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Justin Bieber is generally regarded as a pop artist. He began as a teen pop singer whereas his more recent songs feature elements from other genres like trap, dancehall music, and acoustic rock. However, his music has always been deeply influenced by R&B.

Because of the R&B influence on his music, it’s no wonder Bieber songs would land on Billboard’s R&B Songwriters chart. Bieber and his frequent collaborator, Poo Bear, have officially become the most successful R&B songwriters in the United States. Here’s how that happened – and what Poo Bear thinks of Bieber.

Justin Bieber at a benefit gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art | Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

How the album ‘Changes’ broke the mold

Bieber’s Changes is a major step forward for him as an artist. According to many fans, this is his most mature album yet. It’s his first to reflect on his relationship with his wife, Hailey Bieber. In addition, Changes is a lot less reliant on typical pop music formulas than previous Bieber albums, showing the singer has an experimental side. It’s also a step forward for him in a commercial way.

Bieber hasn’t always gotten respect as a songwriter. His reputation might change thanks to the latest edition of the Billboard R&B Songwriters chart. According to the chart, Bieber and Poo Bear are currently the most successful R&B songwriters in the United States. This is because 11 of the songs from Changes which they co-wrote are on the Hot R&B Songs chart for the week of Feb. 29, 2020.

“Yummy” is one of the Justin Bieber songs currently on the R&B charts.

The songs on the chart are “Intentions,” “Yummy,” “Forever,” “Come Around Me,” “Habitual,” “All Around Me,” “Get Me,” “Running Over,” “Second Emotion,” “Available,” “Changes.” This is the first time Bieber has topped the Billboard R&B Songwriters chart and the first time Poo Bear has done so. According to AllMusic, Poo Bear also co-wrote Bieber hits like “I Don’t Care,” “Where Are U Now,” and “What Do You Mean?”

What Poo Bear has to say about Justin Bieber

At this point, the Bieber-Poo Bear partnership could go down in history as one of the great artistic collaborations. Poo Bear told Billboard in 2017 he’s thankful for Bieber’s loyalty. He said “his loyalty – I’ve never had an artist that I’ve worked with say my name in a radio interview or any type of magazine or anything…He’s just so loyal, man, and I’m here for him forever.” Poo Bear added he’s happy Bieber doesn’t take all the credit for the songs they craft together.

Poo Bear performing | Lester Cohen/Getty Images for ASCAP

Poo Bear also finds working with Bieber to be fulfilling on an artistic level. “He’s so inspired, he really gets into the music deeply. And it inspires me – when my energy is running low, he sends me some new music that inspires me and gets me going.”

Bieber and Poo Bear have made some great hits together. Now, they’ve established themselves as major R&B songwriters. It’ll be great to see where their careers go from here.

Also see: Justin Bieber Broke a Record Elvis Held for Nearly 60 Years

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