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Justin Bieber‘s former manager, Scooter Braun, has reacted to the singer’s new surprise album ‘SWAG’.
Bieber’s seventh album dropped on Friday (July 11), and, per a press release, it sees the singer reckon with a more introspective sound as he charts his devotion to his wife and son, resulting in some of his most personal material yet.
With a run time of just under an hour, the Canadian pop singer collaborates with a host of artists across the album, including Dijon, Lil B, Sexyy Red, Gunna, Cash Cobain, 2 Chainz and more, with production coming from the likes of Dijon, Mk.gee, Knox Fortune and Daniel Caesar.
Now, Braun has reacted to the LP, which is Bieber’s first to be released not under his management.
“Been having a beautiful start to the weekend and been getting a lot of texts about how I feel about Justin’s new album,” Braun wrote in an Instagram Story yesterday (July 12). “So I will just leave this here.. This is without a doubt, the most authentically Justin Bieber album to date. It’s beautiful, raw, and truly him. And that matters.”
Braun continued: “I’ve had the privilege of witnessing his growth for almost two decades. Along every journey, there comes a time when an artist fully steps into their own — and that’s what he’s done here. He’s poured his soul into this project, and you can feel it in every single run.
“The way he chose to release it is just as intentional as the music itself — and I’m happy to see him do it this way. I have played no roll in this one, but as someone who’s always believed in him, I’m incredibly proud and impressed and genuinely enjoying the music,” he said.
Braun went on to say ‘Daisies’ is his favourite song on ‘Swag’, adding: “Stream Swag and support an authentic voice.”
Scooter Braun shares his thoughts on Justin Bieber’s new album:
“This is, without a doubt, the most authentically Justin Bieber album to date. It’s beautiful, raw, and truly him. And that matters. […] Along every journey, there comes a time when an artist fully steps into their… pic.twitter.com/wSZlupEM0l
— Pop Base (@PopBase) July 12, 2025
Braun’s words come after multiple reports in recent days that he and Bieber came to a multimillion-dollar settlement following a financial dispute.
The Hollywood Reporter (THR) claimed earlier this year that Bieber was allegedly “more than $20million” in debt due to his failure to fulfil his contractual obligation to tour promoter AEG, after he cancelled his ‘Justice’ world tour in 2023. The publication alleged that Braun (who was Bieber’s manager at the time) covered what was owed in the form of a loan and that Bieber had only returned a portion of what he borrowed.
At the time, representatives for Bieber have responded, saying: “This is just clickbait stupidity based on unnamed — and clearly ill-informed — “sources,” disappointed that they no longer work with Justin,” in a statement to US Weekly.
The American businessman was once the manager of artists including Ariana Grande, Kanye West, Demi Lovato and J Balvin, before officially retiring from management in June last year.
Bieber also publicly unfollowed Braun on social media in January after reports in recent years that tensions had grown in their relationship. Prior to Braun’s retirement last year, Grande, Lovato, David Guetta, Black Eyed Peas and Carly Rae Jepsen had all also parted ways with him.
Braun recently said that he feels “a lot of guilt” over the young artists he managed.
As for Bieber, reports that he was back in the studio emerged in January, with fans convinced a major comeback was on the way. Speculation heightened when Mk.gee revealed that he had been working with the singer on new material.
The 21-track record – his first release since 2021’s ‘Justice’ – is comprised of songs like ‘Dadz Love’, ‘Devotion’ and ‘Therapy Session’, and arrives following a period of intense scrutiny for the singer over mounting concern for his mental health.
One incident in particular, where he confronted a photographer and said: “I’m a dad. I’m a husband. You’re not getting it. It’s not clocking to you. I’m standing on business,” went viral online recently, sparking fresh concern.
Now, the moment has not only been used as part of the album’s promotion on social media, but is sampled on ‘Butterflies’.
It echoed a similar message shared previously, where he addressed his struggles with feeling like a “fraud” on social media. “People told me my whole life ‘wow Justin u deserve that’ and I personally have always felt unworthy. Like I was a fraud.”
“Like when people told me I deserve something,” he continued. “It made me feel sneaky like ‘Damn if they only knew my thoughts, how judgemental I am, how selfish I really am, they wouldn’t be saying this’. I say all this to say: If you feel sneaky, welcome to the club. I definitely feel unequipped and unqualified most days.”
Earlier in the year, the Canadian singer was seen rapping about being high, sparking concern from the public for his health and well-being. The clip came just days after a representative for the ‘Stay’ singer shut down online rumours of drug use, branding the comments as “false” and “harmful”.
Elsewhere, Bieber addressed rumours that he was an alleged victim of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs via a rep back in May: “Although Justin is not among Sean Combs’ victims, there are individuals who were genuinely harmed by him. Shifting focus away from this reality detracts from the justice these victims rightfully deserve.”
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