“Swag,” his seventh studio album, doesn’t sound like the singer’s usual swing-for-the-fences pop production. Instead, Bieber embraces reverent R&B and tranquil soft rock, an unexpected turn that has drawn applause around the music industry.

Justin Bieber has released “Swag," his long-awaited seventh studio album. The 21-track release arrived Friday, hours after Bieber teased it was coming through a series of billboards and social media posts.

Justin Bieber surprise-released his seventh album, “Swag,” and it is his most idiosyncratic and musically adventurous release to date. Early in his career, he was a superstar by force, and later by will,