Those estimates would yield a respectable debut, particularly given that Swag’s week one numbers likely won’t include any physical sales. Justice, Bieber’s next-most-recent album, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart back in 2021 with 154,000 equivalent units, including 30,000 physical sales.

Every half-decade or so, Justin Bieber sloughs off the callused skin of the pop superstar he became at age 15 to reveal the tender and quirky R&B singer he’s always been at heart. He did it in 2013 with his album “Journals,” then in 2020 with “Changes.”

NEW YORK (AP) — Never say never! Justin Bieber surprised fans Friday by releasing Swag, his seventh studio album, hours after he teased it on billboards and social media posts. It is his first album since 2021’s Justice and his first since becoming a father last year.