"Where Are Ü Now" is a song produced and performed by American music producers Skrillex and Diplo under their collaborative effort Jack Ü. The song features vocals from Canadian singer Justin Bieber and is the second single from the duo's debut studio album, Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack Ü, on their respective labels OWSLA and Mad Decent and will be included on Bieber's fourth album Purpose. It was released simultaneously with the album on February 27, 2015, later impacting mainstream radio on April 21, 2015.
As of July 9, 2015, the track has peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, giving both Skrillex and Diplo their first top 10 hit on the chart, also giving Bieber his seventh. Moreover, on July 14, 2015, the song was certified platinum in the U.S.[2] Internationally, the song has peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Sweden, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, as well as the top twenty of the charts in the Czech Republic, Norway, the Netherlands, Slovakia.
Justin Bieber recorded the track as a piano ballad produced by Karl Rubin and Jordan Ware, but later decided to send it to Skrillex and Diplo, also known as Jack Ü, to rework it into the track which was later added to their album, titled Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack U.[3]The New York Times released a video showing how the song was assembled. Diplo and Skrillex decided to collaborate with Bieber as it would be unexpected. The "dolphin" sound that resembles a flute is Bieber's pitched voice.[4]
Billboard 's Jason Lipshutz included "Where Are U Now" in its "Top 10 Songs of 2015 (So Far)" list in June 2015, stating "This is the Justin Bieber we've been waiting for: emotive, vulnerable and smart enough to join forces with two of electronic music's most reliable maestros. The combination of Bieber's moving falsetto and Skrillex and Diplo's tangled knot of beats makes "Where Are U Now" a deserved (and much-needed) triumph."[5] Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork wrote: "The track is unexpected in all the best ways. It tones down everything you know about Skrillex while retaining his knack for dynamics. Diplo puts his own 10-ton-glowstick tendencies aside as the song combines sharp dancehall stabs and a gloriously sad Eastern melody in a way that recalls golden-age Timbaland. And Justin Bieber sings with something akin to actual human emotion."[6]
The song peaked within the top-ten of twenty international charts, being certified platinum in Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. Moreover, the track reached platinum status in countries such as the USA, Italy, Denmark and in Bieber's native Canada. It is also noteworthy that the song is Bieber's highest charting single in the UK since 2012's "Boyfriend". Additionally, as the song reached number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100, it became Bieber's first top 10 since 2013's "Beauty and a Beat", of which peaked at number five.
From May 29–31, 2015, there was an event held at the Jack Ü headquarters for fans to customize the photo-shoots for the "Where Are Ü Now" music video with crayons and colored pastels. Two teasers for the video were released on June 26, a week before the full release on June 29, 2015.
The video begins with a white Jack Ü logo on a black background and then it shows the pictures of the music video while it also zooms into a blank black pad. The video then shows Bieber singing while leaning against a wall with a spotlight shining on him. Then, a brush is shown painting one of the pictures of the video and paint strokes are climbing up to Bieber's neck and his face is covered with paint splatters. The video then switches to Bieber standing and swaying in front of a white background and it rapidly shows random art while Bieber is doing this. It then switches to scenes of people customizing the music video snapshots. Bieber then dances with the rapid and random art being shown throughout the process. The scene switches back to Bieber leaning against a wall while singing the verse. Paint later climbs him again and covers his whole face. The video then switches to Bieber putting his arms out while standing in front of a dark background while smoke is building up behind him, rapid art continuously displayed. Bieber dances again while art is being shown. The video ends with Bieber fully covered in red, purple and blue.
Bieber performed the song with Skrillex and Diplo for the first time at the 2015 Ultra Music Festival.[7][8] Bieber performed the song again during one of Ariana Grande's shows on The Honeymoon Tour.[9][10] He then performed the song once again at the 2015 Wango Tango.[11] On June 11, he performed the song on stage at the Calvin Klein music event in Hong Kong.[12] On August 2, Bieber performed the song at Hard Fest 2015. On August 30, he performed the song before leading into his latest single "What Do You Mean?" at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards. His emotional performance drew significant media attention.
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone sales/streaming figures based on certification alone
