Father Figure (stylized in all caps) is the third studio album by Jon Bellion, released on June 4, 2025, through Beautiful Mind Records. It was preceded by the five singles: "Kid Again," "Wash," "Wash2," "Horoscope," and "Why". The album features guest appearances from Pharrell Williams, Luke Combs, and Jon Batiste.
Description
After 2018's Glory Sound Prep, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Jon Bellion stepped back from releasing music of his own. He still wrote and produced for other artists like Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, and Jonas Brothers, and headed up his label Beautiful Mind Records, which has released albums by the likes of Tori Kelly. He also became a dad—an experience, he tells Apple Music's Zane Lowe, that sparked a realization. "You start to realize, 'The father is wildly important in the home,'" he says. "You hear that, you believe that—and then you have children, and you're like, 'Oh, my God.'"
Across FATHER FIGURE—Bellion's first full-length in seven years—the Long Island-born pop alchemist comes to grips with fatherhood's enormity while also appreciating the way that living life apart from the day-to-day artist grind has opened up his creativity. Now fully independent (FATHER FIGURE is his first album on his own label), Bellion is striking out in directions that, he feels, he wouldn't have even found if he hadn't gone on hiatus from performing. "My music has grown and matured in a way that would have never happened if I didn't walk away from the artistry for a little bit," he says.
The massive task of nurturing young humans in a chaotic world hangs over the album, giving urgency to Bellion's innovatively constructed, genre-fluid compositions. On the jittery "MODERN TIMES," a reggae-tinged collaboration with jazz savant Jon Batiste, Bellion laments those who "got some money and lost [their] sense of mind." The stripped-down "WHY," a collaboration with Luke Combs, questions love's existential purpose—"If the higher I fly is the further I fall/Then why love anything at all?" they wail on the chorus. The sinewy "RICH AND BROKE" brings the listener inside Bellion's mind during an earthquake's immediate aftermath. It combines breakbeats, sirens, and fractured choirs, creating a maelstrom that underscores what feels like the album's statement of purpose: "Had a big chain 'round my neck/That I worked for my whole life/But the first thought was my kids."
While most of the album operates with what Bellion calls a "very gorilla energy of the masculine," its last track, the luminous lullaby "MY BOY," punctures that concept. "Fit inside these arms forever, 'cause the world's not all it's cracked up to be," he croons to the child he's holding, and the racing thoughts he confesses to God expand on that: "I hate the weakness of showin' my son what makes me sad," he raps. But with that vulnerability, he notes, a stronger bond is formed: "He said a present father is worth way more than a perfect dad." FATHER FIGURE wrestles with masculinity, fatherhood, and culture bravely and with gusto, with Bellion's ever-evolving artistry and hunger for the truth fueling his desire to get even more real. – Apple Music
Background
In May 2024, Bellion appeared on The George Janko Show, where he recalled his exploitive deal with Live Nation Entertainment that sent him into "panic attacks." He was advanced a million, but found out the company profited more than what they loaned the artist. Based on "hard ticket sales," he would need to sell out every show in order to not fall behind and to generate profit, as well as face the possibility of Live Nation putting tickets to his shows on sale, as his contract permitted. He had to pay himself out of the deal, and "pay 25 percent extra on what they advanced me." The moment made him want to quit music, telling his wife he was going to work at McDonald's and that it was all over.[1][a]
On September 25, 2024, Bellion announced on Instagram that he was freed from his recording contract. He finalized owning his masters, and was looking towards a fairer model through his record label, Beautiful Mind. He reported to Grammy.com of his return, "Nobody walks away for six years and then comes back and says, 'This is what I've learned in six years of being away from the machine.' To walk away for six years, develop myself as a person, and then come back? People don't get that opportunity. Ever! It almost provides this cheat code perspective because I've seen the tops of the mountaintops. I've seen the worried king on the throne. I've seen his anxiety, and I dodged that bullet."[2]
On April 14, 2025, Bellion announced the new album via social media. It marked his first album in six years, since Glory Sound Prep (2018). He self-funded the project, and wanted the co-writers to receive a percentage of master royalties from the album, understanding how songwriters were paid very little. He admitted that he held newfound appreciation for what labels orchestrated, but believed more money could go towards the creative collaborators rather than promotion. He figured he might lose money on the album, but saw it as a starting point where he "at least tried."[3]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Horoscope" (featuring Pharrell Williams) |
|
| 3:58 |
| 2. | "Father Figure" |
|
| 3:51 |
| 3. | "Oblivious" |
|
| 4:47 |
| 4. | "Why" (featuring Luke Combs) |
|
| 2:58 |
| 5. | "Wash" |
|
| 3:37 |
| 6. | "Vinny's Artichokes" | Bellion | Bellion | 0:32 |
| 7. | "Italia Breeze" |
|
| 3:20 |
| 8. | "Get It Right" |
|
| 4:14 |
| 9. | "Kid Again" |
|
| 3:20 |
| 10. | "Modern Times" (featuring Jon Batiste) |
|
| 3:06 |
| 11. | "Wash2" |
|
| 3:41 |
| 12. | "Rich and Broke" |
|
| 4:02 |
| 13. | "Don't Shoot" |
|
| 4:17 |
| 14. | "My Boy" |
|
| 3:23 |
| Total length: | 49:10 | |||
Notes
- All songs are stylized in uppercase.
Notes
- ^[a] On May 23, 2024, it was reported that the U.S. Justice Department was suing Live Nation for its "monopolistic control" over the live event music industry, and asked for the company to break up.[4]
References
- ↑ Martinez, Jose (May 27, 2024). "Singer Jon Bellion Reveals Alleged Pitfalls of His Former Deal with Live Nation". Complex.
- ↑ Armstrong, Megan (June 4, 2025). "Inside Jon Bellion's New Album 'Father Figure': How Reclaiming His Artistry & Becoming a Dad Inspired His Most Honest Songs". Grammy.com.
- ↑ Lipshutz, Jason (June 6, 2025). "Jon Bellion Was Tired of Songwriters Getting 'Paid Fucking Dirt' — So He Flipped the Script with 'Father Figure'". Billboard.
- ↑ McCabe, David and Sisario, Ben (May 23, 2024). "U.S. Calls for Breakup of Ticketmaster Owner". The New York Times.
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