Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber visits 'Late Night With Jimmy Fallon'
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Justin Bieber (born March 1, 1994) became one of the biggest teen pop artists of all time. He was discovered through performance videos posted on YouTube. Despite difficulties in his personal life, Justin Bieber successfully made the transition from teen artist to successful adult pop artist.

Early Years

Justin Bieber was born March 1, 1994, and grew up in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. At the age of 12, he entered a local singing competition against others who had significantly more experience and the benefit of vocal coaches. Justin Bieber came in second place singing Ne-Yo's "So Sick." To share his success and talent with family members, he began posting videos of his performances on YouTube. Visitors to the site began subscribing to Justin Bieber's videos, and he ended up with over 10 million views of his performances.

When Justin Bieber was just 13, his future manager Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive for So So Def, discovered him. Just seven months after Bieber began uploading the videos to YouTube, he was flown to Atlanta to meet superstar R&B singer Usher. He also ended up meeting with Justin Timberlake who was another star with an interest in signing Justin Bieber to a contract.

In October 2008 Justin Bieber took the deal offered by Usher and signed to Island Records. He says that it was simply the best deal and Usher was backed up by label exec L.A. Reid. Justin Bieber headed into the studio to begin recording his debut album My World with backup vocals from Usher on at least one track.

Personal Life

Justin Bieber's first high profile romantic relationship occurred between December 2010 and November 2012. He dated singer Selena Gomez. In the wake of the breakup, they both recorded hit songs that referenced parts of the relationship.

In January 2014, Justin Bieber was arrested for the first time on a driving under the influence charge. In July 2014, he was arrested on a misdemeanor vandalism charge for throwing eggs at a neighbor's home. In August 2014, the driving under the influence charge with admission of guilt to a lesser driving without due care and attention charge. Then in September 2014, Justin Bieber was arrested for assault and dangerous driving near his hometown of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. 

Teen Pop Star

Justin Bieber's first single "One Time" was released in July 2009 and began climbing the pop singles chart in the U.S. and Canada. He was selected to be a presenter at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Usher appears in the music video for "One Time." The album My World was released November 17, 2009, and debuted at #6 on the album chart. Eventually, My World peaked at #5 the following spring. It produced four top 40 pop singles.

Justin Bieber conceived his second album to be a continuation of his first. The single "Baby" featuring Ludacris was released in advance and debuted at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 2010. hit stores in March 2010 and debuted at #1 on the chart. That made 16-year-old Justin Bieber the youngest solo male to hit #1 on the album chart since 13-year-old Stevie Wonder in 1963.

The recognition of Justin Bieber for the quality of his music began to hit full stride in late 2010. The MTV Video Music Awards named him Best New Artist. In November, Justin Bieber was the big winner at the American Music Awards, taking home four honors including Album of the Year and Artist of the Year. The Grammy Awards named him one of the nominees for Best New Artist in December 2010. The day after Thanksgiving 2010 Justin Bieber released the album My Worlds Acoustic to share stripped down versions of his songs.

In November 2011 Justin Bieber gave a Christmas gift to his fans. He released an album and it quickly became another #1 chart hit. The single "Mistletoe" peaked just outside the top 10. The album included guest appearances from Usher, the Band Perry, and Boyz II Men. Mariah Carey re-recorded her classic hit "All I Want For Christmas Is You" as a duet for the album. Under the Mistletoe was certified platinum for sales. By the end of 2015, it had sold more than 1.5 million copies in the US alone.

Early in 2012, Justin Bieber released the single "Boyfriend" as a lead-in for his third studio album Believe. The R&B oriented single debuted at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was released in June 2012 and became a #1 smash on charts around the world selling over 370,000 copies in its first week in the US. Two more singles "As Long As You Love Me" and "Beauty and a Beat" reached the pop top 10 in the US. An acoustic remix of the album was released in January 2013.

Transition to Adult Artist

Justin Bieber turned 19 in March of 2013, and it proved to be both a trying and productive year. He spent much of the year touring in support of the Believe album and generated negative tabloid stories in many different countries. Among the accusations were tactless disrespect for other cultures including an affront to the memory of Anne Frank and desecrating the Argentinian flag onstage. Justin Bieber closed out the year releasing a series of 10 singles he called Music Mondays and debuting his Believe 3D concert film.

With the self-inflicted damage to his personal reputation, many music industry observers began to predict the demise of Justin Bieber as a major pop star. 2014 was his first year since 2008 without releasing either an EP or album. His only single released during 2014 as a lead artist was a collaboration with Cody Simpson titled "Home To Mama." It failed to have a significant chart impact. 

However, predictions of long-term failure for Justin Bieber were premature. In February 2015, he appeared as a featured vocalist on the single "Where Are U Now" by Jack U, a project of DJs Skrillex and Diplo. The song became a sleeper smash hit. It peaked at #8 on the US pop chart becoming Justin Bieber's first appearance in the top 10 since 2012. It also earned Justin Bieber his first Grammy Award, winning the Best Dance Recording category.

Justin Bieber had even bigger hits in store later in the year. On August 28th, he released the electronic pop song "What Do You Mean?" It debuted at #1 on the US pop chart making Justin Bieber the youngest male solo artist to achieve the feat. "Sorry," Justin Bieber's second single from his upcoming album Purpose, debuted at #2 and ultimately hit #1. In February 2016, "Love Yourself" replaced "Sorry" at #1 making Justin Bieber only the 12th artist to knock himself out of the #1 slot. In December 2015, Justin Bieber held three of the top five slots on the US pop singles chart. He is the only artist other than 50 Cent and the Beatles to reach that accomplishment. 

The album Purpose was released in November 2015. It debuted at #1 on the US album chart selling more than 500,000 copies in its first week. It was the biggest album sales week of his career. By the end of 2015, Purpose ranked as the third biggest selling album of the year with more than 1.25 million copies sold. 

Justin Bieber began 2016 as one of the world's biggest pop stars. His hot streak continued in July when his single "Cold Water" with Major Lazer and Mo debuted at #2 on the US pop chart. It went to #1 on both the dance chart and at mainstream pop radio. Justin Bieber began his Purpose world concert tour in March 2016, but the remaining shows of the tour were canceled in July 2017. 

In 2017, Justin Bieber helped two singles reach #1 on the US pop chart due to his featured contributions. He appeared along with Chance the Rapper and Lil Wayne on DJ Khaled's "I'm the One" which reached #1 on the US pop chart. He also appeared on the remix of "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee. The song became the first mostly Spanish language song to hit #1 in the US in over 20 years. It was also the first record on which Justin Bieber sings in Spanish.

Top Singles

  • 2015 - "What Do You Mean?" - The song "What Do You Mean?," the first song released from Justin Bieber's Purpose album, was co-written with Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd and Mason Levy. The synth-based dance-pop sound was seen by many as a sort of sequel to Justin Bieber's featured success earlier in 2015 on "Where Are U Now" by Skrillex and Diplo. "What Do You Mean?" soared to the top of the pop chart in the US. It also reached the top or the dance chart and broke into the top 10 at adult pop radio. Many publications listed it as one of the top 10 songs of 2015.
  • 2015 - "Sorry" - This second single from the album Purpose has a strong Caribbean influence with tropical and dancehall-influenced beats. It was co-written with Julia Michaels, Justin Tranter, and Skrillex. Justin Bieber confirmed that the pleas for forgiveness in the song were written in response to his breakup with Selena Gomez. "Sorry" was an instant smash hit. It followed "What Do You Mean?" to #1 on the US pop chart. The song also topped the dance chart and reached the top 10 at both Latin pop and adult pop radio.
  • 2015 - "Love Yourself" - "Love Yourself," co-written by Ed Sheeran, is the third #1 pop smash from the album Purpose. It veers away from dance music toward acoustic pop. Ed Sheeran originally wrote "Love Yourself" for his own album before giving it to Justin Bieber. Ed Sheeran appears performing background vocals on the record. "Love Yourself" hit #1 across mainstream pop, adult pop, and adult contemporary radio. It also climbed all the way to #2 on the dance chart. "Love Yourself" earned two Grammy Award nominations for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.

Impact

Justin Bieber was one of the most successful teen pop artists of all time. When he transitioned to being an adult artist with the release of the Purpose album at age 21, Justin Bieber became an even bigger pop star. The album opened with sales of over 500,000 copies in its first week and a #1 debut on the album chart. It generated three consecutive #1 pop hit singles. Justin Bieber has sold more than one hundred million records worldwide.