Justin Drew Bieber (born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian pop/R&B singer.

The first part of his two-part debut album My World was released on November 17, 2009. Four successful pre-album singles have been released: "One Time", "One Less Lonely Girl", "Love Me", and "Favorite Girl", which were Top 15 hits on the Canadian Hot 100 and Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. This accomplishment made Bieber the only artist in Billboard history to have four singles from a debut album chart in the Top 40 of the Hot 100 before the album's release. The album received positive reviews from critics, and debuted at #6 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling 137,000 copies in its first week, which was the second best opening release for a new artist in 2009. Bieber also became the first artist to have all songs from a single album to chart in the U.S. Hot 100. It also debuted at #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart, and went Gold in a week. In less than a month of release, the album was certified Platinum in Canada, and in less than two months later, the album was certified Platinum in the United States, selling over a million copies. It was also certified Silver in the United Kingdom. The latter half, My World 2.0 is set for a March 2010 release. The lead single, "Baby" was released on January 18, 2010.

Bieber was named the hottest star of 2009 by J-14, newcomer of the year by MuchMusic, and listed by Celebuzz as one of the Top 10 YouTube stars of the decade.

Early life

Bieber was born in Stratford, Ontario, and was raised by his single mother, Pattie Mallette. He was 12 years old when he entered a local singing competition in Stratford, placing in second. He taught himself how to play the piano, drums, guitar, and trumpet. In late 2007, Bieber and his mother began posting videos on YouTube so that his family and friends that could not attend his performances would be able to view them, posting his versions of songs by Usher, Chris Brown, Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake, Ne-Yo and more.

Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive of So So Def, discovered his videos, and flew Bieber to Atlanta, Georgia, where he met with R&B singer/songwriter Usher. A week later Bieber had the opportunity to sing for Usher who immediately became greatly interested, giving him an audition with Antonio L.A. Reid at Island Records who signed him to Island Records in October 2008. Justin Timberlake was reportedly in the running to sign Bieber, but he eventually signed with Usher. Bieber and his mother, Pattie Malette then moved to Atlanta, also the home of Usher and Braun, to base his career. Bieber also stated in an interview he still frequently stays at his Stratford home.

Music career

Bieber's first album My World, was released on November 17, 2009. The album features guest vocals from Usher, who appears in the music video for the single "One Time". Bieber is on a promotion tour promoting his single and has made various appearances on several radio stations. The first single "One Time" reached number 12 in Canadian Hot 100 during its first week in July 2009, and number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. On September 26, 2009, "One Time" had gone Platinum in Canada. Three consecutive singles, "One Less Lonely Girl", "Love Me", and "Favorite Girl" were released to iTunes exclusively, and therefore charted at within the Top 40 in the U.S. and within the top 15 in Canada. "One Less Lonely Girl" was later released to mainstream radio also.

Bieber performed in a several live shows such as mtvU's VMA 09 Tour, European program The Dome, YTV's The Next Star and 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. In October 2009, Bieber was voted as the #5 "Best Good Example of 2009" by AOL's JSYK.

While promoting the album, Bieber was scheduled to appear at Long Island's Roosevelt Field Mall, but the performance had to be canceled. Over 3,000 screaming fans showed up for the appearance. The event got out of control and over 35 units from the Nassau County and Garden City police departments had to be called in. According to TMZ, a fan screamed that Bieber was in an Abercrombie Kids store, and that is when the mayhem already taking place got further out of hand. Police feared that the crowd which was cramming the mall's upstairs corridor would force a metal-and-glass railing to snap sending hundreds of girls tumbling to the lower level. Several fans received minor injuries. The police told Bieber he could not come in because of the current situation and fire hazard. In an interview with WBLI 106.1, Bieber stated, "It was so crazy that I couldn't get to even come in the building," the singer said. "They [the authorities] basically threatened to put me in cuffs and send me away to jail." The police arrested an Island Records senior vice-president, James A. Roppo, reportedly for hindering the police's crowd control efforts. Bieber took to Twitter, apologizing to fans, and promising to make up for the cancellation. James Roppo pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Bieber performed for U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at the White House for the Christmas in Washington, a televised musical special that benefits the National Children’s Medical Center, which aired on December 20 on TNT. He performed Stevie Wonder's "Someday at Christmas" for the program. Bieber was also one of the performers at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest on December 31. To support his debut effort, Bieber toured with Taylor Swift on her two-stop return to the United Kingdom on her Fearless Tour, and went on a five-date tour himself in Canada, sponsored by Urban Behavior. Bieber confirmed that he will be traveling on his headlining debut tour sometime in 2010, and will also open again for Swift when she performs at Gillette Stadium at the annual concert for the winner of the CMA Entertainer of the Year award. Bieber was a presenter at the 52nd Grammy Awards on January 31, 2010, in a segment along with Kesha, encouraging voters to vote in the Bon Jovi contest. He was invited to be a vocalist for the remake of We Are The World 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.