My Worlds Acoustic
Encyclopedia
My Worlds Acoustic is the first remix album
Remix album
A remix album is an album consisting mostly of remixes or re-recorded versions of a music artists' earlier released material.One of the earliest remix albums was 1971's Aerial Pandemonium Ballet by Harry Nilsson, which was released by Nilsson after the successes of Everybody's Talkin and The Point!...

 by Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager...

. It was released on November 26, 2010 and was initially sold exclusively at Walmart retail stores and Sam's Club
Sam's Club
Sam's Club is a chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. , the Sam's Club chain serves more than 47 million U.S. members...

. The album features nine acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...

 versions of songs from his debut extended play, My World, and first album My World 2.0
My World 2.0
My World 2.0 is the latter of two-part debut studio album from Canadian singer Justin Bieber, and is his first full studio release. The album is the follow-up to the first platinum certified half of the album, which was released on November 17, 2009, via Island Records, and 2.0 was first released...

, as well as a new song "Pray
Pray (Justin Bieber song)
"Pray" is a song performed by Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber. The song was written by Bieber with Omar Martinez and Adam Messinger and Nasri of The Messengers, with the latter duo producing the track. The song is taken as a single in several European countries from his first compilation...

." The new versions of the songs were produced by Bieber's music director, Dan Kanter
Dan Kanter
Daniel Kanter is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and academic. As of 2011, he works for Justin Bieber as co-musical director and guitarist. Dan is a fan of the Ottawa Senators. He is Jewish. Dan Kanter also works as a producer on YTV's The Next Star.- References :...

, his vocal producer Kuk Harrell
Kuk Harrell
Thaddis "Kuk" Harrell is an American songwriter, vocal producer, arranger and engineer. He is managed by RedZone Entertainment, and is a member of a songwriting–production team composed of himself, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The Dream" Nash...

, and also producer Rob Wells
Rob Wells
Rob Wells is a multi-platinum, award-winning producer/songwriter based in Toronto & Los Angeles.Wells has worked with Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Adam Lambert, Nick Lachey, Miranda Cosgrove, Mika, Backstreet Boys, Paloma Faith, Cyndi Lauper, Olivia Newton John, Daisy Dares You, Boyzone, Matt Dusk,...

. Internationally, the set is included as a part of the compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

, My Worlds: The Collection
My Worlds: The Collection
My Worlds: The Collection is the first compilation album released by Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber. As the international alternative to the Walmart and Sam's Club exclusive My Worlds Acoustic , My Worlds: The Collection was released in numerous European countries on November 19, 2010...

, which included songs from the previous two releases. My Worlds Acoustic was released to iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

, on February 8, 2011.

According to Bieber, he wanted to release the album for the naysayers who critiqued his actual singing ability. The singer said that he wanted to have an acoustic album, to reflect the effect of production on his vocals. Although labeled as an acoustic album, the songs still include subtle usages of production and synthesizers. The album received generally favorable reviews from critics, however most critics were not satisfied that the album was not genuinely acoustic. In Canada, the song debuted at number five, and later peaked at number four on the Canadian Albums Chart
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...

 and certified Platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association
Canadian Recording Industry Association
Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada...

. My Worlds Acoustic debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

, selling 115,000 copies in its first week, becoming Bieber's third consecutive top ten album.

Background and marketing

On October 18, 2010, Bieber announced on his Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...

 plans for an acoustic album in time for the holiday season, and that it would feature unplugged versions of his songs, as well as a new song. Days later, on October 24, 2010, he revealed that the album was set for release on November 26, 2010. In an interview with MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...

, Bieber said that the album was for the "haters" who say he cannot sing and saying his voice was auto-tune
Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune is a proprietary audio processor created by Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. It is used to disguise off-key inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed singers to perform apparently perfectly tuned vocal...

d, and that "stripping it down and having it kind of really mellow and being able to hear my voice" was his purpose. The singer said he wanted to do the acoustic set because the production sometimes "drowns out your voice" and "takes away from the singer, over the synths and everything." According to Kyle Anderson of MTV News the album might not have been "just another project", but rather the purpose could be "to prove the he has the skills to sustain a long and fulfilling career." In the same interview he confirmed that "Baby
Baby (Justin Bieber song)
"Baby" is a song by Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber. It was released as the lead single from the latter half of Bieber's debut album, My World 2.0. The track was written by Bieber with Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash, both of whom worked with Bieber on "One Time",...

" and other My World 2.0 songs were re-recorded, as well as a new song.

It was later confirmed that the song was a typical hyper commercialized song entitled, "Pray." According to Bieber, the song is a gift to his fans. The song's arrangement is set to reflect Bieber's music before he was discovered, but also includes instrumentation from a string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...

, congas, and a cajón drum
Cajón
A cajón is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front face with the hands.-Origins and evolution:...

, the latter to represent Bieber's worldy travels, specifically to Africa. While Bieber was being interviewed by Ryan Seacrest
Ryan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...

 on his radio show, Bieber talked about the song's initial writing stating that it was influenced by Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

, and he thought of Jackson's "Man in the Mirror
Man in the Mirror
"Man in the Mirror" is a song recorded by Michael Jackson and written and composed by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett. It peaked at number one in the United States when released as a single in January 1988 off his seventh solo album, Bad. It is one of Jackson's most critically acclaimed songs and...

" when writing the song. Vocally, Bieber's vocals are sung in a lower key compared to previous singles. Bieber plays guitar on the album, along with his guitarist and musical director Dan Kanter. The new versions of the other songs on the album were produced by Kanter, Bieber's vocal producer Kuk Harrell
Kuk Harrell
Thaddis "Kuk" Harrell is an American songwriter, vocal producer, arranger and engineer. He is managed by RedZone Entertainment, and is a member of a songwriting–production team composed of himself, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The Dream" Nash...

, and also producer Rob Wells
Rob Wells
Rob Wells is a multi-platinum, award-winning producer/songwriter based in Toronto & Los Angeles.Wells has worked with Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Adam Lambert, Nick Lachey, Miranda Cosgrove, Mika, Backstreet Boys, Paloma Faith, Cyndi Lauper, Olivia Newton John, Daisy Dares You, Boyzone, Matt Dusk,...

.

To promote the album as well as draw interest for Bieber's then-upcoming 3D film, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never is a 2011 3-D documentary/concert film centering on singer Justin Bieber. It was released in the United States and Canada on February 11, 2011.-Plot:...

, Bieber shot an alternate music video for the acoustic version of the song, "Never Say Never
Never Say Never (Justin Bieber song)
"Never Say Never" is a song by Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber. The song serves as the theme song for The Karate Kid , and features rap interludes from the film's star, Jaden Smith. It was originally a risque demo with sexual lyrics performed by American singer Travis Garland, it was...

." The video premiered during Game 3 of the 2010 World Series
2010 World Series
The 2010 World Series was the 106th occurrence of Major League Baseball's championship series. The best-of-seven playoff, played between the American League champion Texas Rangers and the National League champion San Francisco Giants, began on Wednesday, , and ended on Monday, , with the Giants...

, and in the clip, the singer dons apparel from both teams. Bieber performed the song for the first time at the 2010 American Music Awards
American Music Awards of 2010
The 38th American Music Awards were held November 21, 2010 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The awards recognized the most popular artists and albums from 2010. Nominees were announced on October 12, 2010. Justin Bieber was nominated for, and won, four awards, including Artist of...

. The performance opened with Bieber sitting playing the piano while singing. Midway through the performance Bieber arose from the piano and took center stage; he was accompanied by a choir singing background vocals. The performance was ended with Bieber kneeling singing the song's title, the performance was greeted by standing ovation from the audience. After originally being sold only at Walmart and Sam's Club first, the album was released on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 on February 11, 2011, accompanying the release of Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, and preceding the release of Never Say Never – The Remixes
Never Say Never – The Remixes
Never Say Never: The Remixes is the second remix album by Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber. Released on February 14, 2011, the album accompanies the release of his film, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never...

.

Critical reception

Lucy Jones of The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...

said that "with catchy choruses, soulful key changes and cute hooks laid bare, these are undeniably brilliant pop songs." Jones further commented that "finger clicks, bongos and mellow guitars are a welcome change from the squealing synths and pounding beats favoured by Bieber and his peers," and that the album had the ability to connect with audiences beyond his demographic. Mikael Wood of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...

gave the album a "B-" rating, stating that the album doesn't change Bieber's beloved "kiddie-soul vocals" calling it "perfunctory", but said that acoustic renditions such as "Baby", "One Time" and new song "Pray" deliver their "saccharine payload." Thomas Conneron of Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...

said that "calming down several of the pop tunes with slower tempos and patient singing" was not bad and that slowing everything down made listeners hear how the singer's voice had matured.

Calling it "the sugariest acoustic album in history," Allison Stewart of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...

said "its arrangements and melodies – the best parts of any Bieber record - are stripped down but otherwise little changed, demonstrating just how great most of these songs were to begin with." Stewart also said that urban numbers such as "Baby," "survive their makeovers without a hitch." Andy Kellman of Allmusic gave the album 3 out of 5 stars saying that the album was "an enticement." Dan Savoie of Rockstar Weekly
Rockstar Weekly
Rockstar Weekly is a Canadian music website, operated out of Surrey, British Columbia, that reports on music, film, fashion, and popular culture.-History:...

gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying that it is "the perfect showcase for a talented young artist who's on his way to the Grammy Awards this year." Although she commented that the "acoustic" labeling was a bit misleading, Monica Hererra of Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

said that the album "succeeds", calling songs like the live version of "Favorite Girl" the album's saving grace and "truly acoustic." On the former, Herrera said, "It's the one moment where you can hear all of the young artist's strengths falling in line-raw talent, maturing vocals and, of course, an all-too-valuable connection with his fans."

Chart performance

In Canada, My Worlds Acoustic it debuted at number five on the Canadian Albums Chart
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...

, then rose to number four the following week. The album was subsequently certified Platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association
Canadian Recording Industry Association
Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada...

 the same month it was released, shipping over 80,000 units. The album debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 with 115,000 copies sold in the first week released. My Worlds Acoustic became Bieber's second top ten album in a little over a year, following the extended play My World and debut studio album, My World 2.0
My World 2.0
My World 2.0 is the latter of two-part debut studio album from Canadian singer Justin Bieber, and is his first full studio release. The album is the follow-up to the first platinum certified half of the album, which was released on November 17, 2009, via Island Records, and 2.0 was first released...

. After fluctuating on the chart for weeks, due to the album being available for digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...

 on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

, the album returned to the top ten of the Billboard on the week of February 26, 2011. On the Brazilian Albums Chart
Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos
The Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos is an official representative body of the record labels in the Brazilian phonographic market.- About :...

, My Worlds Acoustic appeared at number ten.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Adapted from My Worlds Acoustic liner notes.

  • Arden Altino – writer
  • Nasri Atweh – writer
  • Carlos Battey
    The Jackie Boyz
    The Jackie Boyz are an American multi-platinum singer/songwriter tandem that consists of two brothers, Carlos Battey and Steven Battey...

     – writer
  • Steven Battey
    The Jackie Boyz
    The Jackie Boyz are an American multi-platinum singer/songwriter tandem that consists of two brothers, Carlos Battey and Steven Battey...

     – writer
  • Justin Bieber
    Justin Bieber
    Justin Drew Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager...

     – vocals, writer
  • Antea Birchett – writer
  • Anesha Birchett – writer
  • Scooter Braun
    Scooter Braun
    Scott Samuel "Scooter" Braun is an American talent manager. His acts appear on two record labels, Raymond-Braun Media Group and Schoolboy Records. The most prominent artist Braun represents is Justin Bieber, who is signed to Raymond-Braun Media Group...

     – executive producer
    Executive producer
    An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...

  • James Bunton – writer
  • Corron Cole – writer
  • Jerry Duplessis
    Jerry Duplessis
    Jerry 'Wonder' Duplessis is a Grammy Award nominated Haitian-born musical composer and record producer. His first major success was as producer for The Fugees' 1996 album The Score. He also played the bass guitar with The Fugees, and band member Wyclef Jean is his cousin.-Early Life:Jerry 'Wonda'...

     – writer
  • Dernst Emile II
    D'Mile
    Dernst "D'Mile" Emile II is an American songwriting music producer from Brooklyn, New York. Sometimes referred to as D. Emile, Dernst Emile II or Dee'Mile is most commonly known and accredited as D'Mile...

     – writer
  • Sean Hamilton – writer
  • Kuk Harrell
    Kuk Harrell
    Thaddis "Kuk" Harrell is an American songwriter, vocal producer, arranger and engineer. He is managed by RedZone Entertainment, and is a member of a songwriting–production team composed of himself, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The Dream" Nash...

     – vocal producer, producer
  • Christopher Hicks
    Chris Hicks (record executive)
    Christopher Hicks is an American record industry executive, artist manager, and publisher. He has worked with a plethora of artists, songwriters and producers including Justin Bieber, Mary J Blige, Letoya Luckett, Aaliyah, Johnta Austin, Bryan-Michael Cox, The-Dream, T.I., Timbaland, Lil Wayne,...

     – producer
  • Dan Kanter – producer
  • Mason Levy – writer
  • Ezekiel Lewis
    Ezekiel Lewis
    Ezekiel "Zeke" Lewis is an award-winning American songwriter, who has written and arranged for many best selling recording artists. He is co-founder of the American songwriting/production company, The Clutch...

     – writer
  • Omar Martinez – writer
  • Adam Messinger
    Adam Messinger
    Adam "Messy" Messinger is a Canadian songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist currently based in Los Angeles, California. Besides his solo work, he is part of the writing and production duo "The Messengers" along with Nasri Atweh.-Career:...

     – writer

  • Christina Milian
    Christina Milian
    Christine Flores , better known by her stage name Christina Milian , is an American singer-songwriter, actress, dancer, and model....

     – writer
  • Balewa Muhammad – writer
  • Terius Nash – writer
  • Thabiso Nkhereanye – writer
  • Waynne Nugent
    Midi Mafia
    Midi Mafia is a hip hop/R&B production duo consisting of American Bruce Waynne from Brooklyn, New York and Canadian Dirty Swift from Ottawa, Ontario...

     – writer
  • Omarr Rambert – writer
  • Usher Raymond IV – executive producer
    Executive producer
    An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...

    , writer
  • Antonio "L.A." Reid – executive producer
    Executive producer
    An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...

  • Jeremy Reeves
    Stereotypes (producers)
    Stereotypes are a R&B/hip hop/dance production team created in 2003, composed of Jonathan Yip, Ray Romulus and Jeremy Reeves. They were listed as Top 10 Songwriters and Producers to Watch in the June 5, 2010 Billboard magazine. The first artists on their production company/label is Far*East...

     – writer
  • Dan August Rigo – writer
  • Kevin Risto
    Midi Mafia
    Midi Mafia is a hip hop/R&B production duo consisting of American Bruce Waynne from Brooklyn, New York and Canadian Dirty Swift from Ottawa, Ontario...

     – writer
  • Ray Romulus
    Stereotypes (producers)
    Stereotypes are a R&B/hip hop/dance production team created in 2003, composed of Jonathan Yip, Ray Romulus and Jeremy Reeves. They were listed as Top 10 Songwriters and Producers to Watch in the June 5, 2010 Billboard magazine. The first artists on their production company/label is Far*East...

     – writer
  • Hyuk Shin – writer
  • Jaden Smith
    Jaden Smith
    Jaden Christopher Syre Smith is an American child actor, rapper, songwriter, dancer, and the son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. He is the elder brother of singer Willow Smith...

     – writer, featured vocals
  • Tricky Stewart – writer
  • Delisha Thomas – writer
  • Rob Wells
    Rob Wells
    Rob Wells is a multi-platinum, award-winning producer/songwriter based in Toronto & Los Angeles.Wells has worked with Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Adam Lambert, Nick Lachey, Miranda Cosgrove, Mika, Backstreet Boys, Paloma Faith, Cyndi Lauper, Olivia Newton John, Daisy Dares You, Boyzone, Matt Dusk,...

     – producer
  • Jonathan Yip
    Stereotypes (producers)
    Stereotypes are a R&B/hip hop/dance production team created in 2003, composed of Jonathan Yip, Ray Romulus and Jeremy Reeves. They were listed as Top 10 Songwriters and Producers to Watch in the June 5, 2010 Billboard magazine. The first artists on their production company/label is Far*East...

     – writer


Charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Brazilian Albums Chart
Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos
The Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos is an official representative body of the record labels in the Brazilian phonographic market.- About :...

10
Canadian Albums Chart
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...

4
U.S. Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

7
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