Between this ballad of distorted computer noise and "What Do You Mean?", Justin Bieber has been posing quite a few existential questions about his love life. His soothing, yet somber voice sets the atmospheric tone of a desperate man yearning for compassion amidst a sea of loneliness. Meanwhile, Skrillex, known for his overpowering production techniques of incorporating the sounds of a Transformer robot fornicating a Shop-Vac, flips the script and fills the negative space with sparse synth and Diplo deploys subtle bass drops to enhance the gravitational pull of the song. This canyon groove is a serpentine trip through the emotions of despair, codependence and anxious-ambivalence, as the Biebs recalls for his long lost love with Selena Gomez. "Where are you now that I need you?" reflects his growing self-awareness of the deconstruction of his moral fiber, as his life and reputation continue to experience a downward spiral in the wake of his relationship with the former Disney actress. Justin boldly proclaims, "Now I'm all alone and my joys turned to moping." Moping is eerily similar to mopping, serving as an alliteration recalling the infamous moment when he was caught on tape urinating into a mop bucket while chanting, "Fuck Bill Clinton!" Perhaps this cathartic reference recalls one of the dozens of low points in his life, spurred by the frustration of his terminated romance with Selena. As the Biebs continues onward with his trainwreck of a social life, he most certainly"needs her the most," but there aren't enough Wizards of Waverly Place that can concoct a remedy that will prevent him from becoming the next Kevin Federline or Riff Raff. As the former mop head struggles to develop the maturity level of an emotionally-stunted 10-year-old, this song serves as a dark portrait of a man struggling to find himself outside of the confines of a woman's love.
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