Justin Bieber Had Full Creative Freedom on ‘Swag’ After Scooter Split

Freedom sounds good on Justin Bieber‘s Swag. On Friday, the pop king marked his return with his new album, and a source close to the musician tells Rolling Stone it’s “the purest form” of Bieber we’ve ever seen, especially after “breaking away” from longtime manager Scooter Braun.

“Breaking away from Scooter Braun and his team has been something that Justin has wanted for so long and now that he’s fully free, he could finally share this album with his fans and with the world,” says the source. “[It’s] something he’s been wanting to do for a long time.”

The source adds: “Having full creative freedom, sadly, is something new for him as an artist. Not having to stress about creating the perfect single, or perfect album allowed for him to create the best body of music he’s ever made.”

The news of his newly found “creative freedom” comes just a day after multiple reports confirmed that Bieber and Braun came to a multimillion-dollar settlement following a financial dispute. With their official split, the source confirms that Bieber will now own 100 percent of his masters, starting with Swag.

“He was able to be his true, authentic self and didn’t have any additional voices trying to steer him in a certain direction,” the source says. “This is the most pure version of Justin we’ve ever seen musically. This is the first time in Justin’s career where he’s been able to have 100% creative freedom, which is why the music is so honest and vulnerable.”

Swag marks a massive comeback for the musician, whose LP quickly debuted at Number One on the album charts for Spotify and Apple Music. Friday also marked the musician’s biggest global streaming day ever.

A Rolling Stone review of the album lauded the musician for processing his “adult reality” in “some of the most creative and wide-ranging music of his life,” wrote Rob Sheffield about the record, which includes collaborations with Gunna, Lil B, Dijon, Cash Cobain, and Sexyy Red.