Justin Bieber's New 'Boyfriend' Track: Fresh Sound or Same Old?

Justin Bieber has been hinting at a new sound for the last few weeks in anticipation of his next album, "Believe," and he finally released the album's first single on Monday. "Boyfriend" isn't as fresh as some might hope, but it does shift the 18-year-old from the watery pop arena of preteen girls to the watery pop arena of girls his own age.

Lyrically, there isn't much there. In the context of his public romance with Selena Gomez, there's perhaps more reason to believe he actually wrote these lyrics than there was when "Baby" came out, but that's not saying much. He "raps" in the sense that Jason Mraz "raps," but it's still predominantly a bubble gum pop song.

The real evolution comes in the beat, a bass-heavy hip-hop track with acoustic guitar, co-written and produced by Mike Posner. As it was with Britney Spears more than a decade ago, at this point Bieber seems to be less of a pro-active musician (no pun intended) and more of a comfortable vehicle for the poppiest of songs, and depending on your preferences, that's not such a bad thing. You can listen to Justin Bieber's new "Boyfriend" track here -- or click on the photo below.