Every half-decade or so, Justin Bieber sloughs off the callused skin of the pop superstar he became at age 15 to reveal the tender and quirky R&B singer he’s always been at heart. He did it in 2013 with his album “Journals,” then in 2020 with “Changes.”

A source tells Rolling Stone that "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. [It’s] something he’s been wanting to do for a long time."

"This is the most pure version of Justin we've ever seen musically," says the source, adding that Bieber wanted to split from Braun "for a long time"