What (or Who) Is Justin Bieber's "Speed Demon" About?

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Explore the meaning behind the hit song from his new album SWAG II

Co-authored by Dev Murphy, MA

Last Updated: September 17, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Song Meaning
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• Lyrical Analysis
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• More about SWAG II
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• More Song Analyses
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If releasing two studio albums within 56 days of each other didn't already tell us Justin Bieber was a speed demon, the first song off SWAG II did, with lyrics like "I achieve greatness, gettin’ better by the second." The late-summer 1990s R&B pop-infused bop "Speed Demon" is a scathing message to his haters: Justin's coming out on top. 🔥 For a deep dive into the song's lyrics, keep scrolling!

Justin Bieber's "Speed Demon" Meaning

Justin Bieber's song "Speed Demon" is a message to his haters, including paparazzi: he's going to stay resilient in the face of judgment and public criticism. The song also refutes rumors that his marriage to Hailey Bieber is on the rocks, with lines like "There’s something in the way she made me certain I’m enough."

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Section 1 of 4:

"Speed Demon" Song Meaning

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1. 
   "Speed Demon" is about ignoring haters and not giving up. Justin Bieber's been through a lot in his life—like, a lot! But though rumors have been spreading like wildfire this year that his mental health and his marriage are in trouble, "Speed Demon" suggests he's taking the whole thing in stride and is determined to come out the other side stronger than ever.

   • The song upends rumors that he and wife Hailey are heading towards a breakup by referencing the love and support she offers him in their relationship.
   • It also calls out many of his haters who, he claims in the song, are still fans of his music even as they sh*t-talk him.
   • The song is ultimately an empowering anthem about how Bieber himself is improving all the time, while his haters are all just "chickens" whom he won't shy away from contradicting when necessary.
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Section 2 of 4:

"Speed Demon" Lyrical Analysis

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1. 
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   Bieber references his "it's not clocking to you" moment with the paparazzi. Justin's confrontation with intrusive paparazzi in June 2025, in which he argued it wasn't "clocking to [them] that [he's] standing on business" resulted in countless memes poking fun at the situation—but he cheekily addresses the encounter in the first verse of "Speed Demon" with the lines, "Never stop, had to take a turn and turn it into something that’s new, / Say you miss me, wasn’t missing, is it clocking to you? / Wait and see ‘cause it’s something new and improved."

   • (He also referenced the meme in SWAG, even going so far as to sell merch on his website—is "not clocking to you" Bieber's new catchphrase?)
   • We should mention that as of the writing of this article, neither Justin Bieber nor his team has released the official lyrics to the song, so we're just going off of what we think the words are.
2. 
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   The chorus is about ignoring his haters and taking the high road to victory. If the catchy-as-all-get-out chorus isn't stuck in your head by now, we'll refresh your memory: "Keep checking, keep checking these chickens, / And I go speed racing, speed racing for the record, / And I achieve greatness, gettin’ better by the second, / And I go speed racing, we ain’t finished, we ain’t finished just yet, / Don’t stress, don’t stress it, baby."

   • In the post-chorus Justin sings, "I keep creeping / A speed demon." "Creeping" is, basically, the opposite of "speeding," and the lines suggest that even if Bieber isn't always racing towards the finish line, he'll never stop, and he'll never give up—even if he's got to creep towards success.
3. 
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   He accuses many of his haters of hypocritically listening to his music. Verse two begins with the lyrics, "They try to say I’m out of my mind / But now they singing every line." The whole verse is about Justin's movement away from people who are dragging him down and how he's beginning to listen to "something that's strong than me / That's paving me a new lane and giving me an energy." He's leaving his haters in the dust and embracing growth and self-transformation. We love to see it. (Er, hear it.)
4. 
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   Bieber sings about how his wife, Hailey, is in his corner. Despite the rumors going around that Bieber and Hailey's marriage isn't doing so hot, Bieber insists in "Speed Demon" that all is well—not only that, but Hailey's love and support have bolstered him in times of challenge and self-doubt: “And there’s something in the way she made me certain I’m enough / Everyday she put the loving on me / And all the people that be doubting on me."

   • According to a source close to Justin and Hailey, the marital tensions that made everyone wonder if the relationship had an expiration date seemed to settle after the release of SWAG in July 2025: "The intense focus and emotional toll of creating new music had put a strain on their marriage," the source told Us Weekly. "When Justin is in the studio making new music, he gets completely consumed and shuts everything else out.” So hopefully, things are looking up for the couple now!
5. 
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   The lines that follow could be a reference to Bieber's religion and church. "They gave me witness my redemption, now they up on my seat. / God, I'm clappin' their feet"—these lyrics, which use words evocative of a church service, could be a reference to Bieber's Christian faith, but it's unclear what that message could be. Rumors have been swirling regarding Bieber's troubled relationship with his long-time church, Churchome, which has lately faced accusations of being a cult. Bieber and his wife allegedly haven't attended services there recently, but it's unclear exactly where they stand with the church.

   • If these lyrics are meant to reference Bieber's religious history, they're not the only ones on the album that do: the songs "Everything Hallelujah" and "Story of God" also delve into Christian and spiritual themes.
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   Bieber addresses an anonymous "you" throughout the song. The song's lyrics make it clear enough that Bieber is taking a stand against his haters—but whether he's got a specific hater in mind is a little unclear. When Justin sings lines like, "Don’t pretend I got a reason to call you, it’s not true, / I only got a couple people to talk to, and it’s not you," it sure sounds like he's referring to a specific person, but who that individual might be is still up for debate….
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Section 3 of 4:

More about SWAG II

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1. 
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   SWAG II dropped on September 5, 2025. It was released through Def Jam Recordings and ILH Productions. A collection of synth pop, R&B, and indie-rock tunes,SWAG II is a surprise reissue of SWAG, which came out on July 11, and contains 23 bonus tracks on top of the original 21 songs from SWAG. Released within 56 days of one another, the gap between these two albums is the shortest period between Justin Bieber's studio albums 'til now. Speed demon, indeed!

   • SWAG II debuted at #1 on both the US and global debut albums charts on Spotify and took the top slot on iTunes, showing Bieber wasn't lying in his lyrics to "Speed Demon": "I go speed racing, speed racing for the record, / And I achieve greatness."
   • Records aside, some critics have found the album bloated and unnecessary—as Katie Hawthorne writes for The Guardian, the album "adds 23 tracks to his already over-stuffed Swag project." She goes on: "Within these 40-plus tracks are 10 songs that would have made a genuinely surprising statement from Bieber. Instead, they’re buried beneath a heap of blandly samey songs with nothing much to say."
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   SWAG II touches on themes of family, religion, and love. As the first track onSWAG II, "Speed Demon" sets the tone for the songs that follow, and the result is a beautiful—if ambitious—album about Justin's personal growth and spiritual resilience. We don't have time to go over the whole 23-song album, but we'll cover a few of the album's many standouts and what they're about:

   • "Love Song" – the third song on the album; a moving, self-aware, and vulnerable love song about Hailey:
     • "Time gets prettier with you, I'm lifted, / Something starts to take a hold of me , / Spellbound, baby, it's like magic when you kiss me, / I wanna be everything you need me to be."
   • "Mother in You" – a touching time capsule of a song about Bieber's experience as a husband alongside Hailey, mother to their son Jack:
     • "“At two in the morning / I saw a reflection in you. / So much of her coming through / Your mother in you."
   • "Story of God" – the final track on the album; a calming, spoken-word retelling of the story of Adam and Eve from the Biblical book of Genesis, from Adam's perspective:
     • "The Garden wasn't just a place we lived, it breathed with us. / There was no fear here, fear hadn't even been invented yet."
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Section 4 of 4:

Related Songs

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1. Itching for more song breakdowns? Check out these song analyses. If you enjoyed this deep dive into "Speed Demon," you might also want to explore these other wikiHows on today's trendiest songs and their meanings:

   • "Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter
   • "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter
   • "Wildflower" by Billie Eilish
   • "Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish
   • "Good Luck, Babe!" by Chappell Roan
   • "Red Wine Supernova" by Chappell Roan
   • "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers
   • "What Was That" by Lorde
   • "Sailor Song" by Gigi Perez

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