Justin Bieber continues his reign on the pop charts. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, "Believe Acoustic" will take the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 200 next week. That makes five chart-toppers for the 18-year-old singer.
The actual figures will be out Wednesday, but Billboard expects the album to move 100,000 units.
"Believe Acoustic" is a follow-up to 2012's "Believe," which saw Bieber transition from a purely teen sensibility to a more adult songwriter and performer (signaled in part by the album's guest features: Drake, Big Sean, Ludacris and Nicki Minaj).
The acoustic album doesn't feature any other vocalists.
A newfound confidence has come with Bieber's new maturity. The singer recently expressed his disappointment at not receiving any Grammy nominations for "Believe." In 2011, he was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album (for "My World 2.0"). From our earlier reporting on the matter:
Justin Bieber wants everyone to remember, "I wasn't made -- I was found."
Almost two months after his rejection, Bieber sat down with Billboard magazine and opened up about being snubbed by the 2013 Grammys.
"I felt the same way that Scooter [Braun] felt, I just can't really... it's good that he can put it out there and say that," Bieber told Billboard's Bill Werde about failing to earn a Grammy nod. Braun, Bieber's manager, unleashed a Twitter rant after the nominations were announced, writing, "The kid deserved it. Grammy board u blew it on this one."
"He had my back just like any manager would," the singer continued during his Billboard Q&A. "My whole life I've dreamed of winning a Grammy. At this point, the excitement of that has gone down. I'm more excited to just make great music for my fans. That's just something that if it happens, it happens."
(It's worth noting that the "Grammy board" doesn't pick nominees. Grammy members -- including recording artists and other industry folks -- vote on submitted music. For more on that process, read our coverage of the Al Walser story, in which a curious, unknown musician scored a Best Dance Recording album.)
There's certainly a case for Bieber's Grammy pitch. Consider this: Not only is Bieber a credited writer on every track on "Believe" (and, thus, "Believe Acoustic"), he's also credited as a producer. As a multi-instrumentalist, Bieber's known for bringing quite a bit to the studio process. Which is to say, he's bringing quite a bit more than Rihanna, who neither plays any instruments nor contributes any meaningful writing to her albums. Rihanna has won six Grammys. Britney Spears has won one Grammy and been nominated eight times.
So, what say you, dear reader? Should Bieber's hard work and commercial success translate to Grammy gold?
