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in: Songs, Electropop songs, Tropical house songs,
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This article is part of the Purpose era
What Do You Mean? is certified platinum 8x in the US
What Do You Mean? is certified platinum 4x in the UK
What Do You Mean? is a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100
English

What Do You Mean?

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“What Do You Mean?” is a single by Justin Bieber. It was released on August 28, 2015. The song was announced on On Air With Ryan Seacrest. The song debuted a top the Billboard Hot 100 with 337,000 downloads sold in its first week, becoming Bieber's first number one hit in the U.S. and the 23rd song in the chart's history to open at number one. He also became the youngest male artist to debut at the top of the Billboard Hot 100.

Background[]

Poo Bear had already written 110 songs for the Purpose project. Justin wanted him to write another song and Poo Bear was frustrated by that. Bieber booked him a session at Record Plant where he went through music.

"What Do You Mean" happened while Josh Gudwin was in the process of mixing the album. Justin and Josh were in the studio, and the album was almost done. As Gudwin was mixing the album and Justin was listening back to the mixes, Bieber told him to hit up Mason Levy. So, he hit up Mason and got a bunch of tracks. Josh Gudwin listened to them, picked his favorite ones, then played them for Poo Bear.[1] About 30 musical ideas in, Poo Bear heard flute music. It was an EDM tropical sound and it rememberd him of OMI's “Cheerleader”. He wrote it from a frustrated place in 30 minutes.[2]

On June 22, 2015 at 1:31 AM, Poo Bear wrote a couple of lines: “When you nod your head yes, do you really mean no? When you say don’t move, do you really mean go?”[3] He made the full song in 35-40 minutes. Poo didn't believe in the record and sent it over to Justin who was in Australia, he said it was a smash.[4] He also sent it over to Scooter who said “that’s the single” that same night. After Scooter said that, Justin went in and recorded it.[5] The song came out around 40 days later. It was Poo Bear's 103rd song that he and Justin had worked on.[6]

Trivia[]

  • In 23 hours the lyric video reached 7,566,078 views which is the most viewed lyric video in 24 hours.
  • The single was the fastest number one on iTunes.
  • Justin broke Official Charts record with his first UK Number 1.
  • What Do You Mean holds the record for the biggest first week ever at Spotify, breaking a record set just a few weeks before by One Direction with Drag Me Down.
  • This song was his first Number 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

Track listing[]

  • Digital download
  1. "What Do You Mean?" – 3:27
  • CD single
  1. "What Do You Mean?"
  2. "What Do You Mean?" (Instrumental)

Music video[]

A lyric video for “What Do You Mean?”, directed by Laban and featuring skateboarders Ryan Sheckler and Chelsea Castro, was released on August 28, 2015.

The official music video, directed by Brad Furman and starring John Leguizamo and Xenia Deli, premiered on August 30, 2015 following the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.

The video took two days to shoot.[7]

Performances[]

Lyrics[]

Justin DM'ed 49 people on twitter with time on the clocks and with one lyric that we had to solve in order.

[Chorus]
What do you mean? Oh, oh
When you nod your head yes, but you wanna say no
What do you mean? Hey, yeah
When you don’t want me to move, but you tell me to go
What do you mean? Oh, what do you mean?
Said you’re runnin’ outta time, what do you mean?
Oh, oh, oh, what do you mean?
Better make up your mind, what do you mean?

[Verse 1]
You’re so indecisive of what I’m sayin’
Tryna catch the beat, make up your heart
Don’t know if you’re happy or complainin’
Don’t want for us to end, where do I start?

[Pre-Chorus]
First you wanna go to the left, then you wanna turn right (Oh oh)
Wanna argue all day, makin’ love all night (Oh oh)
First you’re up, then you’re down, and then between (Ooh ah)
Oh, I really wanna know

[Chorus]
What do you mean? Oh, oh
When you nod your head yes, but you wanna say no
What do you mean? Hey, yeah
When you don’t want me to move, but you tell me to go
What do you mean? Oh, what do you mean?
Said you’re runnin’ outta time, what do you mean?
Oh, oh, oh, what do you mean? Better make up your mind
What do you mean?

[Verse 2]
You’re overprotective when I’m leavin’
Tryna compromise, but I can’t win
You wanna make a point, but you keep preachin’
You had me from the start, won’t let this end

[Pre-Chorus]
First you wanna go to the left, then you wanna turn right (Oh ah)
Wanna argue all day, makin’ love all night (Oh ah)
First you’re up, then you’re down, and then between (Ooh ah)
Oh, I really wanna know

[Chorus]
What do you mean? Oh, oh (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
When you nod your head yes, but you wanna say no
What do you mean? (Oh, what do you mean?) Hey, yeah
When you don’t want me to move, but you tell me to go
What do you mean? (I wanna know)
Oh, what do you mean? (Ooh)
Said you’re runnin’ outta time, what do you mean? (Oh, baby)
Oh, oh, oh, what do you mean? Better make up your mind
What do you mean? (Don’t be so selfish, baby, yeah) Oh, oh
When you nod your head yes, but you wanna say no
What do you mean? (You’re so confusin’, baby) Hey, yeah
When you don’t want me to move (Hey), but you tell me to go
What do you mean? (Be more straightforward)
Oh, what do you mean? (Hey, wah, pa, pa)
Said you’re runnin’ outta time, what do you mean? (Hey, wah, pa, pa)
Oh, oh, oh, what do you mean? Better make up your mind
What do you mean?

[Chorus: Justin Bieber]
What do you mean? Oh, oh
When you nod your head yes, but you wanna say no
What do you mean? Hey, yeah
When you don’t want me to move, but you tell me to go
What do you mean? Oh, what do you mean?
Said you’re runnin’ outta time, what do you mean?
Oh, oh, oh, what do you mean?
Better make up your mind, what do you mean?

[Verse 1: Justin Bieber]
You’re so indecisive of what I’m sayin’
Tryna catch the beat, make up your heart
Don’t know if you’re happy or complainin’
Don’t want for us to end, where do I start?

[Pre-Chorus: Justin Bieber]
First you wanna go to the left, then you wanna turn right
Wanna argue all day, makin’ love all night (Oh oh)
First you’re up, then you’re down, and then between (Ooh ah)
Oh, I really wanna know

[Chorus: Justin Bieber]
What do you mean? Oh, oh
When you nod your head yes, but you wanna say no
What do you mean? (Oh what do you mean, yeah)
When you don’t want me to move (Hey yeah), but you tell me to go
What do you mean? Oh, what do you mean?
Said you’re runnin’ outta time, what do you mean?
Oh, oh, oh, what do you mean? Better make up your mind
What do you mean?

[Verse 2: Justin Bieber]
You’re overprotective when I’m leavin’
Tryna compromise, but I can’t win
You wanna make a point, but you keep preachin’
You had me from the start, won’t let this end

[Pre-Chorus: Justin Bieber]
First you wanna go to the left, then you wanna turn right
Wanna argue all day, makin’ love all night (Oh ah)
First you’re up, then you’re down, and then between (Ooh ah)
Oh, I really wanna know

[Chorus: Justin Bieber]
What do you mean? Oh, oh
When you nod your head yes, but you wanna say no
What do you mean? (Oh, what do you mean?) Hey, yeah
When you don’t want me to move, but you tell me to go
What do you mean?

[Verse 3: Black Thought]
You keep playing games, really that's not kosher
Instead of blessing me now like you're supposed to
You take me your boy love roller coaster
Tryna get off when you're on like Oprah girl
That's a negative, like a pessimist
You say it ain't love, I say yes it is
What I'm guessing is, the big question is
Why you sending me all these mixed messages?

[Chorus: Justin Bieber & Black Thought]
What do you mean? (Yeah) (Don’t be so selfish, baby, yeah) Oh, oh
When you nod your head yes (Yeah), but you wanna say no
What do you mean? (Girl what you mean?) (Oh what do you mean, yeah) Hey, yeah
When you don’t want me to move (Hey), but you tell me to go (Oh no no)
What do you mean?
Oh, what do you mean? Yeah (Huh)
(Said) Said you’re runnin’ outta time, what do you mean? (Oh what do you mean?)
Oh, oh, oh, what do you mean? Better make up your mind
What do you mean?

Charts[]

Billboard Hot 100[]

"What Do You Mean?" debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and spent 31 weeks on chart. 

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Awards and nominations[]

YEAR AWARD NOMINATION RESULT
2015 Capricho Awards International Clip Won
GAFFA Awards International Hit of the Year Nominated
Telehit Awards Video Mas Popular del Año Nominated
vevo Cerfitied Awards Certified
2016 Billboard Music Awards Top Streaming Song (Audio) Nominated
Danish Music Awards Arets Internationale Hit Nominated
Guinnes Records Most streaming track on Spotify in one week Won
Juno Awards Single of the Year Nominated
MTV Video Music Awards Japan Best Pop Video Nominated
MuchMusic Video Awards Must Buzzworthy Canadian Nominated
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Song of the Year Nominated
People Choice Awards Favorite Song Won
Radio Disney Music Awards Best Song to LipSync to Won
TRL MTV Awards (Italy) Air Vigorsol Best Fresh Video Won

References[]

  1. ↑ Kawashima, Dale (September 29, 2015). "Interview with Mason “MdL” Levy, Co-Writer & Producer of Justin Bieber’s #1 Hit, “What Do You Mean?”". Songwriter Universe. 
  2. ↑ Platon, Adelle (April 30, 2018). "Poo Bear on ‘Bearthday Music,’ His Bag Boy Past And G4 Goals". Tidal. 
  3. ↑ Coscarelli, Joe (October 15, 2015). "Poo Bear, Speaking Softly and Carrying a Bieber Comeback". The New York Times. 
  4. ↑ "Poo Bear Reveals Process Behind Bieber's What Do You Mean!". YouTube. January 5, 2023. 
  5. ↑ Mitchell, Julian (December 29, 2015). "Meet Josh Gudwin: The Multitalented Producer Behind Justin Bieber's No. 1 'Purpose' Album". Forbes. 
  6. ↑ "Poo Bear: Afraid of Forever". YouTube. May 23, 2017. 
  7. ↑ "Meet Xenia Deli, the Model Who Licked Justin Bieber's Chest in "What Do You Mean?"". Elle. August 31, 2015. 
v - e
1 Mark My Words

2 I'll Show You
3 What Do You Mean?
4 Sorry
5 Love Yourself
6 Company
7 No Pressure (featuring Big Sean)
8 No Sense (featuring Travis Scott)
9 The Feeling (featuring Halsey)
10 Life Is Worth Living
11 Where Are Ü Now (with Jack Ü)
12 Children
13 Purpose
14 Been You
15 Get Used To It
16 We Are (featuring Nas)
17 Trust
18 All In It
19 Hit The Ground
20 The Most
21 Home To Mama (with Cody Simpson)
22 What Do You Mean? (Remix) (featuring Ariana Grande)

Discography
Albums Purpose Singles
EPs Where Are Ü Now (Remixes) • Cold Water (Remixes) • Friends (Remixes)
Singles Where Are Ü Now • What Do You Mean? • Sorry • Love Yourself • Company • Cold Water • Let Me Love You • Deja Vu (with Post Malone) • Despacito (Remix) • Friends • I'm the One (with DJ Khaled, Quavo, Chance the Rapper and Lil Wayne) • 2U (with David Guetta)
Features Maria I'm Drunk (with Travis Scott and Young Thug) • Juke Jam (with Chance the Rapper and Towkio)
Remixes Sorry (Latino Remix) • Sorry (Renzel Remix) • Where Are Ü Now LIVE • Let Me Love You (Tiësto's AFTR:HRS Mix) • Cold Water (Don Omar Remix) • Let Me Love You (Marshmello Remix) • Let Me Love You (Zedd Remix) • Let Me Love You (Don Diablo Remix) • Let Me Love You (With You. Remix) • Let Me Love You (Tropkillaz & Mc Livinho Remix) • Let Me Love You (Andrew Watt Acoustic Remix) • Let Me Love You (Sean Paul Remix) • Let Me Love You (R3HAB Remix) • 2U (GLOWINTHEDARK Remix) • 2U (Robin Schulz Remix) • 2U (MORTEN Remix) • 2U (Afrojack Remix) • 2U (R3HAB Remix) • 2U (FRNDS Remix) • 2U (Tom Martin Remix) • 2U (DJ Sub Zero Remix) • 2U (Tujamo Remix) • 2U (Seeb Remix) • 2U (Symphonic) • Friends (Remix)
Freebies Bankroll (with Rich The Kid, Young Thug and Diplo) • Future (with Khalil and Kehlani) • Hotline Bling (Remix) • One Dance (Remix)
Unreleased songs Ain't Afraid • Blowin In The Wind • Break From Love • Break It Down • Can't Change (featuring Selena Gomez) • Dark Side • Don't Act Like You Care (with Kanye West and Post Malone) • Feel Sumptn (featuring J Balvin) • Going Down • Got Me One • Hallelujah (with A$AP Mob) • Heroine • Humble (Remix) • Idea 2 • If I Would Have Met You In 5 Years • Ketchup Relish (featuring 2 Chainz) • Look Up At The Stars • Naked • No Reason (with Kanye West and Post Malone) • Picture This (featuring Young Thug) • Right Where You Are • Start Again • Supermodel (with Tyga) • Trust In Me • Try • Ultralight Beam (with Kanye West) • Wanna Be • Wash Away • What Did I Do To Deserve Your Love • Why You Mad (Infinity Remix) (featuring Mariah Carey, French Montana and T.I.) • You To Go
Events
Tours The Honeymoon Tour • Purpose World Tour
Broadcasted Think It Up
Filmography
Movies/series Zoolander 2 • Bodyguards: Secret Lives from the Watchtower
Shows The Doctors • Comedy Central Roast • Lip Sync Battle • The Late Late Show with James Corden • Knock Knock Live • The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon • Le Grand Journal • El Hormiguero
Talk shows Ellen • Alan Carr: Chatty Man • Jono and Ben • Senkveld med Thomas og Harald • The Graham Norton Show
Competition shows The X Factor • The Voice
Music shows The Today Show
Collectibles
Collaborations 1-800-Flowers
Entertainment
Games Purpose Pro • Dab Like Diplo • Just Dance • Just Skate: Justin Bieber
Magazines 20 Minuten Friday • Billboard • Blue Jean • Clash • Complex • Cosmopolitan • GQ • Hero • HITS • i-D • IN New York • INROCK • Interview • L'Uomo Vogue • Men's Health • Movement • NME • Teenage • Telegraph magazine • Tiger Beat • TPi • TPMEA • VANITYMIX
Awards
2015
2016
2017
Certifications
Español
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