Bieber released his debut EP, My World, in November 2009. It was certified platinum in the United States. He became the first artist to have seven songs from a debut record to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Bieber released his first full-length studio album, My World 2.0, in March 2010. It debuted at or near number one in several countries and was certified platinum in the United States. It was preceded by the single "Baby", which is also, as of July 2014, the YouTube video with the most dislikes, and the most views on a Vevo platform. He followed up the release of his debut album with his first headlining tour, the My World Tour, the remix albums My Worlds Acoustic and Never Say Never – The Remixes, and the 3D biopic-concert film Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. Bieber released his second studio album Under the Mistletoe in November 2011, when it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Bieber released his third studio album Believe in June 2012. It became his fourth chart topper in the United States, debuting at number-one on the Billboard 200.
Bieber has received numerous industry awards, including both Artist of the Year Awards, at the 2010 American Music Awards, and the 2012 American Music Awards, and was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards. With a global fan base, termed as "Beliebers", and over 40 million followers on Twitter, Bieber was thrice named by Forbes magazine as one of the top ten most powerful celebrities in the world, ranking third in both 2011 and 2012, and ranking ninth in 2013.
Life and career
1994–2007: Early life
Bieber was born on March 1, 1994, in London, Ontario, at St Joseph's Hospital, and was raised in Stratford, Ontario. He is the only child of Jeremy Jack Bieber and Patricia "Pattie" Mallette. Bieber's parents were never married. Pattie raised her son with the help of her mother, Diane, and stepfather, Bruce. His mother is of French-Canadian descent; his paternal great-grandfather was of German ancestry, and his other roots are English and Irish. He has stated that he believes that he has some undetermined Aboriginal Canadian ancestry.
Through Jeremy, Bieber has two younger half-siblings, Jasmyn (born 2009) and Jaxon (born 2010). Pattie worked a series of low-paying office jobs, raising Bieber as a single mother in low-income housing. Bieber has maintained contact with his father.
Bieber attended a French-language immersion elementary school in Stratford, the Jeanne Sauvé Catholic School. Growing up, he learned to play the piano, drums, guitar, and trumpet. In early 2007, aged 12, Bieber sang Ne-Yo's "So Sick" for a local singing competition in Stratford and was placed second. Mallette posted a video of the performance on YouTube for their family and friends to see. She continued to upload videos of Bieber singing covers of various R&B songs, and Bieber's popularity on the site grew.
2008–10: Career beginnings and My World
While searching for videos of a different singer, Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive of So So Def, clicked on one of Bieber's 2007 videos by accident. Impressed, Braun tracked down the theater Bieber was performing in, located Bieber's school, and finally contacted Mallette, who was reluctant because of Braun's Judaism. She remembered praying, "God, I gave him to you. You could send me a Christian man, a Christian label!" and "God, you don't want this Jewish kid to be Justin's man, do you?" However, church elders convinced her to let Bieber go with Braun. At 13, Bieber went to Atlanta, Georgia, with Braun to record demo tapes. Bieber began singing for Usher one week later.
Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher. Justin Timberlake was also reportedly in the running to sign Bieber, but lost the bidding war to Usher. Usher then sought assistance in finding a label home for the artist from then manager Chris Hicks, who helped engineer an audition with his contact L.A. Reid of The Island Def Jam Music Group. Reid signed Bieber to Island Records in October 2008 (resulting in a joint venture between RBMG and Island Records) and appointed Hicks as executive Vice-President of Def Jam where he would be able to manage Bieber's career at the label. Bieber then moved to Atlanta with his mother to pursue further work with Braun and Usher. Braun became Bieber's manager in 2008.
Bieber's first single, "One Time", was released to radio while Bieber was still recording his debut album. The song reached number 12 on the Canadian Hot 100 during its first week of release in July 2009, and later peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. During fall 2009, it had success in international markets. The song was certified Platinum in Canada and the US and Gold in Australia and New Zealand. His first release, an extended play entitled My World, was released on November 17, 2009. The album's second single, "One Less Lonely Girl", and two promo singles, "Love Me", and "Favorite Girl", were released exclusively on the iTunes Store and charted within the top forty of the Billboard Hot 100.
"One Less Lonely Girl" was later also released to radio and peaked within the top fifteen in Canada and the US, being certified Gold in the latter. My World was eventually certified Platinum in the US and Double Platinum in both Canada and the United Kingdom. To promote the album, Bieber performed on several live shows such as mtvU's VMA 09 Tour, European program The Dome, YTV's The Next Star, The Today Show, 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 & Park with Rihanna. Bieber also guest starred in an episode of True Jackson, VP in late 2009.
Bieber performed Stevie Wonder's "Someday at Christmas" for U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at the White House for Christmas in Washington, which was broadcast on December 20, 2009, on US television broadcaster TNT. Bieber was also one of the performers at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest on December 31, 2009. Bieber was a presenter at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards on January 31, 2010. He was invited to be a vocalist for the remake of "We Are the World" (a song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie) for its 25th anniversary to benefit Haiti after the earthquake. Bieber sings the opening line, which was sung by Lionel Richie in the original version.
On March 12, 2010, a version of K'naan's "Wavin' Flag" recorded by a collective of Canadian musicians known as Young Artists for Haiti was released. Bieber is featured in the song, performing the closing lines.
Bieber performing in Jakarta during his My World Tour
2010–11
In January 2010, "Baby", was released from his debut album, My World 2.0. The song featured Ludacris, and became an international hit. It charted at number five on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, peaked at number three on the Canadian Hot 100 and reached the top ten in several international markets. Two promo singles "Never Let You Go", and "U Smile" were top thirty hits on the U.S. Hot 100, and top twenty hits in Canada. According to review aggregator Metacritic, the album has received "generally favorable reviews". It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making Bieber the youngest solo male act to top the chart since Stevie Wonder in 1963. My World 2.0 also debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, Irish Albums Chart, Australian Albums Chart, and the New Zealand Albums Chart and reached the top ten of fifteen other countries.
To promote the album, Bieber appeared on several live programs including The View, the 2010 Kids Choice Awards, Nightline, Late Show with David Letterman, The Dome and 106 & Park.[ Sean Kingston appeared on the album's next single, "Eenie Meenie". The song reached the top ten in the United Kingdom and Australia, and the top-twenty of most other markets. On April 10, 2010, Bieber was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. On July 4, 2010, Bieber performed at the Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular in New York City. The following single from My World 2.0, "Somebody to Love", was released in April 2010, and a remix was released featuring Bieber's mentor Usher. On June 23, 2010, Bieber went on his first official headlining tour, the My World Tour, starting in Hartford, Connecticut, to promote My World and My World 2.0. In July 2010, it was reported that Bieber was the most searched for celebrity on the Internet. That same month his music video for "Baby", surpassed Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" to become the most viewed, and most disliked YouTube video ever. In September 2010, it was reported that Bieber accounted for three percent of all traffic on Twitter, according to an employee of the social-networking site.
In Bieber's second album, because of puberty, his voice was deeper than it was in his first album. In April 2010, the singer discussing his vocals remarked, "It cracks. Like every teenage boy, I'm dealing with it and I have the best vocal coach in the world. Some of the notes I hit on "Baby" I can't hit anymore. We have to lower the key when I sing live." Bieber guest-starred in the season premiere of the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which aired on September 23, 2010. He played a "troubled teen who is faced with a difficult decision regarding his only brother", who is also a serial bomber. Bieber was also in a subsequent episode which aired on February 17, 2011, in which his character is killed. Bieber performed a medley of "U Smile", "Baby", and "Somebody to Love" and briefly played the drums at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010. Bieber announced in October 2010 that he would be releasing an acoustic album, called My Worlds Acoustic. It was released on November 26, 2010 in the United States and featured acoustic versions of songs from his previous albums, and accompanied the release of a new song titled "Pray".
A 3-D part-biopic, part-concert film starring Bieber entitled Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, was released on February 11, 2011, directed by Step Up 3D director Jon Chu. It topped the box office with an estimated gross of $12.4 million on its opening day from 3,105 theaters. It grossed $30.3 million for the weekend and was narrowly beaten by the romantic comedy Just Go with It, which grossed $31 million. Never Say Never reportedly exceeded industry expectations, nearly matching the $31.1 million grossed by Miley Cyrus's 2008 3-D concert film, Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, which holds the record for the top debut for a music-documentary. Never Say Never grossed a total of $98,441,954 worldwide. The film is accompanied by his second remix album, Never Say Never – The Remixes, released February 14, 2011, and features remixes of songs from his debut album, with guest appearances from Miley Cyrus, Chris Brown, and Kanye West, among others.
In June 2011, Bieber was ranked #2 on the Forbes list of Best-Paid Celebrities under 30. He is the youngest star, and 1 of 7 musicians on the list, having raked in $53 million in a 12-month period. On November 1, 2011, Bieber released the Christmas-themed Under the Mistletoe, his second studio album. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, selling 210,000 copies in its first week of release.
Bieber performing "Favorite Girl" in Zürich, April 2011
2012–present
In late 2011, Bieber began recording his third studio album, entitled Believe. The following week, Bieber appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to announce that the first single would be called "Boyfriend" and would be released on March 26, 2012. The song debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, selling a total of 521,000 digital units, the second-highest-ever debut digital sales week. Bill Werde of Billboard noted that it failed to debut at number one because the digital download of the track was available only through iTunes Store, "restricting the buying option for those that do not frequent the Apple retail store." "Boyfriend" became Bieber's first single ever to reach the top position on the Canadian Hot 100 by debuting at number one and staying on for one week.
His third studio album, Believe was released on June 19, 2012, by Island Records. The album marks a musical departure from the teen pop sound of his previous releases, and incorporates elements of dance-pop and R&B genres. Intent on developing a more "mature" sound, Bieber collaborated with a wide range of urban producers for the release as well as some long-time collaborators, including Darkchild, Hit-Boy, Diplo, and Max Martin. Entertainment Weekly praised Bieber's musical shift, calling the album both a "reinvention and a reintroduction." Rolling Stone noted the deeper voice and more "intense" beats found on the album, although it lampooned one of his euphemisms for newfound sexual maturity ("If you spread your wings, you can fly away with me"). Believe debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming his fourth number-one album. The album sold 57,000 copies in its first week in Canada, debuting atop the Canadian Albums Chart.
The Believe Tour, which further promoted the album, began in September 2012 in Glendale, Arizona. On December 14, 2012, Bieber appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where he announced plans to release an acoustic album titled Believe Acoustic, which was released on January 29, 2013.
Bieber returned to Saturday Night Live as the host and musical guest of the February 9, 2013 episode. His appearance was panned by critics and cast members, including Kate McKinnon, who stated that Bieber was not comfortable with his hosting duties, and Bill Hader, who stated that he did not enjoy the presence of Bieber or his entourage. Hader added that in his eight years on the program, Bieber was the only host who lived up to his reputation.
On March 7, 2013, Bieber fainted backstage at London's O2 Arena after complaining of breathing problems throughout his performance and was taken to hospital. Bieber cancelled his second Lisbon, Portugal concert at the Pavilhão Atlântico, which was to be held on March 12, due to low ticket sales. The concert on March 11 went on. In mid-August 2013, a remixed duet version of Michael Jackson's previously unreleased song "Slave To The Rhythm", featuring Justin Bieber leaked online. Later, a song titled "Twerk" by rapper Lil Twist, featuring Bieber as well as Miley Cyrus, also leaked.
On October 3, 2013, Bieber announced that he would release a new song every Monday for 10 weeks as a lead-up to the film Justin Bieber's Believe, which entered production in May 2012 and was released on December 25, 2013. The film is a follow-up to Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, and Jon M. Chu returned to direct. The first song of Music Mondays, "Heartbreaker", was released on October 7. The second song, "All That Matters", was released on October 14, followed by "Hold Tight" on October 21, "Recovery" on October 28, "Bad Day" on November 4, and "All Bad" on November 11. The seventh song, "PYD" featuring R. Kelly, was released on November 18; it was followed by "Roller Coaster" on November 25, and "Change Me" on December 2. The final song, "Confident" featuring Chance The Rapper, was released on December 9, 2013. That same day, it was announced that all 10 tracks will be featured on an upcoming collection called Journals. It reportedly featured five additional unreleased songs, a music video for "All That Matters", and a trailer for Believe. Journals was only available for purchase via iTunes for a limited time only: from December 23, 2013 to January 9, 2014. The titles of the five new additional songs are: "One Life", "Backpack" featuring Lil Wayne, "What's Hatinin" featuring Future, "Swap It Out", and "Memphis" featuring Big Sean and Diplo.
In March of 2015, Bieber made an appearance in the music video for Carly Rae Jepsen's single "I Really Like You".
Usher commented that while he and Bieber were both signed at the same age, "I had the chance to ramp up my success, where this has happened to Bieber abruptly." As a result, Usher, Braun, Bieber's bodyguard and other adults surrounding Bieber constantly coach him on handling fame and his public image. After signing Bieber, Usher appointed one of his former assistants, Ryan Good, to be Bieber's road manager and stylist. Good, once nicknamed Bieber's "swagger coach", created a "streetwise look" for the singer which consisted of baseball caps, hoodies, dog chains and flashy sneakers. Amy Kaufman of The Los Angeles Times comments, "Though a product of a middle-class suburban upbringing in Stratford, Ontario, Bieber's manner of dress and speech ("Wassup man, how you doin'?" or "It's like, you know, whateva' ") suggest he's mimicking his favorite rappers."
Bieber is often featured in teen magazines such as Tiger Beat, and has been labeled as a "teen heartthrob". Wax statues of Bieber with his changed hairstyle from that of his earlier career are on display at the Madame Tussauds wax museums in New York, Amsterdam, and London, the 2010 hairstyle change led to it being called "the most expensive musical haircut of all time".
In 2010, Bieber was frequently criticized for looking and sounding younger than his age, and the following year for his androgynous appearance, which has been commonly noted in the media, including when he appeared on the cover of LOVE magazine's androgyny issue in 2011. His teen-pop music, image (especially as a heart-throb to young teenage girls), and the media attention he receives have additionally been criticized, and he has been a target of Internet bloggers and message board posters, notably by users of Internet message board 4chan and users of YouTube. Nick Collins of The Daily Telegraph said that "Bieber's character appears to strike a particularly sour note with his Internet critics" who have questioned his manner of speech, among other things.
In 2013, Bieber said that he was "very influenced by black culture", but he neither thought "of it as black or white" nor tried to "act or pose in a certain way". To him, it was "a lifestyle -- like a suaveness or a swag".
His fanbase is called "Beliebers", which the Chicago Tribune included as one of the top buzzwords of 2010. Bieber's early fanbase developed on YouTube, and predated the release of Bieber's first album.
Voice and influences
As Bieber transitioned from puberty to adulthood, his voice gradually matured to a high tenor. Bieber was influenced by Michael Jackson, Usher, Ne-Yo, Boys II Men, Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake, New Kids on the Block, Tupac, and The Beatles.
YouTube and Twitter
According to Jan Hoffman of The New York Times, part of Bieber's appeal stems from his YouTube channel. Long before the November 2009 release of the EP, My World, his YouTube videos attracted millions of views. Braun recognized the appeal. Before flying him to Atlanta, Braun wanted to "build him up more on YouTube first" and had Bieber record more home videos for the channel. "I said: 'Justin, sing like there’s no one in the room. But let's not use expensive cameras.' We'll give it to kids, let them do the work, so that they feel like it's theirs", recalled Braun. Bieber continues to upload videos to the same channel and has opened a Twitter account, from which he interacts with fans regularly, his account was reported in November 2010 to have more than six million followers. Bieber surpassed Lady Gaga for having the most followed person on Twitter in January 2013. In early November 2013, Katy Perry surpassed him for having the most followers.
Bieber was frequently a trending topic on Twitter when the feature first launched because his fans frequently discussed him on the network,[106] and he was named the top trending star on Twitter in 2010, Klout gave his account a score of 100. ] In April 2013, the social media analysis company Socialbakers concluded that 16.7 million of Bieber's 37 million Twitter followers are not genuine.
Personal life
Beliefs and relationships
Bieber identifies himself as a Christian, and has said he believes he has a relationship with Jesus, that he talks to him and that "he's the reason I'm here". Bieber reflects his faith in a rap video with Brandon Burke titled #iPledge, in which he "talks candidly about his appreciation for the tenet of forgiveness in the Christian faith." Regarding sexual abstinence, Bieber told Rolling Stone in 2010: "I don't think you should have sex with anyone unless you love them." He added that he does not "believe in abortion" and that it is "like killing a baby". He described sexual orientation as "everyone's own decision," and has contributed to the It Gets Better Project, which aims to prevent suicide among LGBT youth.
Now residing in the United States on an O-1 visa, Bieber has said he is not interested in obtaining U.S. citizenship and has criticized America's health care system. Praising Canada as being "the best country in the world", he cited its health care system as a model example. According to Scooter Braun, Bieber says the Jewish prayer Shema Yisrael before every show he gives. Bieber started dating actress and singer Selena Gomez in December 2010. In January 2013, it was reported that Bieber and Gomez had ended their relationship.
Bieber's father, Jeremy Bieber, is a former carpenter and pro-am mixed martial artist. In March 2014, Rolling Stone characterized Jeremy as having "split with Justin's mom when Justin was a toddler, and wasn't always around afterward. But he has, as of late, accepted a place of honor in his superstar son's entourage", while also reporting that Jeremy had accompanied Justin into a strip club.[125] A month earlier, NBC News reported that Jeremy had accompanied Justin on a private flight on which Justin acknowledged smoking marijuana.
Endorsements and philanthropy
Aside from his career as a musician, Bieber has also ventured into the business world by becoming a venture capitalist and technology investor. Bieber made his first startup investment in 2009. Since then, he has been quietly investing millions of dollars in a dozen small technology start ups that include Stamped, Spotify, Shots, and game-for-good company SoJo Studios. He has said that he is not going to invest in something he does not like, as he has to believe in the product. Bieber endorsed Adidas beside Derrick Rose and Venus Williams in 2012.
Bieber supports Pencils of Promise, a charity founded by Adam Braun, the younger brother of Bieber's manager. The organization builds schools in developing countries, and Bieber became manager for the organization's campaign in Guatemala. He currently serves as a celebrity spokesman for the organization by running ads for the charity and its campaign "Schools4All", and promising to visit schools that donate the most funds to the organization. He takes part in the charity's fund-raising galas and donates parts of the proceeds from his concerts and line of fragrances "Someday" and various merchandising to the charity. Bieber appeared in an animal welfare PSA for PETA encouraging people to volunteer at and adopt from animal shelters instead of buying pets from breeders or pet stores. Bieber himself adopted a papillon named Sam from a shelter.
Reference Wikipedia
