Justin's Bio

An old soul is the last thing you would expect to find inside Justin Bieber. But all it takes is one listen to the 15 year-old soul-singing phenomenon to realize that he is light years ahead of his manufactured pop peers. After posting dozens of homemade videos on YouTube in 2007, where the multi-talented Bieber put his impeccable spin on songs from artists like Usher, Ne-Yo and Stevie Wonder, Justin racked up over 10,000,000 views purely from word of mouth. “I started singing about three years ago,” says the Canadian native who grew up an only child in Stratford, Ontario. “I entered a local singing competition called Stratford Idol. The other people in the competition had been taking singing lessons and had vocal coaches. I wasn’t taking it too seriously at the time, I would just sing around the house. I was only 12 and I got second place.”In an effort to share his victory with his loved ones, Justin began posting his performance footage online. “I put my singing videos from the competition on YouTube so that my friends and family could watch them,” he says. “But it turned out that other people liked them and they started subscribing to them. That’s how my manager found me. He saw me on YouTube and contacted my family and now I’m signed!”Seven months after Justin started posting his videos online, former So So Def marketing executive Scooter Braun flew the then 13-year old singer to Atlanta, GA to meet with his elite colleagues. As if Justin’s natural singing talent wasn’t enough to impress Scooter’s inner circle, Braun knew Bieber was also a self-taught musician who plays the drums, guitar, piano and trumpet.“Right when we flew into Atlanta, Scooter drove us to the studio and Usher was there in the parking lot,” remembers Bieber. “That was my first time ever being out of Canada so I went up to him and was like, ‘Hey Usher, I love your songs, do you want me to sing you one?’ He was like, ‘No little buddy, just come inside, it’s cold out.’” All it took was a short time online for Usher to realize he was in the company of a future superstar. “A week later Usher flew me back to Atlanta,” says Bieber. “I sang for him and his people and he really wanted to sign me then and there but I still had a meeting with Justin Timberlake who also wanted to sign me. It turned out Usher’s deal was way better. He had L.A. Reid backing him up and Scooter had a lot of really good connections in Atlanta. I always tease Usher now and remind him he how he blew me off the first time we met.”In October of 2008, Justin Bieber officially signed to Island Records. His debut album, My World is an intimate look into the mind of a budding young renaissance man. With production from star hit men like The Dream and Tricky Stewart who produced “Umbrella” for Rihanna and Beyonce’s latest smash, “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” Justin has everything he needs to achieve pop supremacy. His first single, “One Time” produced by Tricky, is about one of Justin’s favorite topics, puppy love. Usher joins Justin on “First Dance” where the two share verses on a song that Bieber describes as, “A slow groovy song that people can dance to.” On the Midi-Mafia produced “Down to Earth” Justin digs deep to talk about growing up. “Bigger” finds the teenaged singer maturing at a steady rate, while motivating his listeners to strive for their goals.“I’m looking forward to influencing others in a positive way,” says Justin. “My message is you can do anything if you just put your mind to it. I grew up below the poverty line; I didn’t have as much as other people did. I think it made me stronger as a person it built my character. Now I have a 4.0 grade point average and I want to go to college and just become a better person.” A virtually untapped well of natural artistic talent, Justin Bieber is primed to be a solid force in music for many years to come. “I think older people can appreciate my music because I really show my heart when I sing, and it’s not corny,” he says. “I think I can grow as an artist and my fans will grow with me.” And just think, he’s just getting started. ;]***

2009-present: Debut album

Bieber's first album My World, was released on November 17, 2009. The album features guest vocals from Usher, who appears in the music video for the single "One Time". Bieber is on a promotion tour promoting his single and has made various appearances on several radio stations. The first single "One Time"[19] reached number 12 in Canadian Hot 100 during its first week in July 2009,[15] and number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. On September 26, 2009, "One Time" had gone Platinum in Canada.[20] The single has also been certified Gold in the U.S. by the RIAA[21] Three consecutive singles, "One Less Lonely Girl", "Love Me", and "Favorite Girl" were released to iTunes exclusively, and therefore charted at within the Top 40 in the U.S. and within the top 15 in Canada. "One Less Lonely Girl" was later released to mainstream radio also.
Bieber performed in a several live shows such as mtvU's VMA 09 Tour, European program The Dome, YTV's The Next Star and The Today Show.[22][14], The Wendy Williams Show, Lopez Tonight, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, It's On with Alexa Chung, Good Morning America, Chelsea Lately, and BET's 106 and Park with Rihanna. Bieber also guest starred in an episode of True Jackson, VP later this year.[23] In October 2009, Bieber was voted as the #5 "Best Good Example of 2009" by AOL's JSYK.[24]
While promoting the album, Bieber was scheduled to appear at Long Island's Roosevelt Fields Mall, but the performance had to be cancelled.[25] TMZ.com first reported the story, and it was covered by several national media outlets. Over 3,000 screaming fans showed up for the appearance. The event got out of control and over 35 police units from Nassau County and Garden City had to be called in. According to TMZ, a fan screamed that Bieber was in an Abercrombie Kids store, and that is when the mayhem already taking place got further out of hand. [26] Several fans were injured, but no serious injures took place. The police told Bieber he could not come in because of the current situation and fire hazard. In an interview with WBLI 106.1, Bieber stated, "It was so crazy that I couldn't get to even come in the building," the singer said. "They [the authorities] basically threatened to put me in cuffs and send me away to jail."[25] The police arrested a Island Records senior vice-president, James A. Roppo, reportedly for hindering the police's crowd control efforts.[25] Bieber took to Twitter, apologizing to fans, and promising to make up for the cancellation. James Roppo pleaded not guilty to all charges.[27][28]
Bieber is scheduled to perform for President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at the White House for the Christmas in Washington, a televised musical special that benefits the National Children’s Medical Center, which will air on December 20th on TNT[29] He will also be one of the performers at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest on December 31.[30] To support his debut effort, Bieber toured with Taylor Swift on her two-stop return to the United Kingdom on her Fearless Tour[31] and went on a five-date tour himself in Canada, sponsored by Urban Behavior.[32] Bieber confirmed that he will be traveling on his headlining debut tour sometime in 2010[33] He will also open again for Swift when she performs at Gillette Stadium at the annual concert for the winner of the CMA Entertainer of the Year award. ;]*

Justin Bieber

Bieber was 12 years old when he entered a local singing competition in Stratford, Ontario, placing in second.[3] He taught himself how to play the piano, drums, guitar, and trumpet.[14] In late 2007 Justin and his mother began posting videos on YouTube[15] so that his family and friends that could not attend his performances would be able to view them, posting his cover versions of songs.[15] He was soon approached by a Toronto-based company called Rapid Discovery Media, who assisted him in running his YouTube and MySpace accounts, producing, editing and promoting his videos.[16] After posting his rendition of Chris Brown's "With You", Brown personally called Bieber and congratulated him on his YouTube recognition.[16]
Scooter Braun,[15] a former marketing executive of So So Def, discovered his videos, and flew Bieber to Atlanta, Georgia, where he met with R&B singer/songwriter Usher.[15] A week later Bieber had the opportunity to sing for Usher[17] who immediately became greatly interested, giving him an audition with Antonio L.A. Reid at Island Records who signed him to Island Records in October 2008.[15] Justin Timberlake was reportedly in the running to sign Bieber, but he eventually signed with Usher.[18] ;]*