Justin Bieber And Ludacris Aren’t Such An Odd Collaboration After All

Justin Bieber may crave attention, but you have to admit the kid’s doing something right. “Baby,” the first single from the second piece of his two-part debut album My World, is an out-of-the-box hit, at least online. Released this morning, “Baby” is holding at #5 on iTunes in the U.S. (and #2 in his homeland of Canada, as Bieber’s tweets point out). We’ve already listened to the acoustic version, but we’ve now got the studio version—which adds several layers and the Usher protege’s eagerly awaited collabo with Ludacris—behind the jump.

[wpaudio url=”//idolator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Baby-Ft.-Ludacris.mp3″ text=”Baby – Justin Bieber f/ Ludacris”]

The song is typically light, fluffy pop — though it’s a slight departure from Bieber’s earlier R&B-tinged hit “One Time.” And the appearance by Bieber’s labelmate Ludacris appearance doesn’t feel out of place. Or maybe we’ve just grown accustomed to hearing him lend his skills to singers with cute little voices. (See? He just tweeted that he’s working with Pharrell. We rest our case.) We do think Bieber’s producers could have maybe come up with a stronger chorus than just repeating “Baby” ad nauseum. Maybe Justin’s personal swagger coach can take a pass next time at the lyrics?