Table of Contents Life and career 2 1994 2007: Childhood and youth 2008 10: Discovery, My Worlds and subsequent releases 3 2011 present: Never Say Never film, Under the Mistletoe and Believe 5 Image 6 Religious, moral and political views 6 Crowd control problems and other fan behavior 7 Criticism and parodies 7 2 1 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 release, My World, followed in November 2009, and was later 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 studio release, My World 2.0, was released in March 2010 and debuted at number one and within the top ten of 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 You- Tube 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 nearly matched the record for the biggest opening weekend for a concert-film. Bieber has been nominated and awarded numerous accolades, winning Artist of the Year at the 2010 American Music Awards, and being nominated for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards. Bieber is considered a teen idol, and has been subject to acclaim from fans, as well as criticism and controversy from matters concerning his popularity and image. Life and career 1994 2007: 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, who worked a series of lowpaying office jobs, raised 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. 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. 2008 10: Discovery, My Worlds and subsequent releases 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. 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 Bieber in September 2009 at the Nintendo During his childhood, Bieber was interested in hockey, soccer, and chess; he often Jewish religion; she remembered praying, World Store God, I gave him to you. You could send which had an opening weekend gross that kept his musical aspirations to himself. As Bieber s first single, One Time, was Bieber 2 3 Bieber
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. Bieber s 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 UK. 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. 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. Baby, the lead single from his debut album, My World 2.0, which features Ludacris, was released in January 2010 and became his biggest hit thus far, charting at number five in the U.S. and reaching the top ten in seven other countries. 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, and Australian Albums Chart, and the New Zealand Albums Chart [25] 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, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Dome and 106 and Park. Bieber collaborated with Sean Kingston on his single Eenie Meenie which also appeared on Bieber s debut album. The song reached the top ten in the United Kingdom and Australia, and the top-twenty of most other markets. My World 2.0, Somebody to Love, was released in April 2010, and a remix was released featuring Bieber s mentor Usher. The single reached number ten in Canada, number fifteen in the United States, and the top twenty in multiple international countries. 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, 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. My World Tour. Bieber guest-starred in the season premiere of the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, aired on September 23, 2010. He played a troubled teen who is faced with a difficult decision regarding his only brother. 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 release an acoustic album, called My Worlds Acoustic. It was released on Black Friday in the United States and featured acoustic versions of songs from his previous albums, and accompanied the release of a completely new song titled Pray. 2011 present: Never Say Never film, Under the Mistletoe and Believe A 3-D part-biopic, part-concert film starring Bieber entitled Justin Bieber: Never Bieber began recording his second album in July 2010 in New York City. At Say Never, was released February 11, this point, because of puberty, his voice 2011, directed by Step Up 3D director was deeper than it was when he recorded Jon Chu. It topped the box office with an his first album. In April 2010, the singer estimated grossing of $12.4 million on its discussing his vocals remarked, It cracks. opening day from 3,105 theaters. It grossed Bieber performed Stevie Wonder s Someday at Christmas for U.S. President it and I have the best vocal coach in the Like every teenage boy, I m dealing with $30.3 million for the weekend and was narrowly beaten by the romantic comedy Barack Obama and first lady Michelle world. [...] Some of the notes I hit on Just Go With It, which grossed $31 million. Obama at the White House for Christmas Baby I can t hit anymore. We have to Never Say Never is said to have exceeded in Washington, which was broadcast on lower the key when I sing live. British industry expectations, nearly matching the December 20, 2009, on U.S. television singer/songwriter Taio Cruz confirmed $31.1 million grossed by Miley Cyrus s broadcaster TNT. Bieber was also one of in July 2010 that he is writing songs for 2008 3-D concert film, Hannah Montana & the performers at Dick Clark s New Year s Bieber s next album. Hip hop producer Dr. Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, which holds the record for the top Rockin Eve with Ryan Seacrest on December 31, 2009. Bieber was a presenter house, in August 2010 Bieber performing at the Conseco Field- Dre produced two songs with Bieber in July 2010 but it is unknown if they were debut for a music-documentary. The film is at the 52nd Grammy Awards on January made for the album, which is currently due accompanied by his second remix album, 31, 2010. He was invited to be a vocalist On April 10, 2010, Bieber was the musical for a 2011 release. Never Say Never The Remixes, released for the remake of We Are The World for guest on Saturday Night Live. On July February 14, 2011, and features remixes of its 25th anniversary to benefit Haiti after 4, 2010, Bieber performed at the Macy s songs from his debut album, with guest appearances the earthquake. Bieber sings the opening Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular in from Miley Cyrus, Chris Brown, line, which was sung by Lionel Richie in New York City. The second single from Bieber performing in Jakarta during his and Kanye West, among others. Bieber 4 5 Bieber
In June 2011, Bieber was ranked number 2 on the Forbes list of Best-Paid Celebrities under 30. He is the youngest star and 1 of 7 musicians on the list raking in with $53 million earned in a 12 month period. It was confirmed that Bieber will release his second studio album Under the Mistletoe, on November 1, 2011. Bieber is currently recording his third studio album entitled Believe. Kanye West and Drake are confirmed to be featured on the album. Image The Observer newspaper in the UK published a report indicating that Justin Bieber is more influential in the social networking sphere than Barack Obama or The Dalai Lama. According to Jan Hoffman of The New York Times, part of Bieber s appeal stems from his YouTube channel. Long before he released his EP, My World, in mid-november, the YouTube videos attracted millions of views. Braun recognized the appeal. Prior to 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 over 6 million followers. Since then he has been consistently gaining followers at an average of 24,000 per day. The accounts also serve marketing purposes; for example, Bieber s music video for One Time only began selling quickly after it was uploaded to YouTube. 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 Kenny, 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 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. in Bieber is a Christian. He said he has a relationship with Jesus, talks to him and 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 doesn t 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, with Rolling Stone commenting, 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. On April 26, 2010, a scheduled promotional performance in Australia was canceled by police after several girls were injured in a crowd crush. In a Twitter message after the incident, Bieber said: I m very happy about the welcome and the love from around the world, but I want everyone to still remember my fans safety comes first. At the end of the day I want you all to enjoy the music. The incident did not deter Bieber from scheduling a five-city tour in Australia, as announced on December 2010. Bieber s popularity among pre-teen and teenage girls has led to criticism by his fans of other people, including personal attacks, death threats, and slanderous remarks. These are largely aimed at women with whom the press has romantically associated Bieber, most notably socialite Kim Kardashian, singer and tour-mate Jasmine Villegas, and actress/singer Selena Gomez. Criticism and parodies Bieber has often been criticized for looking and sounding younger than his age, his teen-pop music, image, and frequent media attention. He has been a frequent target of Bieber is often featured in teen magazines Internet bloggers and message board posters notably by users of Internet message such as Tiger Beat, and has been labeled as Bieber has said he is not interested in obtaining United States citizenship, praising a teen hearthrob. Bieber has released a board 4chan, users of YouTube, and various Facebook groups. Pranks have includ- collection of nail varnishes to raise awareness for charity. Wax statues of Bieber world, citing its health care system as an Canada as being the best country in the ed a successful campaign to push Justin are on display at Madame Tussauds wax example. Bieber Syphilis to the top of the Google museums in New York, Amsterdam and Crowd control problems and Trends Hot Searches list; hacked YouTube London. His change of hairstyle in 2010, videos that were altered to redirect users to and the consequent alterations to Bieber other fan behavior adult websites or trigger pop-up messages products, led to it being called the most Bieber performing in front of a crowd in saying that Bieber had been killed in a car expensive musical haircut of all time; one September 2009 accident; his Last.fm photograph being company spent $100,000 to fix its dolls for changed to pornographic images; various the 2011 Christmas season. While promoting My World, Bieber was rumors circulated, including that Bieber scheduled to appear at Long Island s had died, joined a cult, or even that his Roosevelt Field Mall. The performance mother was offered $50,000 to pose topless was canceled after fans allegedly began in Playboy magazine none of which were Bieber performing Favorite Girl in Zurich, Switzerland April, 2011. the Nassau County and Garden City police pushing and shoving. Over 35 units from true. All this forced the affected companies Religious, moral and political to update their security protocols to reverse departments had to be summoned, and views the damage, and Bieber himself tweeted to Usher comments that while he and Bieber several fans received minor injuries. fans reassuring them that he was still liv- Bieber 6 7 Bieber
ing and that false rumors about his mother just grossed and weirded [him] out. Most notable was the campaign to send Bieber to North Korea as part of his world tour (entitled My World Tour). This was carried out by 4chan users voting for the country on the tour s website, for the free competition to nominate a bonus country for the tour the second-placed country being Israel. Universal Music Group has denied any involvement in a poll that became the target of an online prank. A spokesperson for UMG told BBC News that it was a hoax but declined to give any further comment. Nick Collins of The Daily Telegraph speculated that Bieber s character also appears to strike a particularly sour note with his Internet critics, with many remarks commenting on his youthful appearance, his teen-pop songs, his image as a heart-throb to young teenage girls and his manner of speech. Albums Released Album Name Under the Mistletoe 2011 Never Say Never 2011 My World 2.0 2010 My worlds 2009 Year Released If you don t dream big, there s no use of dreaming. If you don t have faith, there s nothing worth believing. Bieber 8