Changes has Justin Bieber going through his feelings, and on his new album, released on Feb. 14, he found himself feeling a “Second Emotion.” He wasn’t feeling it alone, as the track from the album features his friend and frequent collaborator, Travis Scott. Within the lyrics, both Justin and Travis wonder if the women they’re interested in feel the same way that they do. “I would rather take my chance with you instead. Do you second that emotion?” Justin sings. Listen to the full song below.
Travis and Justin have collaborated a couple times before. Travis (back when he went by Travi$) appeared on Biebs’ “No Sense” track, off of 2015’s Purpose. That same year, Justin guested on Travis’s debut album, Rodeo. He appearing alongside Young Thug on “Maria I’m Drunk,” the tracked called Rodeo’s “hypnotic masterpiece.” As to how Justin and pre-Kylie Jenner Travis connected, he told Billboard that Bieber reached out to him about a possible collaboration. Justin, while on vacation in Hawaii, FaceTimed Travis to let him know he wanted to work together. Travis immediately thought about “Maria I’m Drunk.” La Flame had recorded it while on tour, and a Beiber-less version had already leaked.
So, adding Justin into the mix would give the song a much-needed refresh. Travis sent the track, and “he called me the next day like ‘Yo, come up to the studio.’ As soon as I got to the studio, he played it for me. He already had [his rap verse on it] done. That sh-t was fucking crazy. I went back in and produced over it. That sh-t’s so pure!”
“I’m a Bieber fan, man!” Travis told Billboard. “That kid is ill! The ‘Runaway’ remix that he did with Kanye [West] when I was in high school was f-cking amazing!” He also revealed that “Drugs You Should Try It,” one of his tracks off of the Days Before Rodeo mixtape was directly inspired by one of his “favorite songs,” Justin’s “All That Matters.” Considering Justin’s friendship with Travis’s baby mama, Kylie Jenner, and her big sister, Kendall Jenner, this pairing of Biebs and La Flame seems like it was just meant to be.
Changes mark Justin’s return to music, following his 2017 departure following a bad case of burnout (along, as depicted in his YouTube Originals docuseries, Seasons, a severe battle with mental health and drug addiction.) In addition to Travis, Changes features appearances from Kehlani (“Get Me”), Lil Dicky (“Running Over”), Quavo (“Intentions”), Post Malone, and Clever (“Forever”).
