- Singer and songwriter born in 1994 in London, Ontario, Canada.
- As a child, Bieber learned to play the piano, drums, trumpet and guitar, and he showed a talent for singing. He sang R&B songs – in 2007, he sang at entrance to the Avon Theater in Stratford Ontario, and tourists would give him money for his performances. At 12 years old, he entered a singing competition, singing Ne-Yo’s So Sick, and placed second. Bieber’s mother posted a video on YouTube of the performance for family and friends to see. She uploaded more videos of his singing, and his popularity on YouTube started to grow.
- A music industry executive was searching YouTube for new talent, and he happened to click on one of Bieber’s videos. The executive was impressed, and he tracked down Bieber. At 13 years old, Bieber traveled to Atlanta to record some demos. Within a week, he was singing for R&B artist Usher, and in 2008 he was signed to a recording contract.
- While recording his debut album, a single, One Time, was released in May 2009. It peaked at #17 on the Hot 100 chart. Thanks to its success on streaming services, the single was certified 5x platinum in 2015 – one of over 50 of Bieber’s recordings that have been certified.
- Bieber released a debut EP, My World, in November 2009 and debut album, My World 2.0, in March 2010. All songs were co-written by Bieber – true of all of his music. Five singles from the EP and album charted in the top 20, with Baby (featuring Ludacris) peaking at #5 and getting a 12x platinum certification. The video has over 2.2 billion views on YouTube. He quickly was in high demand for promotional appearances, singing at the White House for the Obamas, performing on late night talk shows and Saturday Night Live, presenting at the Grammy awards and participating in the 2010 remake of We Are The World.
- In 2011, a concert film and biopic titled Justin Bieber: Never Say Never was released. It grossed nearly $100 million worldwide. Accompanying the film was an album, Never Say Never: The Remixes, containing remixes of songs from his debut album, with guest appearances from rap, pop and country artists. One new song, Never Say Never, was part of the album – it peaked at #8 on the Hot 100, and it was used as the theme song for the film The Karate Kid. Also in 2011, he released a Christmas album – it debuted at #1 on the album chart, and the single Mistletoe peaked at #11 on the Hot 100 chart.
- At 17 years old, Bieber was on Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and was #2 on Forbes magazine’s list of the Best-Paid Celebrities under age 30, making $53 million over a 12 month period.
- Bieber’s next album, Believe, was released in the summer of 2012. The album was a departure from the teen-pop sound of his earlier music – this album was more R&B and dance-pop, and it featured a deeper voice from Bieber, thanks to puberty. Hit singles were Boyfriend (reaching #2 on the Hot 100), As Long As You Love Me (#6) and Beauty and the Beat (#5).
- In the fall of 2013, Bieber released 10 new songs each Monday for 10 consecutive weeks, leading up to the release of another concert film titled Justin Bieber’s Believe. The songs were then compiled into an on-line compilation, along with 5 additional songs – the compilation was titled Journals. All 15 songs charted, with the highest charting song Heartbreaker peaking at #13.
- 2015 saw the release of his next studio album, Purpose. His best selling songs came from this album – Where Are Ü Now reached #8 and was 4x platinum, What Do You Mean? was his first #1 song and was 6x platinum, Sorry topped the chart and was 8x platinum and Love Yourself was his third consecutive #1 and was 7x platinum. Where Are Ü Now, a collaboration with EDM artists Skrillex and Diplo, won the Grammy award for Best Dance Song in 2016. Sorry ranks #12 on the list of the most watched videos on YouTube, with over 3.4 billion views.
- After the Purpose album, Bieber focused on collaborations and also went on hiatus, dealing with personal issues. From 2016 to 2019, he was the featured artist on releases from 6 artists that were major hits. Two songs were #1 on the Hot 100 – Despacito by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee and I’m the One by DJ Khalid. Notably, Despacito was moderately popular before the remix version, but after it was re-released with Bieber’s collaboration, it became the #2 song for the year, and it is the second most watched video on YouTube of all time, with over 7.2 billion views. In 2019, he co-wrote and provided vocals for I Don’t Care with Ed Sheeran, and the song was included on a Sheeran’s No. 6 Collaborations Project album – the single peaked at #2 in the U.S. and at #1 in 26 other countries. He also co-wrote and provided vocals for 10,000 Hours with country artist Dan + Shay – it debuted at #4 on the Hot 100 and it became the highest charting non-holiday country song in the history of Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart. The song won the 2021 Grammy award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.
- Bieber returned to recording with the release of his fifth studio album in January 2020 – Changes. It debuted at #1 on the album chart – all of his studio albums topped the chart, as well as 2 of his remix albums. Ten years into his career, he still had big hits – the first single from the album was Yummy, which peaked at #2, and his next single, Intentions, reached #8.
- In his short career, Bieber has become one of music’s most successful artists. He has sold over 150 million records, making him one of the 20 top selling artists of all time. He has 14 Grammy nominations, with two wins. His music channel on YouTube is the most viewed music channel on the website. It’s an amazing stroke of luck – mom posting videos to superstardom in 2 years. He is supremely talented, still prolific in writing – one would expect continued success for many years. Personally, I think his singing voice is spectacular. Watch the video for Where Are Ü Now – I picked it because his voice sounds great, I’m a fan of EDM, and the video itself is fun. Check it out!
How could you????
Nathan – welcome to the 21st century. There is talent today too!