standout collaboration on “Swag,” a sweet song about deepening affection.
3. “Go Baby” - Bieber married the model Hailey Bieber (nee Baldwin) in 2018; she's long been source material for his most loving tracks. “Go Baby” is a standout for that reason. “That’s my baby, she’s iconic," he opens the track, "iPhone case, lip gloss on it,” referencing her Rhode skincare and beauty brand, which sold to Elf Beauty in a $1 billion deal.
4. “Walking Away” - Marriage isn't easy; that's clear on “Walking Away,” a slightly-more-uptempo track where Bieber makes his dedication evident. It's the perfect song for dancing in the kitchen with your partner.
5. “All I Can Take” - The throwback opener “All I Can Take” has a vintage groove — echoes of Beiber's early work, now matured to reflect his current adult reality. He sounds as sweet as ever in the pre-chorus, his declaration of “Ooh, baby, don’t it feel good? Baby, don’t it feel nice? / Ooh, baby, don’t it feel good? You don’t have to think twice.”
Bieber, the two-time Grammy Award winning singer and Canadian pop idol who revolutionized teen pop and social media fame, is best known for his silky R&B pop lyric tenor, demonstrated on the diamond-selling “Baby,” “Sorry,” and “Stay” with the Kid Laroi. At the beginning of his career, and as a tween, Bieber began working with Usher and the influential music manager Scooter Braun.
In 2023, Bieber sold the rights to his music — all six of his albums, including hits like “Sorry” and “Baby” — to Hipgnosis, a U.K-based music investment company. The deal’s financial details were not disclosed, but Billboard Magazine reports that the sale was worth an estimated $200 million.
In August 2024, Justin and Hailey Bieber announced the birth of their first child, Jack Blues Bieber.
FILE - Justin Bieber attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala on Sept. 13, 2021, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media that the U.S. Coast Guard had boarded the Motor Tanker Veronica early Thursday. She said the ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”
U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”
Noem posted a brief video that appeared to show part of the ship’s capture. The black-and-white footage showed helicopters hovering over the deck of a merchant vessel while armed troops dropped down on the deck by rope.
The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.
The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, it was partially filled with crude.
The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.
According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Galileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for moving cargoes of illicit Russian oil.
As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”
However, other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear that they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.
Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.
This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro's capture.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)
