Justin Drew Bieber 

(/biːbər/; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. He was

discovered by American record executive Scooter Braun and signed with RBMG Records in

2008, gaining recognition with the release of his debut seven-track EP My World (2009)

and soon establishing himself as a teen idol. Bieber's versatile cross-genre approach

towards music and showmanship have received widespread recognition.[4]

He achieved commercial success with his debut studio album, My World 2.0 (2010), which

debuted atop the Billboard 200, making him the youngest solo male act to top the chart in

47 years.[5] The album also contained the internationally successful single "Baby", which

became one of the highest certified singles of all time in the US.[6] His second studio

album, Under the Mistletoe (2011), became the first Christmas album by a male artist to

debut at number one on the Billboard 200.[7] Subsequently, his third studio

album, Believe (2012), saw Bieber experiment with dance-pop and mature themes.

[8]
 Following Believe, Bieber was involved in various controversies and legal issues between

2013 and 2014, which drastically impacted his public image.[9] However, since 2015, he has

been setting his priorities to focus on mental health [10] and take responsibility for past

transgressions.[11]

Bieber's fourth studio album, Purpose, was released in 2015. It was preceded by "Where

Are Ü Now", a collaboration with Jack Ü , which saw Bieber explore EDM,[12] and win

the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.[13] Purpose embodied a multi-genre

production through dance-pop, EDM, soul and influences of tropical house in the album's

tracks. It produced three number-one singles: "What Do You Mean?", "Love Yourself", and

"Sorry". Bieber diversified on numerous collaborations between 2016 and 2017

including DJ Khaled's "I'm the One", which became his first number-one single in hip hop. A

week later, he released his remix to Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito", claiming

his fifth number-one single and first in Latin. It tied the then-record for most weeks atop

the Billboard Hot 100 and made Bieber the first artist in history to chart new number-one

singles in consecutive weeks. In 2019, he released a country collaboration with Dan + Shay,

"10,000 Hours", which peaked in the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 and won the Grammy

Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.[14]

His fifth studio album, Changes (2020), saw Bieber employ a R&B-centric direction and

produced the top five singles "Yummy" and "Intentions". The album debuted atop

the Billboard 200, making him the youngest solo artist to have seven albums reach number

one in the U.S., breaking a 59-year-old record held by Elvis Presley. In May 2020, Bieber

released a duet with Ariana Grande, "Stuck with U", which reached number one and helped

support first responders and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic. He released his

sixth studio album, Justice (2021), which received global recognition and produced his

seventh number-one single "Peaches". In July 2021, Bieber released a synth-

pop collaboration with the Kid Laroi, "Stay", which became his eighth number-one single in

the U.S.[15]

Bieber is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 150

million records worldwide. He is credited with three Diamond certifications from

the RIAA for "Baby", "Sorry" and "Despacito". He has received numerous accolades,

including 31 Guinness World Records, two Grammy Awards, a record 21 MTV Europe

Music Awards, 20 Billboard Music Awards, 18 American Music Awards, two Brit Awards,

four MTV Video Music Awards, and a Latin Grammy Award.[16] Time named Bieber one of
the 100 most influential people in the world in 2011, and he was included on Forbes' list of

the top ten most powerful celebrities in 2011, 2012, and 2013.[17] Outside of his music

career, he also starred in the concert films Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (2011) and Justin

Bieber's Believe (2013), while his personal issues were chronicled in the documentary

series Justin Bieber: Seasons (2020).

Bieber was born on March 1, 1994, at St Joseph's Hospital in London, Ontario,[18] and was

raised in Stratford, Ontario.[19] He is the son of Jeremy Jack Bieber and Pattie Mallette, who

were never married.[20] Mallette's mother Diane and stepfather Bruce helped her raise her

son.[21] Bieber's ancestry includes French-Canadian, Irish, English, Scottish, and German.[22]

[23][24]

Through his father Jeremy, Bieber has three younger half-siblings. Jeremy and his ex-wife

Erin Wagner,[25] who broke up in 2014 after seven years together, have two children,

daughter Jazmyn and son Jaxon.[26] Jeremy married his girlfriend Chelsey in February 2018,

and they have a daughter named Bay.[27][28] Bieber also has a stepsister named Allie, the

daughter of his stepmother.[29] Pattie 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.[30]

Bieber attended a French-language immersion elementary school in Stratford, the Jeanne

Sauvé Catholic School.[21] Growing up, he learned to play the piano, drums, guitar, and

trumpet.[19][31] He graduated from high school in Stratford, Ontario, the St. Michael Catholic

Secondary School in 2012[32] with a 4.0 GPA.[33] In early 2007, aged 12, Bieber sang Ne-Yo's
"So Sick" for a local singing competition in Stratford and was placed second. [31][34] 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.[35] In the same year, Bieber busked shows in front of Avon

Theatre steps with a rented guitar during tourism season.[36]

Career

2008–2009: Career beginnings and My World

Bieber at a signing event in 2009

When searching for videos of a different singer, Scooter Braun, a former marketing

executive of So So Def Recordings, clicked on one of Bieber's 2007 YouTube videos by

accident.[30] Impressed, Braun tracked down the theatre Bieber was performing in, located

Bieber's school, and finally contacted Mallette, who was reluctant because of Braun's

Judaism. She remembered praying, "God, I gave him to you. You could send me a Christian

man, a Christian label!", and, "God, you don't want this Jewish kid to be Justin's man, do

you?" However, church elders convinced her to let Bieber go with Braun. At 13, Bieber
went to Atlanta, Georgia, with Braun to record demo tapes.[30] Bieber began singing

for Usher one week later.[37]

Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between

Braun and Usher.[38] Justin Timberlake was also reportedly in the running to sign Bieber but

lost the bidding war to Usher (partly because of the idea that two associated Justins would

confuse the market).[38][39]

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 L.A. Reid of The Island Def Jam

Music Group.[40] 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 could manage Bieber's career at the label.[3][35][38][40] Bieber

then moved to Atlanta with his mother to pursue further work with Braun and Usher.
[38]
 Braun became Bieber's manager in 2008.[35]

Bieber's first single, "One Time", was released to radio while Bieber was still recording his

debut album.[41] The song reached number 12 on the Canadian Hot 100 during its first week

of release in July 2009[35] and peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the

United States. During fall 2009, it had success in international markets. [42] The song

was certified platinum in Canada and the US and gold in Australia and New Zealand.[43][44]
[45]
 His first release, an extended play titled 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 40
of the US Billboard Hot 100.[42] As a result, he became the first solo artist to have four

singles chart in the top 40 of the Hot 100 before the release of a debut album.[46]

"One Less Lonely Girl" was later also released to radio and peaked within the top 20 in

Canada and the US, and was certified gold in the latter.[42] Following the release of My

World on December 5, 2009, Bieber became the first artist to have seven songs from a

debut album chart on the Billboard Hot 100.[47] My World was eventually certified platinum

in the US and double platinum in both Canada and the United Kingdom.[48][49][50] 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,[51][52] 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. Bieber also guest starred in an episode

of True Jackson, VP in late 2009.[53]

Bieber performed Ron Miller and Bryan Wells's "Someday at Christmas" for former US

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at the White House for Christmas in

Washington, which aired on December 20, 2009, on US television broadcaster TNT.

[54]
 Bieber was also one of the performers for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan

Seacrest, on December 31, 2009.[55]

2010–2011: My World 2.0 and Never Say Never

Bieber performing at the 2010 White House Easter Egg Roll, displaying his earlier

trademark haircut

Bieber was a presenter at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards on January 31, 2010. He was

invited to be a vocalist for the remake of "We Are the World" (a song written by Michael

Jackson and Lionel Richie) for its 25th anniversary to benefit Haiti after the earthquake.

Bieber sings the opening line, which was sung by Lionel Richie in the original version.[56]

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.[57]

In January 2010, "Baby" was released from his debut album My World 2.0. The song

featured Ludacris, and became an international hit. It charted at number five on the

US Billboard Hot 100, peaked at number three on the Canadian Hot 100[58] and reached the

top ten in several international markets.[42] Two promo singles, "Never Let You Go" and "U

Smile", were top 30 hits on the US Hot 100, and top 20 hits in Canada.[42] According to

review aggregator Metacritic, the album has received generally favourable reviews.[59] It

debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, making Bieber the youngest solo male act
to top the chart since Stevie Wonder in 1963.[5] My World 2.0 also debuted at number one

on the Canadian Albums Chart, Irish Albums Chart, Australian Albums Chart, and the New

Zealand Albums Chart[42] and reached the top 10 of fifteen other countries.[60][61]

To promote the album, Bieber appeared on several live programs including The View, the

2010 Kids' Choice Awards, Nightline, Late Show with David Letterman, The Dome and 106 &

Park.[62] Sean Kingston appeared on the album's next single "Eenie Meenie". The song

reached the top ten in the United Kingdom and Australia, and the top 20 of most other

markets. On April 10, 2010, Bieber was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live.[63] On July

4, 2010, Bieber performed at the Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular in New York

City.[64] The following single from My World 2.0, "Somebody to Love", was released in April

2010, and a remix was released featuring Bieber's mentor Usher. 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 May 2010, Bieber featured in Soulja

Boy's song "Rich Girl".[65] In July 2010, it was reported that Bieber was the most searched-

for celebrity on the Internet.[66] That same month, his music video for "Baby"

surpassed Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" (2009) as the most viewed, and also the most

disliked, YouTube video at the time.[67][68] However, Taylor Swift's video for her single

"Blank Space" (2014) surpassed its number of views in 2015. [69] In September 2010, it was

reported that Bieber accounted for 3% of all traffic on Twitter, according to an employee of

the social-networking site.[70]

Bieber performing in Indonesia during his My World Tour in 2011

On My World 2.0, Bieber's voice was noted to be deeper than it was in his debut EP, due

to puberty.[71] In April 2010, the singer remarked regarding his vocals: "It cracks. Like every

teenage boy, I'm dealing with it and I have the best vocal coach in the world ... Some of the

notes I hit on "Baby" I can't hit any more. We have to lower the key when I sing

live."[72] Bieber guest-starred in the season premiere of the CBS American crime drama CSI:

Crime Scene Investigation, which aired on September 23, 2010. He played a "troubled teen

who is faced with a difficult decision regarding his only brother", who is also a serial

bomber. Bieber was also in a subsequent episode of the series, which aired on February 17,

2011, in which his character is killed.[73] Bieber performed a medley of his singles "U Smile",

"Baby", and "Somebody to Love", and briefly played the drums, at the 2010 MTV Video

Music Awards on September 12, 2010.[74] Bieber announced in October 2010 that he would

be releasing an acoustic album, called My Worlds Acoustic.[75] It was released on November

26, 2010, in the United States and featured acoustic versions of songs from his previous

albums, and accompanied the release of a new song titled "Pray".[76]

A 3-D part-biopic, part-concert film starring Bieber entitled Justin Bieber: Never Say Never,

was released on February 11, 2011, directed by Step Up 3D director Jon M. Chu. It topped

the box office with an estimated gross of $12.4 million on its opening day from 3,105
theatres.[77] It grossed $30.3 million for the weekend and was narrowly beaten by the

romantic comedy Just Go with It, which grossed $31 million.[78] Never Say Never reportedly

exceeded industry expectations, nearly matching the $31.1 million grossed by Miley

Cyrus's 2008 3-D concert film, Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds

Concert, which holds the record for the top debut for a music-documentary.[79] Never Say

Never grossed a total of $98,441,954 worldwide.[80] The film is accompanied by his second

remix album, Never Say Never – The Remixes, released February 14, 2011, and features

remixes of songs from his debut album, with guest appearances from Miley Cyrus, Chris

Brown, and Kanye West, among others.[81] One song from the album, "That Should Be Me",

featuring country music band Rascal Flatts, won him his first award in country music for

Collaborative Video of the Year at the CMT Music Awards in June 2011. Time magazine

named Bieber one of the 100 most influential people in the world on their annual list.[82] In

June 2011, Bieber was ranked No. 2 on the Forbes list of Best-Paid Celebrities under 30. He

is the youngest star, and 1 of 7 musicians on the list, having raked in $53 million in a 12-

month period.[83] The same month, his collaborative single "Next to You" with American

singer Chris Brown has released. The unfinished video for that song was leaked online on

June 6, and the official video was released on June 17. On November 1, 2011, Bieber

released the Christmas-themed Under the Mistletoe, his second studio album. It debuted at

No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 210,000 copies in its first week of release. [84] The first

single from the album, "Mistletoe" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Holiday

Digital Songs chart.[85] Bieber re-recorded Mariah Carey's single "All I Want for Christmas Is

You" with Carey as well for the album.[86]

2012–2014: Believe, Journals, and other appearances

In late 2011, Bieber began recording his third studio album, titled Believe. The following

week, Bieber appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to announce that the first single would

be called "Boyfriend", and was released on March 26, 2012.[87] The song debuted at number

two on the US Billboard Hot 100, selling a total of 521,000 digital units, the second-highest-

ever debut digital sales week.[88] Bill Werde of Billboard noted that it failed to debut at

number one because the digital download of the track was available only through

the iTunes Store, "restricting the buying option for those [who] do not frequent the Apple

retail store".[89] "Boyfriend" became Bieber's first single ever to reach the top position on

the Canadian Hot 100 by debuting at number one and staying on for one week.[88] Bieber

was featured on American hip hop group Far East Movement's song "Live My Life", from

their fourth studio album Dirty Bass, in February 2012. The song emerged online five days

before its scheduled release date and peaked within the top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100.
[90]
 The first promotional single from the album, "Die in Your Arms", was released on May

29, 2012, and the second promotional single, "All Around the World" featuring American

rapper Ludacris, followed the next week.[91][92] The second single from Believe, "As Long as

You Love Me" featuring rapper Big Sean, was released on June 11, 2012. It peaked at

number six on the Billboard Hot 100.[93]

Bieber performing during his Believe Tour in October 2012

His third studio album, Believe, was released on June 19, 2012, by Island Records. The

album marked a musical departure from the teen pop sound of his previous releases, and

incorporated elements of dance-pop and R&B genres.[94] Intent on developing a more

"mature" sound, Bieber collaborated with a wide range of urban producers for the release

as well as some long-time collaborators, including Darkchild, Hit-Boy, Diplo, and Max

Martin. Entertainment Weekly praised Bieber's musical shift, calling the album both a

"reinvention and a reintroduction".[95] Rolling Stone noted the deeper voice and more

"intense" beats found on the album, although it lampooned one of his euphemisms for

newfound sexual maturity ("If you spread your wings, you can fly away with me").
[96]
 Believe debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming his fourth number-one

album.[97][98][99] The album sold 57,000 copies in its first week in Canada, debuting atop

the Canadian Albums Chart.[100] In September 2012, Bieber was featured on "Beautiful", a

song from Carly Rae Jepsen's second studio album, Kiss (2012).[101] In October 2012, the

third single from Believe, "Beauty and a Beat" featuring rapper Nicki Minaj, was released.

The music video held the record for the most video views in 24 hours when it was released,

with 10.6 million views.[102]

The Believe Tour, which further promoted the album, began in September 2012

in Glendale, Arizona.[103] On December 14, 2012, Bieber appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres

Show, where he announced plans to release an acoustic album titled Believe Acoustic, which

was released on January 29, 2013.[104]

Bieber returned to Saturday Night Live as the host and musical guest on the February 9,

2013 episode. His appearance was panned by critics[105][106] and cast members,

including Kate McKinnon, who said Bieber was not comfortable with his hosting duties,

and Bill Hader, who said he did not enjoy the presence of Bieber or his entourage. Hader

added that in his eight years on the television program, Bieber was the only host who lived

up to his reputation.[107][108]

On March 7, 2013, Bieber fainted backstage at London's O2 Arena after complaining of

breathing problems throughout his concert performance and was taken to the hospital.
[109]
 Bieber cancelled his second Lisbon, Portugal concert at the Pavilhã o Atlâ ntico, which

was to be held on March 12, because of low ticket sales. The concert held in the same venue

on March 11 did go on as scheduled.[110] In mid-August 2013, a remixed duet version of

Michael Jackson's previously unreleased song "Slave to the Rhythm", featuring

Bieber, leaked online.[111] In response to criticism over this remix, the Michael Jackson

Estate stated that it had not authorized the release of this recording, and has since made

attempts to remove the song from as many web sites and YouTube channels as possible.
[112]
 Later, a song titled "Twerk" by rapper Lil Twist, featuring Bieber as well as Miley Cyrus,

also leaked.[113] In September, Bieber was featured in Maejor Ali's song "Lolly" with

rapper Juicy J.[114] A music video for "Melodies", the debut single of American

singer Madison Beer, was released in the same month featuring Bieber in a cameo

appearance.[115]

On October 3, 2013, Bieber announced that he would release a new song every Monday for

10 weeks as a lead-up to the film Justin Bieber's Believe, which entered production in May

2012 and was released on December 25, 2013. The film is a follow-up to Bieber's first
theatrical film Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, with Jon M. Chu returning as director.[116][117]
[118]
 The first song of Music Mondays, "Heartbreaker", was released on October 7. The

second song, "All That Matters", was released on October 14, followed by "Hold Tight" on

October 21, "Recovery" on October 28, "Bad Day" on November 4, and "All Bad" on

November 11. The seventh song, "PYD" featuring R. Kelly, was released on November 18; it

was followed by "Roller Coaster" on November 25, and "Change Me" on December 2. The

final song, "Confident" featuring Chance the Rapper, was released on December 9, 2013.

That same day, it was announced that all 10 tracks will be featured on an upcoming

collection called Journals. It reportedly featured five additional unreleased songs, a music

video for "All That Matters", and a trailer for Believe. Journals was only available for

purchase via iTunes for a limited time only: from December 23, 2013, to January 9, 2014.

The titles of the five new additional songs are: "One Life", "Backpack" featuring Lil Wayne,

"What's Hatnin' " featuring Future, "Swap It Out", and "Memphis" featuring Big

Sean and Diplo.[119] Bieber released a song titled "Home to Mama" featuring Australian

singer Cody Simpson in November 2014.[120] The same month, Bieber

topped Forbes magazine's Forbes 30 Under 30 annual ranking, which lists the highest-

earning celebrities under 30 for that year.[121]

Because of the disbanding of Universal Music's division, The Island Def Jam Music Group, in

April 2014, Bieber and a number of artists were subsequently transferred to another

Universal Music-related division, Def Jam Recordings, causing Bieber to no longer be signed

to Island Records.[122][123]