Hold Tight (Justin Bieber song)

"Hold Tight"
Single by Justin Bieber
from the album Journals
Released October 21, 2013 (2013-10-21)
Format Digital download
Genre R&B
Length 4:14
Label Island
Writer(s)
Producer(s) The Audibles
Justin Bieber singles chronology
"All That Matters"
(2013)		 "Hold Tight"
(2013)		 "Wait for a Minute"
(2013)

"Hold Tight" is a song recorded by Canadian singer Justin Bieber for his second compilation album Journals (2013). It was released on 21 October 2013, as the third single from Bieber's series Music Mondays, following "Heartbreaker" and "All That Matters" (released on October 7 and 14, respectively).

Background and release

On 17 October 2013, Bieber announced the release of "Hold Tight" via his Instagram account. In the posting, he revealed the artwork for the single and announced that it would be released on 21 October.[1] Of the song's concept, Bieber explained: "I am a hopeless romantic so when I love someone, I never want to let them go. This song is about the rush you get when you have that feeling. No matter how hard you try, you can’t let that person go. You just want to hold on as tight as you can. I tried to capture that with this one.”[2] The songwriter of "Hold Tight", Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd, revealed in an interview with Joe Coscarelli of The New York Times, that he had been skeptical about collaborating with Bieber for "Hold Tight".

Justin wanted 'Grip Tight,' a pulsing, dirty club track that I had prepared for my own solo project. I told Mr. Bieber: “You’re 18, and it’s a very sexual song. You can’t go from singing 'Beauty and a Beat’ to ‘Grip Tight’ ", but evidently nobody ever told him no. We just got closer and closer. Then a light bulb switched in my head, and I was like, wait a minute, I’m a songwriter — I can always write more songs.

Jason Boyd changed “Grip Tight” to “Hold Tight”, and the song became their first collaboration.[3]

On 1 January 2014, Justin Bieber released a video for "Hold Tight" via his YouTube channel. The video features concert footage of Bieber performing "One Less Lonely Girl" to the live audience during his Believe Tour in Asia. When Bieber performs the song with the musical background, he invites one or two girls on stage to be the object of his affection or the "lonely girl" during the performance. He holds their hands and hugs them tight while they are both on stage.[4]

Composition

"Hold Tight" is a mid-tempo R&B song.[5] According to Amy Sciarretto of PopCrush, the song is a "slow-burning, repeat beat love jam".[6] Lyrically, Bieber describes the "addictive power" of a woman's lips.[7] Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times noted that "Hold on Tight" could possibly be addressing his on-again/off-again relationship with Selena Gomez.[8] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard wrote that Bieber "sorrowfully delivers each syllable",[9] while Sciarretto compared his vocal range to that of Justin Timberlake.[6]

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
HitFix C[10]

The song was met with generally mixed reviews. On a more unfavorable review Melinda Newman of HitFix criticized the fact that it has "no change in tempo" and opinioned that Bieber’s delivery seems forced. She concluded that "if you’re a Bieber fan who dreams of getting your boy in a lip lock, this song will probably work for you".[10]

Live performances

Bieber performed the song on the acoustic guitar with Dan Kanter at the 2015 Wango Tango and on the French television for Le Grande Journal (Canal+).[11][12]

Charts

Chart (2013) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[13] 48
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[14] 40
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[15] 23
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders Urban)[15] 5
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[16] 29
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[17] 23
Denmark (Tracklisten)[18] 1
France (SNEP)[19] 46
Germany (Official German Charts)[20] 56
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[21] 14
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[22] 19
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 25
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[24] 28
US Billboard Hot 100[25] 29

Release history

Country Date Format Label
United States[26] October 21, 2013 Digital download Island

References

  1. ↑ http://www.contactmusic.com/story/justin-bieber-announces-new-single-hold-tight_3911400
  2. ↑ http://www.rap-up.com/2013/10/20/new-music-justin-bieber-hold-tight
  3. ↑ "Poo Bear, Speaking Softly and Carrying a Bieber Comeback". The New York Times. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  4. ↑ http://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/a28179/justin-bieber-hold-tight-video/
  5. ↑ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1715875/justin-bieber-hold-tight-music-mondays.jhtml
  6. 1 2 http://popcrush.com/justin-bieber-hold-tight
  7. ↑ http://www.complexmag.ca/music/2013/10/justin-bieber-hold-tight
  8. ↑ http://articles.latimes.com/2013/oct/21/entertainment/la-et-ms-listen-to-justin-bieber-new-song-hold-tight-20131021
  9. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/5763139/justin-biebers-stuck-in-love-on-hold-tight-track-listen
  10. 1 2 http://www.hitfix.com/news/justin-biebers-new-sexy-jam-hold-tight-listen
  11. ↑ http://www.inquisitr.com/2078428/justin-bieber-wango-tango-crowd-dont-judge-me/
  12. ↑ http://www.canalplus.fr/c-musique/c-musique/pid5065-live-du-grand-journal.html?vid=1309191
  13. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Justin Bieber – Hold Tight". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  14. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Justin Bieber – Hold Tight" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  15. 1 2 "Ultratop.be – Justin Bieber – Hold Tight" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  16. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Justin Bieber – Hold Tight" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  17. ↑ "Justin Bieber – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Justin Bieber. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  18. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Justin Bieber – Hold Tight". Tracklisten. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  19. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Justin Bieber – Hold Tight" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  20. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Justin Bieber – Hold Tight". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  21. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Justin Bieber – Hold Tight" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  22. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Justin Bieber – Hold Tight" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  23. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Justin Bieber – Hold Tight". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  24. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2013-10-19" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  25. ↑ "Justin Bieber – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Justin Bieber. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  26. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G1XU8TI
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