Purpose is the fourth studio album by Canadian singer and songwriter Justin Bieber. It was released on November 13, 2015, by Def Jam Recordings and School Boy Records. It serves as the follow-up to Bieber's third studio album Believe (2012), and it was developed after the release of his collection Journals (2013), which saw him in a more R&B direction. Working on the album over a period of two years, Bieber has struggled to find a musical direction for recording and scrapping each of these tracks many times. With the help of his personal friend and frequent collaborator Jason Boyd, Bieber started writing and recording with the idea of making an inspirational album that could encourage people through uplifting these messages during a period of all his media scrutiny and his involvement in various misdemeanours; as well as his tumultuous relationships with his former girlfriend Selena Gomez.