Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber – “I Don’t Care”

Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber – “I Don’t Care”

Is a new Justin Bieber album coming soon? The Biebs said as much onstage with Ariana Grande at Coachella, but a subsequent TMZ report indicated he’d jumped the gun and a new LP is still a year away. So “I Don’t Care,” Bieber’s new song with Ed Sheeran, may just be the latest in his long string of one-off singles since Purpose dropped nearly four(!) years ago, a run that includes “Despacito,” “Cold Water,” “Let Me Love You,” “I’m The One,” and “No Brainer.”

So… is a new Ed Sheeran album coming soon? Probably. It’s been more than two years since he completed his global takeover with ÷, so the time seems right for another. And he is credited first on this song, which seems to be about how being loved by someone can help you cope with your problems. “I Don’t Care” features production by Max Martin, Shellback, and FRED, all of whom have cowriting credits alongside Sheeran, Bieber, and Bieber’s frequent collaborator Poo Bear.

Bieber and Sheeran have been very successful together before. Sheeran co-wrote “Love Yourself,” the embittered acoustic ballad Bieber took all the way to #1. “I Don’t Care” also seems like a surefire #1, but then, so did Taylor Swift and Brendon Urie’s “ME!” And we all know how that turned out. I’d like to believe “ME!” flopped because it just wasn’t up to par, but in a year when one of Ariana Grande’s worst songs became her biggest hit ever, let’s not kid ourselves about how much quality factors into chart positioning.

We’ll see whether Sheeran and Bieber have what it takes to knock off “Old Town Road.” But first, if we so choose, we’ll hear “I Don’t Care” below.

“I Don’t Care” is out now on Warner/Def Jam.

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