His longtime vocal producer, Kuk Harrell, spoke to MTV News about the early stages of Bieber's next release.
"The only conversation we've had about Justin's album that we're about to do is it's really important that it's the proper transition because we've seen him [with] 'Baby,' now we're watching him grow up," said Harrell, who has also worked with Rihanna on her Talk That Talk record.
"And we can't just throw him into the adult game right away. It has to be the proper transition. There's a record in between."
"That's why I think this Christmas album was really important because it gave everybody the opportunity to hear him, see him and get used to his voice changing," he said.
"That was a huge thing going into this album. We were able to get a running start on where he's at vocally 'cause it's a natural thing. When his proper album comes out, everybody's going to really be looking at that."
Regardless of what magic does end up making the final cut on this album, which Bieber has said may include work from
Drake and
Kanye West, Harrell notes that the 17-year-old is
"always willing to bring a new fire."
"He's pretty adamant about writing a lot of [the album]," Braun said.
"And he played me some stuff that he's been doing on his own. He wrote this amazing song that sounds like a Jodeci record. I'm really excited for him. This kid can sing his ass off. He's coming into his own."
