Honest (Justin Bieber song)

"Honest"
Single by Justin Bieber featuring Don Toliver
ReleasedApril 29, 2022
Genre
Length3:13
LabelDef Jam
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Justin Bieber singles chronology
"Up at Night"
(2022) 		"Honest"
(2022) 		"Private Landing"
(2023)
Don Toliver singles chronology
"Don't Go"
(2021) 		"Honest"
(2022) 		"Scrape It Off"
(2022)
Music video
"Honest" on YouTube

"Honest" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber featuring American rapper and singer Don Toliver. It was released as a single through Def Jam Recordings on April 29, 2022. The song was written alongside Donny Flores, Simon Plummer, Alecia Gibson, and producers Beam, Sonni, and Azul Wynter. It marks the second collaboration between the two artists, following their 2021 joint collaborative single with American record producer Skrillex titled "Don't Go".

Background

"Honest" serves as Bieber's first official single since "Ghost" from his sixth studio album, Justice (2021), although he had released a few collaborations with other artists that were all singles after that.[1] In an interview with SiriusXM, Bieber said that he was trying to make something more lighter and upbeat as "Ghost" sees him singing about the death of a loved one and other sensitive topics, adding that he could connect with the drum patterns of the song as he plays the drums.[2] On May 3, 2022, Bieber was interviewed by Ebro Darden from Apple Music. Bieber discussed Jamaican-American rapper and singer Beam's involvement in the production and songwriting of "Honest", in which he said that Beam "helped write this song and yeah, once again, his little pockets are crazy and I love experimenting with new pockets, new rhythms", specifically because "I'm a drummer, so for me being able to experiment with those little pockets is it's fun". About Toliver, Bieber admitted that "I just love his melodies these are honestly insane. He has a really amazing cadence to his songs and his music. And I'm just a genuine fan. He's very unique."[3]

Music video

The official music video for "Honest", directed by Cole Bennett of Lyrical Lemonade, premiered on Lyrical Lemonade's YouTube channel alongside the song on April 29, 2022.[4] It has a winter vibe to it and sees Bieber and Toliver riding on jet skis.[5]

Plot

As the video for "Honest" begins, Bieber sports an orange ski mask, which only shows his eyes and mouth uncovered. He then appears in a ski lodge, now dressed up in all-white winter clothing, watching the snow fall out through the window. Toliver later joins Bieber and the two artists ride through the woods in snowmobiles.[6] Bieber and Toliver sit around a fireplace with loved ones, but as enemies show up, the duo grab guns and start shooting at them.[7]

"I Feel Funny" music video

Bieber and Bennett shot the music video for the former's single, "I Feel Funny", which was released two days before the song and video for "Honest". They worked on the visuals for "I Feel Funny" when Bieber was goofing off in between different sets while shooting the visuals for "Honest", with the intention to make a silly comedy song and video to promote "Honest".[8] Bennett added that "Justin randomly texted me this song one day and said 'should we do a visual to this? song straight to number 1.' We joked around about doing a video for it but never did. A few weeks later we were doing a pick up day for a video we had recently shot, but never finished (Honest). We had a bit of time switching over from scene to scene. So, I went into his trailer and said 'Remember that song you sent me? Let's shoot a video for it on my phone in between takes of the actual video.'"[9]

Charts

Chart performance for "Honest"
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[10] 28
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[11] 21
Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[12] 25
Canada Hot AC (Billboard)[13] 44
France (SNEP)[14] 183
Germany (GfK)[15] 98
Global 200 (Billboard)[16] 24
Greece International (IFPI)[17] 42
Ireland (IRMA)[18] 36
Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard)[19] 19
Lithuania (AGATA)[20] 58
Netherlands (Single Tip)[21] 2
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[22] 4
Portugal (AFP)[23] 78
South Africa (TOSAC)[24] 84
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[25] 15
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 54
UK Singles (OCC)[27] 54
US Billboard Hot 100[28] 44
US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[29] 31
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[30] 6
Vietnam (Vietnam Hot 100)[31] 44

Certifications

Certifications for "Honest"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[32] Platinum 40,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history for "Honest"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Various April 29, 2022
Def Jam [1]
Italy Radio airplay UMG [33]
United States May 17, 2022 Urban radio
  • Def Jam
  • UMG
 [34]

References

  1. ^ a b Aubrey, Elizabeth (April 29, 2022). "Listen to Justin Bieber's new Don Toliver-featuring single 'Honest'". NME. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  2. ^ Bowenbank, Starr (April 29, 2022). "Justin Bieber Says His Music Is 'Inspired by My Relationship' With Wife Hailey Bieber". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  3. ^ Brandle, Lars (April 29, 2022). "Justin Bieber and Don Toliver Get Their James Bond On In Action-Packed 'Honest' Video". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  4. ^ Renshaw, David (April 29, 2022). "Justin Bieber connects with Don Toliver on "Honest"". The Fader. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  5. ^ Blanchet, Brandon (April 29, 2022). "Justin Bieber Shares Don Toliver Collab "Honest" With Cole Bennett-Directed Video". Complex. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  6. ^ Schonfield, Alexandra (April 29, 2022). "Justin Bieber Releases New Song 'Honest' Featuring Rapper Don Toliver". People. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  7. ^ Legaspi, Althea (April 29, 2022). "Justin Bieber, Don Toliver Take to the Slopes for a Snowy Adventure in 'Honest'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  8. ^ Jones, Damian (April 27, 2022). "Justin Bieber confirms Don Toliver collaboration 'Honest' is set to drop later this week". NME. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  9. ^ Zemler, Emily (April 27, 2022). "'I Feel Funny': Justin Bieber Offers Silly Behind-the-Scenes Look at 'Honest' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  10. ^ "Justin Bieber feat. Don Toliver – Honest". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  11. ^ "Justin Bieber Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  12. ^ "Justin Bieber Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  13. ^ "Justin Bieber Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  14. ^ "Justin Bieber feat. Don Toliver – Honest" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  15. ^ "Justin Bieber feat. Don Toliver – Honest" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  16. ^ "Justin Bieber Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  17. ^ "Official IFPI Charts – Digital Singles Chart (International) – Week: 18/2022". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  18. ^ "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  19. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Overseas [ 2022/05/11 公開]". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  20. ^ "2022 18-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. May 6, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  21. ^ "Dutch Single Tip 07/05/2022". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  22. ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. May 9, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  23. ^ "Justin Bieber feat. Don Toliver – Honest". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  24. ^ "Local & International Streaming Chart Top 100 Week 18-2022". The Official South African Charts. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  25. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 18". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  26. ^ "Justin Bieber feat. Don Toliver – Honest". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  27. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  28. ^ "Justin Bieber Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  29. ^ "Justin Bieber Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  30. ^ "Justin Bieber Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  31. ^ "Justin Bieber Chart History (Billboard Vietnam Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  32. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Justin Bieber – Honest" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  33. ^ Corradini, Paola. "Justin Bieber 'Honest' | (Radio Date: 29/04/2022)" (in Italian). Universal Music Group. Retrieved June 1, 2022 – via Radio Airplay SRL.
  34. ^ "Future Releases: Urban/R&B". All Access. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.