Justin Bieber...a soul-singing pop super star. One listen is all it takes to realize that he is light years ahead of most pop icons. In 2007, Justin posted home-made videos on YouTube. His main focus was on Usher, Ne-Yo and others like Stevie Wonder. Singing along with the music, he would add his own little touches. Justin's videos sky-rocketed to over 10,000,000, just by word of mouth alone.
Justin grew up an only child in Stratford, Ontario. His love of singing only began about four years ago. He entered a Canadian singing competition called the Stratford Idol. Here was this little 12 year old kid, entering a competition, where all the competitors had been taking singing and vocal lessons for years and who had vocal coaches. Justin said he hadn't taken singing seriously yet and was only singing around the house. But he came in second place of the competition despite it all.
Justin became so excited about his win, that he wanted to share it with his friends and family, so he began posting his performances YouTube. As luck would have it, other people online started watching his videos, too and started subscribing to them. In actuality, that's how his manager found him, by watching YouTube and he contacted Justin's family. And that's how he got contracted.
About six or seven months after he started posting his video's, Scooter Braun, a former So So Def marketing manager, contacted 13 year old Justin and flew him to Atlanta, Georgia. Justin not only was a natural at singing ability, but he also was self-taught at playing piano, guitar, trumpet, and drums. Justin was a big hit with all the big wigs. After the meeting there, Justin was being taken to the studio and as they pulled into the parking lot, there was his idol, Usher. Justin was thrilled to be able to tell Usher in person how much he loved his music.
Usher began looking at Justin's video's after Justin flew back to Canada. Usher knew that Justin had what it took to be a superstar and had Justin flown back to Atlanta a week later. Justin sang for Usher and his crew and was asked to sign on right then and there, but Justin had a meeting set up with Justin Timberlake, who also wanted to sign him on. As it turned out, Usher's deal was much better than Justin Timberlake's.
Justin signed with Island Records, October 2008. "My World", was his debut album. The songs on it were mostly about teen romance and coming of age.Justin worked with production stars like Midi Mafia, The Dream, Usher, and Tricky Stewart. The album sold 137,000 copies in it's first week out. It debut as #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart and went Gold in a week. It was certified Platinum less than a month later. The album made Gold in America about two months later, then went Platinum.
His first single, “One Time” was produced by Tricky and was about puppy love. Usher joined Justin on “First Dance”. Midi-Mafia produced “Down to Earth”, which is about growing up. “Bigger” is a bit of a motivational song to encourage his listeners to reach for their goals in life.
Justin says his goal is to be as positive an influence for others that he can be. His message is that you can do anything if you just put your mind to it. He grew up on the poorer side of poverty, he didn't have as much as other people. Justin believes it made him a stronger person and helped built his character. Now his grades are at a 4.0 GPA and is looking forward to going to college.
Justin is a solid music force and will be for a very long time. He knows he will grow as an artist and his fan base will continue to grow with him. Older people can appreciate his music as well because he shows true heart when he sings and it's not all bubblegum pop. Justin loves having fans from elementary school to adult.
