Bieber goes to church, takes Chance the Rapper along for wifey devotion.

I remember the first time I heard Canadian singer Justin Bieber…or, at least, the first time I took notice. It was 2010 and I was djing regularly at a small (but popular!) local club and Bieber’s “Somebody to Love” arrived in my new stack of promo singles. As a dance music fan with a soft spot for more Euro vibes, I immediately took to it. I knew who Bieber was (my girlfriend’s teen daughter was smitten), but his handful of previous singles didn’t catch my ear.

Fast-forward one decade (and many singles) later. Bieber has re-teamed with frequent collaborator Chance the Rapper for “Holy,” released in September 2020 as the first single from Bieber’s sixth studio album. As a guy whose first disc jockey job was for a Contemporary Christian Radio station, I couldn’t help but feel like I was in a time warp, thinking I inadvertently flipped on the gospel station.

Set to a steady tambourine backbeat, the Biebs knocks out a decent, laid-back R&B performance on “Holy,” singing about how excited he is about marrying his woman (is he still with one of the Baldwin girls?). “The way you hold me / Feels so holy,” followed by “On God / Runnin’ to the altar like a track star / Can’t wait another second.” It’s silly stuff in some respects, with the sometimes controversial Bieber turning face (to use pro wrestling parlance). But hey, the dude’s smitten. He can’t help it. And check him out in his workin’ man duds in the music video – Bieber doing manual labor (hehe).

Meanwhile, Chance the Rapper (real name Chancelor Bennett) comes in an does his thing: “Let’s take a trip and get the Vespas or rent a jet-ski / I know the spots that got the best weed, we goin’ next week / I wanna honor, wanna honor you.” Now that’s more like it! At least Chance is doing the Rich Kids of London thing…and rapping lyrics to make sure it never gets played on Christian radio.

Written by committee (there are eight credited writers, including Bieber and Chance), “Holy” is a little silly and cheesy (“The pimps and the players say, ‘Don’t go crushin” / Wise men say, ‘Fools rush in’,” but yeah…some bride is gonna want this played at her wedding.