Wikipedia

As I Am (song)

"As I Am" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber featuring American singer-songwriter Khalid. It was released through Def Jam Recordings on March 19, 2021, as the third track from Bieber's sixth studio album, Justice. The song was written alongside Scott Harris, Aldae, producers The Monsters & Strangerz, German (of TM&S), & Josh Gudwin, and co-producer Ido Zmishlany.

"As I Am"
Song by Justin Bieber featuring Khalid
from the album Justice
ReleasedMarch 19, 2021 (2021-03-19)
GenrePop
Length2:54
LabelDef Jam
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)

Background and composition

edit

"As I Am" is a pop ballad set in the key of B major and has a moderate tempo of 100 beats per minute.[1][2] The song marks the first collaboration between Justin Bieber and Khalid.[3] The "soulful and hopeful" song serves as "a sweet reminder of being grateful for the people who love you even when you are not perfect".[4] The "high-pitched synth and intense percussion" develop into the "upbeat, catchy chorus".[5]

On March 19, 2021, in an interview with Vogue, Bieber spoke on the nature of the song and revealed that it was about the promises that he made to his wife Hailey Baldwin:

I love this song because it has a really hopeful message. A lot of us, including me at times, have felt unworthy of love and so [the hook] is saying, 'Take me as I am and I'll do the best that I can.' It's that commitment that I personally made to my wife. I'm here through thick and thin—this is me, take it or leave it.[6]

Critical reception

edit

Billboard's Jason Lipshutz ranked "As I Am" as the twelfth-best song on Justice, opining that the pairing of Bieber and Khalid "plays out just as fans would have hoped" and that it "should be the first of several team-ups between the two".[7] Craig Jenkins from Vulture wrote that the collaboration "fools you into thinking it's another muted ballad before knocking you over the head with a massive drop".[8] Jennifer McClellan of USA Today thought that Khalid's vocals on the track were a "genius addition".[9] Similarly, Chris Willman of Variety believed Khalid was one of several guest artists on Justice "who actually feel like they complement Bieber somehow".[10] By contrast, Ali Shutler of The Daily Telegraph turned down Khalid's guest appearance on the song as unexciting.[11] Uproxx's Bianca Gracie felt that the song was "a formulaic recreation of Believe's poppier moments".[12]

Credits and personnel

edit

Credits adapted from Tidal.[13]

  • Justin Bieber – lead vocals, songwriting
  • Khalid – featured vocals, songwriting
  • The Monsters & Strangerz – production, songwriting, drums, programming
    • Jordan K. Johnson – production, songwriting, drums, programming
    • Stefan Johnson – production, vocal production, songwriting, drums, programming
  • German – production, songwriting, bass, programming
  • Josh Gudwin – production, songwriting, mixing, recording, vocal engineering, studio personnel
  • Ido Zmishlany – co-production, songwriting, piano
  • Scott Harris – songwriting
  • Aldae – songwriting, background vocals
  • Pierre-Luc Rioux – guitar
  • Colin Leonard – mastering
  • Denis Kosiak – recording
  • Heidi Wang – recording, assistant mixing
  • James Keeley – assistant recording

Charts

edit
Chart performance for "As I Am"
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[14] 23
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[15] 34
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[16] 9
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[17] 34
Denmark (Tracklisten)[18] 5
France (SNEP)[19] 166
Global 200 (Billboard)[20] 13
Greece (IFPI)[21] 48
Iceland (Tónlistinn)[22] 30
Ireland (IRMA)[23] 14
Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard)[24] 16
Lithuania (AGATA)[25] 32
Malaysia (RIM)[26] 20
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[27] 29
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[28] 32
Norway (VG-lista)[29] 18
Portugal (AFP)[30] 36
Singapore (RIAS)[31] 20
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[32] 12
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 29
UK Singles (OCC)[34] 24
US Billboard Hot 100[35] 43

Certifications

edit
Certifications for "As I Am"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[36] Gold 35,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[37] Platinum 40,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[38] Gold 15,000‡
Norway (IFPI Norway)[39] Gold 30,000‡
United States (RIAA)[40] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

edit
  1. ^ Marie, Erika (March 20, 2021). "Justin Bieber Croons His Way Through 'As I Am' Ft. Khalid". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  2. ^ Bieber, Justin; Hein, Gregory; Zmishlany, Ido; Harris, Scott; Gudwin, Josh; Johnson, Jordan; Johnson, Stefan; Peterhof, Oliver; Robinson, Khalid (March 19, 2021). "As I Am by Justin Bieber feat. Khalid - Digital Sheet Music". Musicnotes. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  3. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (March 19, 2021). "Every Song Ranked on Justin Bieber's 'Justice': Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  4. ^ Berger, Mary (March 24, 2021). "Album Review: Justin Bieber's 'Justice' reminds us it's OK to rely on others". The Post Athens. Archived from the original on March 25, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  5. ^ Mehrara, Maya (March 31, 2021). "Justin Bieber Demonstrates Love and Healing In 'Justice'". NYU News. Archived from the original on March 31, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  6. ^ Collins, Hattie (March 19, 2021). "Justin Bieber ('iPad 7' on Zoom) Reveals the Details Behind His New Album, Justice". Vogue. Archived from the original on March 19, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  7. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (March 19, 2021). "Every Song Ranked on Justin Bieber's 'Justice': Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  8. ^ Jenkins, Craig (March 24, 2021). "Justin Bieber's New Album Is Mostly Peace, No Justice (Phew)". Vulture. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  9. ^ McClellan, Jennifer (March 19, 2021). "Listen now: The 5 best songs on Justin Bieber's 'Justice'". USA Today. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  10. ^ Willman, Chris (March 18, 2021). "After He Balked at Being Classified as Pop, Justin Bieber's 'Justice' Is an Unabashed Pop Album — and a Good One: Album Review". Variety. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  11. ^ Shutler, Ali (March 19, 2021). "Unfortunately, Justin Bieber thinks his music is far more powerful than it really is". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on March 19, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  12. ^ Gracie, Bianca (March 23, 2021). "Justin Bieber's 'Justice' Misses The Redemption Mark". Uproxx. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  13. ^ "Credits / Justice / Justin Bieber". Tidal. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  14. ^ "Justin Bieber feat. Khalid – As I Am". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  15. ^ "Justin Bieber feat. Khalid – As I Am" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  16. ^ "Justin Bieber Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  17. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 12. týden 2021 in the date selector. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  18. ^ "Justin Bieber feat. Khalid – As I Am". Tracklisten. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  19. ^ "Justin Bieber feat. Khalid – As I Am" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  20. ^ "Justin Bieber Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  21. ^ "Official IFPI Charts – Digital Singles Chart (International) – Week: 12/2021". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on April 5, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  22. ^ "Tónlistinn – Lög" [The Music – Songs] (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. Archived from the original on April 5, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  23. ^ "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  24. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Overseas [ 2021/03/31 公開]". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  25. ^ "2021 12-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. March 26, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  26. ^ "#RIMChart Top 20 Most Streamed International Domestic song Week 12 (19/03/2021-25/03/2021)". Facebook. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  27. ^ "Justin Bieber feat. Khalid – As I Am" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  28. ^ "Justin Bieber feat. Khalid – As I Am". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  29. ^ "Justin Bieber feat. Khalid – As I Am". VG-lista. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  30. ^ "Justin Bieber feat. Khalid – As I Am". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  31. ^ "RIAS Top Charts". Recording Industry Association Singapore. Archived from the original on March 30, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  32. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 12. týden 2021 in the date selector. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  33. ^ "Justin Bieber feat. Khalid – As I Am". Singles Top 100. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  34. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  35. ^ "Justin Bieber Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  36. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2024 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  37. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Justin Bieber – As I Am" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  38. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Justin Bieber feat. Khalid – As I Am". Radioscope. Retrieved December 14, 2024. Type As I Am in the "Search:" field.
  39. ^ "Norwegian single certifications – Justin Bieber feat. Khalid – As I Am" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  40. ^ "American single certifications – Justin Bieber – As I Am". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=As_I_Am_(song)&oldid=1263704684"