Justin Bieber Can't Escape This ONE Song | Cash The Record Vol. 9

[00:00:08] [SPEAKER_03] Okay, I need to say something before we start and some of y'all are not gonna like it. I've really been putting this episode off for months. Not because it's hard to pick a Justin Bieber song, because I know the second I say the answer out loud, half of you are gonna act like you've never heard of him.

[00:00:27] [SPEAKER_03] Seven songs today. A YouTube kid in a hoodie, the most hated music video on the planet, a comeback nobody asked for that turned into three straight number ones. A song he's barely on that tied the biggest record in Billboard history, and a grown man who performed at the Grammys in shorts and socks, then got paid a reported $10 million to headline Coachella.

[00:00:55] [SPEAKER_03] Seven songs, one title, and I'm telling you which one actually is him, not which one you're comfortable admitting you like. If you're new here, hit subscribe. Trust me, you're gonna wanna be around for the argument after this one. Welcome to Cash The Record.

[00:01:27] [SPEAKER_03] What's going on everybody? I'm John Cash. Welcome back to Cash The Record, the show where we settle one question and one question only. What's an artist's actual signature song? Not the biggest hit, not your favorite deep cut. The song, the one that pops into your head the second somebody says the name. And today's name has one of the weirdest careers in pop history. The song, the one that pops into your head the second somebody says the name. And today's name has one of the weirdest careers in pop history.

[00:01:53] [SPEAKER_03] Discovered on YouTube at 13, the most famous teenager on earth by 16, most mocked by 16 and a half, then gone. Back, gone again, and back last year at 31 with an album in the year nomination. Everybody's got hits. Everybody's got hits. Legends have signature songs. Let's go find his.

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER_03] So, we're gonna do this. The Cash The Record criteria. The same five questions every episode. No exceptions. Not even for believers. Number one, was it a major hit? Number two, did it define the artist? Number three, did it influence culture? Number four, do casual fans actually know it? And number five, the alien test.

[00:02:43] [SPEAKER_03] If aliens landed tomorrow and I got one Justin Bieber song to play them. One record to explain who this kid was, who he turned into, and why the whole planet couldn't stop talking about him, what am I pressing play on? Keep that one in your back pocket. It matters more than usual today. But first, let's see what y'all said in this week's edition, or this month's edition, of The Aux Speaks.

[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_03] So, before I sit down and record this, right, I always put this one question on threads. Because, you know, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok get all the love from me sometimes, and I'll be like, oh shit, I got threads. Let me ask a question. Apparently a lot of people are on threads nowadays. Yeah, so maybe I'll start putting clips on there too. I've heard it works. What's Justin Bieber's signature song? And I thought this would be easy.

[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_03] I thought I'd get five people typing the same word. Hit. I was wrong. Let's go. So let's go into fan response number one. Das underscore Sanchu underscore 2010 said, Let me love you. Who we kidding?

[00:04:07] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah, I don't know about that one.

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_03] I mean, honestly, I guess they are. Okay. Hey, what you doing? Stop what you doing right now and subscribe to the Jogcast Show podcast. The second fan response. Lonely. Next question. That's this. Yeah.

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_00] These aren't the pics I thought I would be hearing.

[00:04:41] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah. This is not the pics I thought I'd be hearing. Fan response number three. Lex underscore Caravan said, Confident. Yeah. Yeah. So like with those answers, I'm normally used to getting shouted at, you know, songs that's like in the same.

[00:05:10] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah. Yeah. That's like, I can see why you would think that. But it's like, Oh, word. Okay. That song. Okay.

[00:05:15] [SPEAKER_03] Who? Yeah. Right. What? All right. So, yeah. Unfortunately, none of y'all songs like met the last, the final seven. I did include the song that started everything. The song that honestly saved his career. And he's barely the main artist on it. And the song where he finally sounds like a grown man. So let's get into the evidence.

[00:05:45] [SPEAKER_03] Tough crowd this week. Yeah, word. Here's the case file on Justin Bieber. Justin drew Bieber, Stratford, Ontario singer songwriter. And whether he wanted the job or not, the first real superstar YouTube ever made his mom posts videos of him singing at a local talent competition. A guy named Scooter Braun stumbles upon to, uh, onto one of them. And the next thing, you know, a 12,

[00:06:12] [SPEAKER_03] 13 year old kid from a small town in Canada is flying to Atlanta to sing for Urshia. Big man. Oosh. Here's the resume. Eight. Number one albums on the billboard. 200 eight. Number one singles on the hot 100 at 16. He was the youngest solo male to top the billboard. 200 since Stevie wonder in 1963. Stevie wonder. That's crazy.

[00:06:42] [SPEAKER_03] A hundred and 21 songs on the hot 100. As of last year, that's top 10. All time. 27 Grammy nominations, two wins. And this is the part that when I was researching, I love neither of the wins are in pop. What? One's for dance. And the other one is for country.

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_00] You know, is, you know what? I'm not even going to go into it. I could go into the Grammys and how they categorize artists. So the fucking cows come home. Cause if it was, if he was black, he would have got wrapped for everything. It didn't matter what kind of song he was singing. Now the biggest, the biggest,

[00:07:23] [SPEAKER_03] to your credit, the biggest pop star of his generation has zero pop Grammys and a country run country one. Make that make sense. Well, then there's the hard stuff. And you know, I don't skip the hard stuff. Pause. Anyway, the DUI mugshot, the egg thing, the Anne Frank guest book thing, canceling a whole world tour in 2017. And in 2022, Ramsey hunt syndrome,

[00:07:53] [SPEAKER_03] half his face literally paralyzed on camera while he explained it to his fans. And then last summer, out of nowhere, he dropped, drops swag with debuts and number two. And it gets nominated for album of the year, but it goes over four at the Grammys. He performs anyway, he performs anyway, shirtless and shorts and socks, like he's streaming from his couch. And then goes and headlines Coachella for the first time in his life.

[00:08:22] [SPEAKER_03] So let's go into the contenders. Contender number one, one time is his debut single 2009 off my world. The EP it's written and produced by tricky Stewart in the dream. The same guys behind umbrella and single ladies. So the labels not playing around here. They're putting real money behind a 15 year old.

[00:08:46] [SPEAKER_03] Now it peaks at number 17 on the hot 100 top 20 in Canada and ushers in the video playing video games in the house. Like he's the uncle who came over for the weekend. Here's why I brought this one in. Nobody picked it, but this is, but this is the first time the world hears that voice on the radio before the screaming, before the purple, before the haircut became a national emergency.

[00:09:17] [SPEAKER_03] Everybody talks about Justin Bieber. Like he was built in a lab. He wasn't, he was a kid on YouTube with the guitar case open and his mom holding the camera. Every single artist who ever blew up online or something, to that song. Let's go into the criteria check. Was it a hit? A modest one. Number 17 real, but not massive. Did it define the artist? It introduced him. That's different.

[00:09:47] [SPEAKER_03] Did it influence culture? Honestly, it's more about how he got here in the song itself. The song is fine. The YouTube story is the revolution. Do casual fans know it. If you play it, yeah, they'll remember. If you ask them to name it, nah.

[00:10:05] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah, probably not.

[00:10:06] [SPEAKER_03] Nah, cuh. The alien test. No, cuh. I'm not playing the aliens, the trailer. I'm playing them the movie. So my verdict, eliminate it.

[00:10:21] [SPEAKER_00] I think a lot of the stuff from his younger years might be low-key, like, a reach for his signature stuff.

[00:10:27] [SPEAKER_03] But let's see where it goes. It opened the door. It didn't walk through it. Contender number two. Baby.

[00:10:38] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah, this one's classic.

[00:10:41] [SPEAKER_03] It debuted in 2010. It peaked at number five on the Hot 100. It was top ten in the UK. Canada, Australia, basically everywhere with electricity. It was certified 12 times platinum, diamond. And when it hit that, it became the largest digital single of all time. Now here's where it gets strange. The video becomes the most watched video on YouTube in July 2010.

[00:11:11] [SPEAKER_03] And it stays number one for over two years until Gangnam Style takes it out in November 2012. At the same time, though, it becomes the most disliked video on YouTube. The Guinness World Records literally put it in the book for that. Most viewed and most hated. Same video, same year. Also, Drake's in that video, by the way. Pre-Take Care Drake. Just standing behind a counter at a bowling alley.

[00:11:39] [SPEAKER_03] That's how big this song was. Drake was an extra. Hey, don't just watch. Join the movement. Subscribe to the John Cass show right now. Moving on. Baby was the most watched video on YouTube and the most hated video on YouTube at the same time. You don't get that unless everybody's watching. The haters were streaming it too. They just weren't telling anybody. Go to any wedding, any bar,

[00:12:08] [SPEAKER_03] any karaoke night. Play the first two seconds of Baby. And I promise you, the people who say they hate Justin Bieber are the loudest ones in the room by the time that chorus hits. So, let's do the criteria check. Was it a hit? Top five here. Top ten. Almost everywhere else. Diamond, yes. Did it define the artist completely? For a long time, it was him. For better and for worse. Did it influence culture?

[00:12:36] [SPEAKER_03] Most viewed video in the world for over two years. It basically proved YouTube could make you a pop star. Everything since the TikTok pipeline, all of it goes back through this. Thank you, Justin Bieber. Do casual fans know it? Yes. Your grandma even knows it. She doesn't even need to know another Bieber song.

[00:12:58] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah.

[00:13:00] [SPEAKER_03] The alien test. Here's my problem. It's the most famous. Is it the most him? Nah.

[00:13:07] [SPEAKER_00] Definitely not.

[00:13:08] [SPEAKER_03] He was 15. Is that fair?

[00:13:11] [SPEAKER_00] Nah.

[00:13:11] [SPEAKER_03] My verdict is, advances. Ooh. I'm not ready to rule on that one just yet. Okay. Contender number three. Where are you now with Skrillex and Diplo? Justin Bieber is at this point a punchline. Mugshot. Egging a neighbor's house. Getting booed at award shows. He sits down for a Comedy Central roast. And people are lined up to take shots at him. And then this drops.

[00:13:42] [SPEAKER_03] Skrillex and Diplo. Jack U. Justin's the voice. And it's their record though. It peaks at number eight on the Hot 100, Justin. Not Bieber, but Justin here. Me, Justin. Yes. And wins him his first ever Grammy. Best dance recording. And here's the detail most people don't know. That high-pitched dolphin sounding melody in the drop.

[00:14:10] [SPEAKER_03] The one everybody thought was a flute or a synth. That's his voice. Skrillex took Justin's vocal. Not yours. Pitched it up and turned it into the hook.

[00:14:21] [SPEAKER_00] That's pretty crazy.

[00:14:23] [SPEAKER_03] Talent. Nobody wanted to admit they liked the Justin Bieber song in 2015. So he stood behind Skrillex and Diplo. Let them take the credit. And snuck back into your playlist. That's not a song. That's a heist. Criteria check. Was it a hit, top 10, and a Grammy? So yes. Did it define the artist? It defined the turning point. Not the artist. Did it influence culture? Big time. It dragged EDM and popped into the same room and made the vocal chop of a whole thing for

[00:14:53] [SPEAKER_03] the next five years. Do casual fans know it? They know the drop. A lot of them don't know it's him. The alien test? No. If I play this for the aliens, they're going to ask me which one's Justin. And I'm going to have to explain that it's the dolphin. My verdict? Eliminate it.

[00:15:14] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah.

[00:15:15] [SPEAKER_03] This is the key that unlocked the door, but it's not his house. Now, let's go to contender number four. Sorry.

[00:15:22] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah, this is the big one that I immediately thought of, but I don't think it's the hard

[00:15:26] one.

[00:15:27] [SPEAKER_03] Remember I said the word.

[00:15:29] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah.

[00:15:30] [SPEAKER_03] Back at the top of the show. October 2015. Second single off purpose. The first single. What do you mean? Had already given him his first ever hot 100 number one. It took him six years. Sorry goes number one to three weeks at the top is certified diamond. And in January 2016 over in the UK, he holds the number one, number two and number three spots at the same damn time. Love yourself. Sorry. What do you mean?

[00:15:59] [SPEAKER_03] The first artist in history to ever do that. Now think about the title. The guy, the whole world spent three years making fun of puts out a song called Sorry and it goes number one. That's either a brilliant marketing move or the most honest thing he's ever done. I think it's both.

[00:16:18] [SPEAKER_00] Probably both.

[00:16:20] [SPEAKER_03] And here's the wildest part. He's not even in the video. He's just a group of dancers from New Zealand choreographed by Paris Goble, who also choreographed the iconic Rihanna halftime Super Bowl show.

[00:16:34] [SPEAKER_00] Oh, shit. Word. Oh, okay. Yes. I could have sworn he was in that video. Damn.

[00:16:38] [SPEAKER_03] Yep. It was in neon on a white background. Billions of views. The most famous Justin Bieber video of that whole era doesn't have Justin Bieber in it. The whole world spent three years clowning Justin Bieber, so he came back with a song called Sorry and made every single one of us sing it. Right? Number one for three weeks. That's not the apology. That's Revenge with a Tropical House beat.

[00:17:08] [SPEAKER_03] The biggest Justin Bieber video of the Purpose era doesn't even have Justin Bieber in it. That's how you knew the song was bigger than the headlines. Now let's go into the criteria check. Was it a hit? Number one. Three weeks. Diamond. Easily. Did it define the artist? It defined the comeback. This is the moment people went from laughing at him to dancing to him. Did it influence culture? The dance? The video? The whole 2016 Tropical House wave five? On pop radio?

[00:17:38] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah.

[00:17:40] Whew.

[00:17:41] [SPEAKER_03] Do casual fans know it? Absolutely. The alien test? Strong. Really strong. If I want to show them the Justin that won everybody back, this is it. So my verdict is? Advances. Yeah. Real quick. If you had no idea that dolphin sound was his voice, hit like right now. I found that out and I had to lay down for a second. Contender number five. Love yourself.

[00:18:11] [SPEAKER_03] I love this song.

[00:18:13] [SPEAKER_00] I do like that song a lot.

[00:18:19] [SPEAKER_02] Justin's over there like, yeah, I love this song. I love this song.

[00:18:22] [SPEAKER_00] I'm surprised it was mentioned.

[00:18:25] [SPEAKER_02] Justin's over there like, yeah, I love this song.

[00:18:28] [SPEAKER_00] It should go crazy.

[00:18:29] Yeah.

[00:18:30] [SPEAKER_03] It's the third single off purpose. November 2015. It's co-written with Ed Sheeran and Benny Blanco. Just a guitar, a little trumpet, and a whole lot of attitude. Goes number one on the Hot 100. And when it gets there, it knocks Sari out of the top spot. He replaced himself at number one.

[00:18:50] [SPEAKER_00] Pretty sick.

[00:18:51] [SPEAKER_03] Then it finishes as the number one song of the entire year on Billboard's 2016 year-end Hot 100. Say that five times fast. It was nominated for song of the year and for best pop solo performance at the Grammys. Love Yourself is the only breakup song that sounds like it's being sung at a campfire and a funeral at the same time. It's gentle. It's soft. And it's absolutely telling you to get out of his house.

[00:19:23] [SPEAKER_03] Wouldn't be my diss track, but.

[00:19:25] [SPEAKER_00] It's like a polite way that they would say go fuck yourself. Yeah.

[00:19:28] [SPEAKER_03] So let's go to the criteria check. Was it a hit? Number one song of 2016. You don't get more hit than that. Did it define the artist? It showed a new size, stripped down, grown up, but it's got Ed Sheeran's fingerprints all over it. You can hear him. Did it influence culture? It made the acoustic pop breakup record cool again for a minute. Do casual fans know it? Yes. The alien test. It's fighting Sari for the same exact lane.

[00:19:57] [SPEAKER_03] Same album, same era, same comeback. And Sari got there first and made you dance. Love Yourself wins on numbers. Sari wins on meaning. So my verdict? Eliminate it.

[00:20:11] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah. Fair. Once you said Ed Sheeran wrote some of it, I was like, god damn it.

[00:20:16] [SPEAKER_03] Biggest song of the year. Just not the biggest song of his story. Yeah. Hey, what you doing? Stop what you're doing right now and subscribe to the Jogcast Show podcast. Don't kill me for that. Real quick. If you made it this far, you're either a believer or you're a hate watching. Either way, subscribe. I don't discriminate if you count the same. Unless you're Terry.

[00:20:46] [SPEAKER_03] Two left before the final three. And one of them is going to start a fight. Let's go. Contender number six. Despacito. Oh my god.

[00:21:01] [SPEAKER_00] I forgot this guy made Despacito. Jesus Christ.

[00:21:04] [SPEAKER_03] Now, the original Despacito came out in January 2017. It's already massive all over the world. Justin hears it in a club in Colombia. He loves it and asks to jump on a remix. Then the remix drops in April of 2017. And it spends 16 weeks at number one on the Hot 100.

[00:21:28] [SPEAKER_00] 16. Bro, there were kids asking, can you play Despacito? Bro, everybody love that song, bro.

[00:21:35] [SPEAKER_03] That tied Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's One Sweet Day for the longest run at number one in Billboard history at the time. A song that is mostly in Spanish. That's not supposed to happen on American radio. And it happened. It was nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammys. Diamond. He walks away with a Latin Grammy out of it.

[00:22:06] [SPEAKER_03] But here's the problem. It's not his song. It's Daddy Yankee's song. Luis Fonsi's song. Justin's a featured artist. And the most famous thing Justin ever did with this song live was... Forget the fucking words.

[00:22:22] [SPEAKER_00] Oh, yeah.

[00:22:24] [SPEAKER_03] So, for the people who don't know, back in 2017, Justin's at a club in New York. Somebody throws on Despacito. He gets handed the mic. And he doesn't know the Spanish. So, he just starts filling in the blanks with blah, blah, blah and Dorito. On a song he was number one on for four months. Justin is looking like, what the hell?

[00:22:48] [SPEAKER_00] That's mad. That's low-key funny, though. I'm not going to lie. I can't even be mad at that. It's like, wait, he didn't memorize. He don't speak Spanish. He didn't memorize that shit.

[00:22:54] [SPEAKER_03] He better... He better... Did Duolingo shit. Despacito tied the biggest record in Billboard history. 16 weeks at number one. And Justin Bieber's most famous live moment with it was singing Dorito. Because he didn't know the words. Only him. Genuinely, only him. You can't pick a song where the man is a guest as his signature song. That's like saying your signature diss is the one you brought a bag of ice to. Criteria check. What... Was it a hit?

[00:23:25] [SPEAKER_03] One of the biggest songs in the history of the Hot 100. No debate. Did it define the artist? No. It defined Daddy Yankee and Luis Fonsi. Justin was the passport stamp that got it into every American car, though. Did it influence culture? Massively. It kicked the door open for Spanish language music on U.S. pop radio. Bad Bunnies Run, the whole thing.

[00:23:53] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah.

[00:23:54] [SPEAKER_03] This is part of that road. For sure. Do casual fans know it? Everybody knows it. Not everybody knows he's on it. The alien test. If I play this, the aliens think Justin Bieber's Puerto Rican. And he doesn't even know Spanish.

[00:24:13] [SPEAKER_00] That's part of being Puerto Rican.

[00:24:19] [SPEAKER_03] Justine.

[00:24:21] [SPEAKER_00] I know barely any Spanish. Straight from the island.

[00:24:25] [SPEAKER_03] See, I was going to rely on you to do some translation.

[00:24:28] [SPEAKER_00] Oh, no, no, no, no, no.

[00:24:29] [SPEAKER_03] When we start going into Gloria Estefan and Bad Bunny.

[00:24:33] [SPEAKER_00] No, Justin Bieber is just as Puerto Rican as me. Oh, okay. Can't take you to the heights.

[00:24:41] [SPEAKER_03] And that's a lot to explain. So my verdict is eliminated. It's the biggest room he ever walked into, but it wasn't his party. And contender number seven, Peaches.

[00:24:59] [SPEAKER_00] Oh, my God. I forgot about fucking Peaches. Nah, that's not. Get the fuck out of here, Peaches.

[00:25:04] [SPEAKER_03] I love that song.

[00:25:05] [SPEAKER_00] It's a good song, but it's not his signature song. I think, let me. You think there's a good chance? No, let's see. Let's see what happens. I almost slipped up and said. Yeah, nah, it's cool.

[00:25:16] [SPEAKER_03] I'm just, because I almost slipped up and said.

[00:25:20] [SPEAKER_00] Isn't Peaches about fucking or eating pussy or something like that? It's something like that.

[00:25:26] [SPEAKER_03] It's a great pastime, whatever it is.

[00:25:29] [SPEAKER_00] Whatever he's talking about.

[00:25:30] [SPEAKER_03] Hey, this is a PG show.

[00:25:32] [SPEAKER_00] Is it?

[00:25:35] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah, because you're allowed to say two fucks. On a PG show. I thought it was one. Two.

[00:25:42] [SPEAKER_00] Oh.

[00:25:43] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah.

[00:25:44] [SPEAKER_00] Okay.

[00:25:44] [SPEAKER_03] You know, I studied that.

[00:25:46] [SPEAKER_00] Still in the quota. Still under the quota. Yeah.

[00:25:51] Yeah.

[00:25:52] [SPEAKER_03] Last one, I turned into rated R.

[00:25:55] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah, last one. The last one needed R. Yeah, last one.

[00:25:57] [SPEAKER_03] That was therapy. That wasn't an episode.

[00:26:01] [SPEAKER_00] Get some things off your chest.

[00:26:02] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah. Check terms and conditions every second of Wednesday of the month. That's a cheap plug. Yeah, cheap plug.

[00:26:11] Okay. Cheap plug.

[00:26:12] [SPEAKER_03] March 2021. Off Justice. It features Daniel Caesar and Gibbon, two of the best R&B voices of this generation. And Justin doesn't get swallowed by either one of them. I really wasn't thinking when I wrote that.

[00:26:28] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah, that was crazy. I was.

[00:26:32] [SPEAKER_03] Whoa. Yeah, that one. Yeah. That's what happens when you're writing outlines at four o'clock in the morning. That's the... That's the... Yeah, that's the... Mm-hmm. Peaches debuts at number one on Hot 100. The same week, Justice debuts at number one on the Billboard 200. That made him the first solo male artist ever to debut at the top of the charts at the same time.

[00:27:02] [SPEAKER_03] Grammy nominated for Best R&B Performance. Which, if you're keeping score, the baby kid is now getting R&B nominations, standing next to Daniel Caesar and holding his own. And this is the version of him that sticks. Married. Chilled out. Laid back. No choreography. Just vibing on an R&B record like he finally doesn't have to prove anything. Then a year later, Ramsey Hunt hits. Half his face stops moving. The tour gets canceled.

[00:27:29] [SPEAKER_03] And when he finally comes back with swag in 2025, it sounds like a continuation of this guy. Not the baby guy. Not even the sorry guy. This guy. So, Justin Bieber went from bowling alley baby to trading versus with Daniel Caesar and Gibbon on an R&B record. And debuting number one on both charts in the same week. That's not a glow up. That's a second career.

[00:27:55] [SPEAKER_03] If you still think Justin Bieber is the kid with the swoop, you haven't pressed played since 2012. That's a you problem. Not a criteria check. Was it a hit? Debuted at number one. Historic double debut. Yes. Did it define the artist? It defined the grown-up version of him. The one he's still being today. Did it influence culture? Less than the others, honestly. It was huge, but it wasn't a moment the way baby or sorry or despacito were.

[00:28:26] [SPEAKER_03] Do casual fans know it? Yes. But mostly people who were paying attention in 2021. The alien test. If I want to show them who he is right now, this might be it. So, my verdict is advances. So, the final three. Baby. The phenomenon. Sorry. The comeback. Peaches. The grown man.

[00:28:57] [SPEAKER_03] Three left.

[00:29:00] [SPEAKER_00] This is a hard one.

[00:29:02] [SPEAKER_03] Before I give my rule, I'm going to give each one its best shot.

[00:29:07] [SPEAKER_00] Three different eras, too. Which is really interesting.

[00:29:11] [SPEAKER_03] Baby. The song that made him. Most watched video in the world for over two years. Diamond. The song your grandma knows. Your mechanic knows. The guy who swears he's never listened to Justin Bieber in his life knows. But he was 15. He didn't write the beat. He didn't pick the video. He barely picked the haircut. Is it him or is it what the machine built around him? Sorry.

[00:29:41] [SPEAKER_03] The song that saved him. Number one. Diamond. And the comeback everybody said wasn't coming. It turned the whole world from laughing at him to dancing with him. But he's not even in the video. And the sound of it is as much Skrillex and blood pop as it is Justin. Peaches. The song that shows who he became. Historic double debut. R&B credibility. The blueprint for everything he's doing right now with swag.

[00:30:12] [SPEAKER_03] But it's the least moment of the three. It was a big song. It wasn't a cultural event. Which leads me to this. Here's the problem with Justin Bieber. Every era of his career feels like a different person. And every single one of those people had a number one. Before I say it. Comment your guess. Right now. Don't skip ahead. Trust me. I'll know. Baby. Sorry. Or peaches. Type it in.

[00:30:41] [SPEAKER_03] I want receipts on who called it and who's about to be in my replies mad. All right. Here we go. Justin. What say you? I think. Just the one word. Baby. Peaches. Or sorry.

[00:31:00] [SPEAKER_00] I'm going to say sorry.

[00:31:04] [SPEAKER_03] We'll see. Now let me run it back with the Cassius verdict. I'm going to run the five questions one more time. Was it a major hit? Baby. Top five here. Top ten around the world. Diamond. And at one point the highest certified digital single ever. Did it define the artist for a decade? It didn't just define him. It followed him.

[00:31:34] [SPEAKER_03] Every headline. Every roast. Every I can't stand Justin Bieber. Conversation started with this song. Did it influence culture? Most watched video on the planet for two years. It proved the internet could make a superstar with no radio. No TV. No permission. Every artist who ever blew up online is walking through a door. This song kicked open. Do casual fans know it? It's the most known song he'll ever have. And I think he knows that. The alien test.

[00:32:03] [SPEAKER_03] If I've got one song to explain Justin Bieber to somebody who's never heard of him. I'm not playing the comeback. I'm not playing the remix he's a guest on. I'm not playing the grown up R&B record. Even though I think that's his best one. I'm playing the song that made the whole world pay attention. Including the people who hated it. I'm playing Baby.

[00:32:33] [SPEAKER_00] Oh shit. Okay. Didn't expect that one.

[00:32:38] [SPEAKER_03] Sorry is his best comeback. Peaches is who he is now. But the signature song. The one that comes to your head before you can even stop it. The one that made him the most famous and the most hated teenager on earth at the same time. Is Baby. Now I know what some of y'all are thinking. Back in volume 7 I told you the signature song isn't always the biggest song. And I meant it. Dear Mama beat California Love. But sometimes the obvious answer is obvious for a reason.

[00:33:06] [SPEAKER_03] Tupac spent his whole life becoming Tupac. Justin Bieber spent his whole life trying to get out from under Baby. And he never fully did. That's what a signature song is. It's the one you can't outrun. And at Coachella this year. The biggest stage of his whole comeback. He brings out Billie Eilish. Who grew up a Belieber. To sing One Less Lonely Girl. A My World Era song. At 32. On purpose. The kid never left.

[00:33:35] [SPEAKER_03] He just stopped fighting him. A signature song isn't the one an artist is proudest of. It's the one they can't escape. Justin Bieber has been running from Baby for 15 years. And is still right behind him. Everybody who clowned Baby in 2010 knows every word in 2026. It's... That's not a hit, unfortunately. That's an hostage situation.

[00:34:04] [SPEAKER_03] Sorry made him respected. Baby made him famous. And you can't have the first one without the second. Justin Bieber has better songs. He does not have a bigger shadow. Now in this episode, change my track. I made my call. Now it's your turn. Change my track. Put your pick in the comments with one stat to back it up. No stat. No argument. Because it's a bop. It's not a stat. I get that a lot. I don't care how many fire emojis you put next to it.

[00:34:33] [SPEAKER_03] If you're on TikTok or reels, stitch this with your pick. Face on camera. Stat ready. Tag the John Cash Show podcast. The best stitch gets pulled into next month's episode. On threads and IG, there's a poll up. Baby, sorry, or peaches. Vote before you scroll. And if you want to come back and defend Despacito, I'm giving you the floor. Just learn the words first. Subscribe, like it, and send this to the person in your life who had a Bieber poster in 2010

[00:35:03] [SPEAKER_03] and now acts like they only listen to vinyl. You know exactly who that is? Tag them. Let them come fight me. That's the whole point of this show. I'm John Cash. Everybody's got hits. Legends have signature songs. This has been Cash the Record. Next time on Cash the Record, I'm taking on the self-proclaimed queen of rap.

[00:35:31] [SPEAKER_03] And her fan base is the only one on the internet scarier than the Beliebers. Nicki Minaj. Oh. Super Bass. Starships. Anaconda. And a monster verse that isn't even her own song. Subscribe now. I think I'm going to need witness protection for this one. It's coming.

[00:35:51] It's coming. It's coming. Thank you.