Beauty and a Beat

The harmony of 'Beauty and a Beat' is characterized by its reliance on a classic EDM/Dance-Pop minor loop. It avoids functional dominant chords (like G7) in favor of the 'step-wise' bVI-bVII-i progression, which is a hallmark of Zedd's production style. This creates a driving, non-resolving energy that suits the 128 BPM dance tempo. The use of the relative major (Eb) within the minor loop provides enough harmonic variety to keep the repetitive structure from sounding static.

The song was originally written by Anton Zaslavski (Zedd) for his own debut album. However, he felt the track did not fit his personal musical style and instead offered it to Justin Bieber. Max Martin and Savan Kotecha were brought in to further develop the track. It remains notable for being the only song on the 'Believe' album that Justin Bieber did not have a writing credit on.

Released as a cornerstone of the 'Believe' era, this track marked Justin Bieber's transition into sophisticated electronic dance music under the guidance of Max Martin and Zedd. It serves as a definitive 2010s party record, characterized by its futuristic lyrics and high-octane synth arrangements.