Justin Bieber
On the 1st of March 1994, Justin Drew Bieber entered the world at St. Joseph's Hospital in London, Ontario. He grew up in Stratford, a small city where his mother Pattie Mallette raised him alone after her husband left when he was an infant. The family lived in low-income housing while Pattie worked various office jobs to make ends meet. Her own parents, Diane and Bruce, helped raise the young boy alongside their three younger half-siblings.
In early 2007, twelve-year-old Bieber stood before a local audience to sing Ne-Yo's "So Sick" for a singing competition. He placed second but his mother uploaded that performance to YouTube for family members to watch. She continued posting videos of him covering R&B songs as his popularity on the site began to grow. During tourism season, he busked on the steps of the Avon Theatre with a rented guitar.
Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive from So So Def Recordings, stumbled upon one of these videos by accident while searching for another artist. He tracked down the school and theatre where the teenager performed before contacting Pattie. She initially hesitated because Braun was Jewish, praying aloud that God might send a Christian man instead. Church elders eventually convinced her to let Bieber go with Braun.
At age thirteen, Justin traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, to record demo tapes. One week later, he began singing for Usher. He soon signed with RBMG, a joint venture between Braun and Usher. Justin Timberlake reportedly lost the bidding war partly due to concerns about two singers with similar names confusing the market. L.A. Reid signed Bieber to Island Records in October 2008.
The song "One Time" reached number twelve on the Canadian Hot 100 during its first week of release in July 2009. It peaked at number seventeen on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. His debut extended play titled My World arrived on the 17th of November 2009. Critics noted that material from the EP drew inspiration from Chris Brown's early work.
My World became the first album to have seven songs from a debut project chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The album sold enough copies to earn platinum certification in the US and double platinum status in both Canada and the UK. To promote the record, Bieber appeared on shows like The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Good Morning America.
In January 2010, "Baby" featuring Ludacris was released from his debut album My World 2.0. The track charted at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top ten in several international markets. Its accompanying music video surpassed Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" as the most viewed YouTube video at the time. That same month, it also became the most disliked video on the platform.
Bieber began recording his third studio album titled Believe in late 2011. He announced the first single would be called "Boyfriend" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show before its release on the 26th of March 2012. The song debuted at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 with 521,000 digital units sold during its first week.
The album marked a musical departure from teen pop sounds by incorporating elements of dance-pop and R&B genres. Intent on developing a more mature sound, Bieber collaborated with urban producers including Darkchild, Hit-Boy, Diplo, and Max Martin. Entertainment Weekly praised the shift as both a reinvention and reintroduction of his style.
Believe debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming his fourth number-one album. In September 2012, an acoustic re-release titled Believe Acoustic made him the first artist to have five number-one albums in the US before turning nineteen. The Believe Tour further promoted the record across North America starting in Glendale, Arizona.
In February 2013, he appeared on Saturday Night Live as host and musical guest but received mixed reviews from critics and cast members. Later that month, he fainted backstage at London's O2 Arena after complaining of breathing problems during a concert performance.
Bieber has sold an estimated 150 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds five diamond certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America for singles like "Baby," "Sorry," and "Despacito Remix." His accolades include two Grammy Awards, one Latin Grammy Award, eight Juno Awards, and twenty-six Billboard Music Awards.
The song "Where Are Ü Now" with Jack Ü earned him his career-first Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording at the fifty-eighth Annual Grammy Awards. It peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 while reaching number one on Billboards Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
His fourth studio album Purpose debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and became the fourth best-selling album of 2015 with worldwide sales of 3.1 million copies. The album yielded three US Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits: "Love Yourself," "Sorry," and "What Do You Mean?" These songs monopolized the top three positions of the UK singles chart simultaneously.
In 2017, a remix of Luis Fonsi's "Despacito" featuring Bieber tied the record for the longest-running number-one song in history with sixteen weeks at the top spot. The track also spent a record fifty-six weeks at number one on Billboards Hot Latin Songs chart.
During 2013 and 2014, Bieber's clean-cut image was drastically affected by involvement in several controversial events. He abandoned a pet monkey in Germany, vomited onstage, and was videoed urinating into a bucket. Reports surfaced of him cursing at a photograph of Bill Clinton and wearing a gas mask in public.
An explicit image involving a stripper emerged alongside allegations that he assaulted his bodyguard and a limo driver. His uncle Brad Bieber suggested these troubles stemmed from his break-up with Selena Gomez. Rolling Stone placed him on its March 2014 cover with the title "Bad Boy."
Bieber adopted the pseudonym "Bizzle" during this period while donning thick gold chains and baseball caps. In his early twenties following Purpose, his public image shifted toward a more positive light. He wore bleached blond hair and rock-branded t-shirts including Marilyn Manson and Kurt Cobain designs along with denim jackets and ripped jeans.
After marrying in 2018, his persona continued evolving as he transitioned away from teenage heartthrob status. An interview with Vogue in February 2019 revealed he would laugh at his past self.
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Common questions
When and where was Justin Bieber born?
Justin Drew Bieber entered the world on the 1st of March 1994 at St. Joseph's Hospital in London, Ontario.
How did Justin Bieber get discovered by a record label executive?
Scooter Braun stumbled upon one of Justin Bieber's YouTube videos while searching for another artist and tracked him down to contact his mother Pattie Mallette.
What were the release dates and chart positions of Justin Bieber's early singles?
The song One Time reached number twelve on the Canadian Hot 100 during its first week of release in July 2009 and peaked at number seventeen on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States.
Which album marked Justin Bieber's transition from teen pop to dance-pop and R&B genres?
Bieber began recording his third studio album titled Believe in late 2011 which incorporated elements of dance-pop and R&B genres with urban producers including Darkchild, Hit-Boy, Diplo, and Max Martin.
How many records has Justin Bieber sold worldwide as of 2024?
Justin Bieber has sold an estimated 150 million records worldwide making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.