Justin Bieber

JUSTIN BIEBER

   Justin Drew Bieber born March 1, 1994 is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager. Braun arranged for him to meet with Usher in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher, and then to a recording contract with Island Records offered by L.A. Reid. Bieber's debut single, "One Time", was released in 2009 and peaked in the top ten in Canada and charted in the top thirty in several international markets. His debut album, the seven-track EP My World, followed in November 2009, and was soon certified platinum in the United States. He became the first artist to have seven songs from a debut album chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

   Bieber's first full-length studio album, My World 2.0, was released in March 2010. It debuted at number one or within the top ten in several countries and was certified platinum in the United States. It was preceded by the worldwide top-ten single, "Baby". The music video of "Baby" is currently ranked as the most viewed and most discussed YouTube video. Bieber 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 – which had an opening weekend gross that nearly matched the record for the biggest opening weekend for a concert-film. Bieber released his second studio album, Under the Mistletoe in November 2011, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Bieber has received numerous awards, including Artist of the Year at the 2010 American Music Awards — and has been nominated for numerous awards, including Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards.

Childhood and youth:

   Bieber was born on March 1, 1994, in London, Ontario, and was raised in Stratford, Ontario. Bieber's mother, Patricia Lynn "Pattie" Mallette, was 18 years old when she became pregnant with her son. Mallette, originally from Stratford, raised her son with the help of her parents, Bruce and Diane. Mallette 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, Jeremy Jack Bieber, who married another woman and had two children. Bieber's paternal great-grandfather was a German immigrant to Canada. His mother's ancestry is French Canadian. Bieber attended French immersion school at Stratford school Jean Sauve.

   During his childhood, Bieber was interested in hockey, soccer, and chess; he often kept his musical aspirations to himself. As he grew up, Bieber taught himself to play the piano, drums, guitar, and trumpet. In early 2007, when he was twelve, Bieber sang Ne-Yo's "So Sick" for a local singing competition in Stratford and 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. Chris Hicks, Bieber's A&R at Island/Def Jam, explained the young artist's huge online following to HitQuarters by saying:

"He was doing something different. He was an attractive white kid singing very soulful R&B hits. That set him apart immediately from anyone in his range because no one was covering or singing these kind of records. But equally important was that you believed in these songs – it was real. And you wanted to hear more."

Discovery:

   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. Mallette was reluctant because of Braun's Jewish religion; she remembered praying, "God, I gave him to you. You could send me a Christian man, a Christian label! ... you don’t want this Jewish kid to be Justin’s man, do you?" However, after praying with her church elders and receiving their encouragement, she permitted Braun to fly Bieber, then 13, to Atlanta, Georgia, to record demo tapes. A week after arriving, Bieber sang for R&B singer/songwriter Usher. 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 Antonio L.A. Reid of 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 manage Bieber's career at the label. At that point, Bieber and his mother moved to Atlanta temporarily, also the home of Usher and Braun, to record and get counseling from Braun. Braun became Bieber's manager.

Personal views:

   Bieber is a Christian, and said he has a relationship with Jesus, talks to him and that "he's the reason I'm here".

   Bieber's comments in a February 2011 profile in Rolling Stone sparked controversy. Asked whether a person should wait until marriage to have sex, Bieber responded, "I don't think you should have sex with anyone unless you love them." Asked about his opinion on abortion, Bieber said he does not "believe in abortion" and that it is "like killing a baby". When asked about abortion in cases of rape, he said, "Well, I think that's really sad, but everything happens for a reason. I don't know how that would be a reason. I guess I haven't been in that position, so I wouldn't be able to judge that." In the same interview, Bieber talked about homosexuality, stating that "It's everyone's own decision to do that. It doesn’t affect me and shouldn't affect anyone else", and Rolling Stone commented, "It is not clear whether he intended to label homosexuality as a lifestyle choice." However, Bieber has also contributed to the It Gets Better Project, a project started in response to the suicide of Billy Lucas, a teenager who was the target of anti-gay bullying.

   Bieber has said he is not interested in obtaining United States citizenship, praising Canada as being "the best country in the world", citing its health care system as an example.

Discography:

MY WORLD 2.0

(2010)

   My World 2.0 is the latter of two-part debut studio album from Canadian singer Justin Bieber, and is his first full studio release. The album is the follow-up to the first platinum certified half of the album, which was released on November 17, 2009, via Island Records, and 2.0 was first released on March 19, 2010. Bieber worked with producers and writers from his debut release, including Tricky Stewart & The-Dream and Midi Mafia, and several new including Bryan-Michael Cox, and The Stereotypes, among others. In addition to having a more dominant R&B feel than his first release, the album is described as edgier and more mature. In addition to the R&B sound, the album also combines it with pop and hip-hop sounds.

   The album has received positive reviews, and debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling over 283,000 copies, making Bieber the youngest solo male act to top the chart since Stevie Wonder in 1963, and the first artist to occupy two top five spots on the chart since 2004. When the album sold more copies in its second week, Bieber became the first act since The Beatles to debut at number one, and sell more the following week. Bieber also had his second consecutive number one album in Canada, and in its second week the album peaked at number one in Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. It also charted in the top ten of fifteen other countries. Bieber will support the album with his very first headlining tour, the My World Tour.

   The album was preceded by the lead single, "Baby", featuring Ludacris, which was released on January 18, 2010, and two digital singles, "Never Let You Go" on March 2, 2010, and "U Smile" on March 16, 2010. "Somebody to Love" impacted radio as the album's second single on April 20, 2010, and "U Smile" impacted radio as the album's third single on August 24, 2010.

   In an interview with Billboard at the 2009 Z100 Jingle Ball, Bieber explained the reasoning behind splitting his debut release into two parts, My World and My World 2.0. Bieber said that people do not want to wait "over a year and half" for new music, and it was decided best to give it in parts. In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, Bieber stated, "I wanted to do something that was a little bit more R&B and that could reach out to everyone. I just wanted to be able to show my vocal abilities." In a piece with The New York Times Bieber stated that most of the production took place in Atlanta, and confirmed collaborating again with Tricky Stewart and The-Dream. Bieber said, that he was hoping that the album would be much better, considering that My World was his first time in a studio, calling himself "a rookie last album because it was during my first year."

UNDER THE MISTLETOE

(2011)

   Under the Mistletoe is the first Christmas album and second studio album by Canadian recording artist Justin Bieber, which was released on November 1, 2011 by Island Records.

   On August 25, 2011, Bieber announced that he would be releasing his first Christmas album and second studio album later in 2011. Manager Scooter Braun and vocal producer Kuk Harrell confirmed a week later that Bieber had collaborated with Sean Kingston and Taylor Swift and had also worked with producers The Messengers. Later that month, it was announced that Boyz II Men, Usher, and The Band Perry were also collaborating with Bieber on the album. On September 30, 2011, Bieber released the official album cover and album name on Facebook. On October 4, 2011, Mariah Carey revealed that she and Bieber recorded her song "All I Want for Christmas Is You" as a duet for the new album.

   The album's first single "Mistletoe", written and produced with The Messengers, was released on October 17, 2011.

   The album debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, shipping 210,000 units during its opening week. Under the Mistletoe is Justin Bieber's third No. 1 album and the first Christmas album by a male artist to debut at No. 1. Bieber is also the first solo artist to have three No. 1 albums before his 18th birthday. For all of 2011, the album totaled 1,245,000 copies in U.S. sales according to Nielsen SoundScan, and was the eight best-selling album of the year. The album also debuted within the top 10 in Spain, Australia, Norway and the Netherlands.

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