"Bigger" is a song by Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber, included as a track on his debut release, My World, released on November 17, 2009. It was written by Bieber, Frank Ocean, Dapo Torimiro, Kevin Risto and Waynne Nugent of Midi Mafia, with the latter duo and Dapo producing the song. Musically, the song is a R&B number which infuses elements of teen pop and dance-pop, while including influences of new jack swing. The song's lyrics refer to one maturing in a relationship and working to reach goals. The song received generally positive reception from critics who reviewed the album, with a Billboard reviewer commenting that Bieber had "genuine swagger" on the song. Some reviews however questioned the lyrical content. After the release of My World, due to digital sales, the song charted in the lower regions of charts in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
Background and composition
"Bigger" was co-written by Bieber, Frank Ocean, Dapo Torimiro, Kevin Risto and Waynne Nugent of Midi Mafia. Midi Mafia and Dapo have production credits. It was recorded at Icon Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, and it was mixed at Larrabee Studios in North Hollywood, California. The track was one of three songs on the standard edition of the album that Bieber co-wrote. "Bigger", described as moderately fast, is a R&B song with a length of three minutes and seventeen seconds, with inclinations toward teen pop and dance-pop. According to a review of My World by Jon Caramanica of The New York Times, the song is influenced by new jack swing, as well as the music of Guy. The song is set in common time, and has a tempo of 104 beats per minute. It is written in the key of C minor, and Bieber's vocals do not deviate far, only spanning from the low note of C4 to the high note of E5. It features the chord patterns Cm11 and Fm9. The song's lyrics see the protagonist professing to their love interest how they have matured, in lines such as "I was a player when I was little, but I'm bigger." Lyrically, the song also speaks of rebuffing anyone that comes in between his reaching goals, in lines like "And all the haters I swear they look so small from up here..."
Reception
Critical reception
In calling Bieber's vocals "boyish as they are disarmingly mature", Monica Herrerra of Billboard reviewed the song positively, commenting," that Bieber has "genuine swagger on the nimble R&B track." Jon Caramanica complimented the song as one of the carefree tracks on the album, as he was skeptical of the lyrical content in "First Dance" but on "Bigger", the writer said, "earplugs back in, young ladies." Although Ashante Infantry of Toronto Star said a turn-off of the song was the "Mafia" tag by the production team, Midi Mafia, at the beginning of the song, she called "Bigger" one of the best tracks on the album. In a review of My Worlds Mike Diver of BBC Music Blog said that the phrase "I was a player when I was little," was one of the several "awkward lyrical moments" on the album and said that it left "one to hope he's talking about Little League rather than chasing skirt."
Chart performance
On the week ending December 5, 2009, due to digital sales after the release of My World, "Bigger" debuted on the US BillboardHot 100 and the Canadian Hot 100. The song debuted at number forty-nine on the Hot Digital Songs chart in the US, and therefore consecutively appeared at number ninety-four on the Hot 100. In Canada, it debuted at number seventy-eight. It dropped off both charts the following week. "Bigger" also appeared at number ninety-six on the Japan Hot 100. In both territories it was also the second highest non-previously released song from My World to appear on the charts. In the United Kingdom, after the release of My World, "Bigger" appeared at number 162.
