You remember the pink wig. You definitely remember the waterpark. It’s wild to think that over a decade has passed since Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj dropped "Beauty and a Beat," a song that basically defined the transition from bubblegum pop to the high-gloss EDM era of the early 2010s. Honestly, looking back from 2026, the track feels like a time capsule of a very specific moment in celebrity culture. It was a time when Max Martin reigned supreme, Zedd was the new kid on the block, and the world was obsessed with whether or not a certain "Selener" was watching.
The unexpected chemistry of Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj
A lot of people think these two were an odd pairing at the time. Justin was shedding his "Baby" image, trying desperately to prove he had "urban swagger," while Nicki was arguably at the peak of her crossover pop dominance. Bieber actually hand-picked her. He famously said he wanted a female rapper and felt she was the only choice that fit the song perfectly.
The track itself wasn't even originally for Justin. Zedd had written the beat, and it almost didn't make the cut for Justin's Believe album because the vibe was so different from his earlier work. But once Nicki hopped on it? Magic.
She didn't just give him a verse; she gave him a moment. That line about "keeping an eye out for Selener" wasn't just a clever rhyme for "wiener"—it was a meta-commentary on Justin’s real-life relationship with Selena Gomez that was unfolding in the tabloids at the same time. It made the song feel alive, dangerous, and incredibly current. Even now, fans on Reddit and X still debate if Nicki kept that line in during their 2012 AMAs performance as a subtle dig or a sign of support.
Why the waterpark video was a stroke of genius
The music video is where things got really meta. Remember the "leaked footage" prank? The marketing team staged a story about Justin's personal camera being stolen, leading fans to believe they were seeing something they weren't supposed to see.
It was a DIY-style shoot (mostly) at Raging Waters in San Dimas. Justin co-directed it with Jon M. Chu.
- The GoPro Vibe: It felt like a vlog before vlogging was a career.
- The Choreography: Justin dancing in a wave pool—physicality that looked exhausting but somehow effortless.
- The Pink Poolside: Nicki appearing in that massive black wig and pink outfit, bringing the Young Money energy to a suburban waterpark.
It broke the VEVO record at the time with 10.6 million views in 24 hours. Today, it sits comfortably with over 1 billion views, a testament to its staying power.
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The 2026 perspective: Legacy and billion-stream milestones
Fast forward to today. In late 2025 and early 2026, we’ve seen a massive resurgence in "Believe-era" nostalgia. Nicki Minaj recently celebrated the song hitting 1 billion streams on Spotify, sharing her plaque on Instagram and calling the collab a "timeless classic."
It’s interesting how the song has aged. While some critics in 2012 called it "frantic" or "over-produced," modern listeners appreciate the tight production. Zedd and Max Martin’s influence is everywhere. It’s an A-minor track at 128 BPM—the perfect "heartbeat" tempo for a club hit.
Beyond the charts, the relationship between Nicki and Justin has remained one of mutual respect. They haven't collaborated on a major single since, but they’ve both navigated the industry's shifts from physical sales to the streaming wars. Justin is now one of the top artists in Spotify history, often trading places with the likes of Taylor Swift and The Weeknd for monthly listener records.
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What most people get wrong about the collab
People often assume this was a "label-mandated" feature. It wasn't. It was one of the few songs on Believe that Justin didn't co-write from the ground up, but he was the one who pushed for the "found footage" concept and the specific features.
There's also a misconception that this song "killed" Nicki's street cred. In reality, it did the opposite. It proved she could dominate the pop charts without losing her "Beast from the East" persona. She managed to rap about "confessions of the priest" on a track that was being played at 12-year-old birthday parties. That’s a level of versatility very few artists can touch.
Impact on pop-rap crossovers
You can see the DNA of "Beauty and a Beat" in almost every major pop-rap crossover that followed.
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- The Formula: High-energy EDM drop + A-list rap verse + Relatable celebrity name-drop.
- The Visuals: Moving away from polished sets to "authentic" or "raw" feeling footage.
- The Release: Using social media pranks to drive "event-style" viewing.
When you look at artists like Jack Harlow or Doja Cat today, they’re using the exact same playbook that Justin and Nicki perfected in 2012.
If you're looking to dive back into this era, start by watching the "Behind the Scenes" footage of the waterpark shoot. It shows the sheer amount of work that went into making a "casual" video look that good. Then, compare the 2012 AMA performance to Justin’s more recent live sets—you’ll see how much of his current stage presence was built during that high-pressure transition period. The "Beauty and a Beat" era wasn't just a phase; it was the blueprint for the modern pop star.
Check out the remastered 4K version of the video on YouTube if you want to see the "Selener" eye-roll in high definition. It’s still one of the most iconic moments in 2010s pop culture for a reason.