Justin Bieber

Justin Drew Bieber; (born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. He was raised by his Christian single mother Pattie Mallette, who became pregnant at the age of seventeen. Bieber released his debut EP, My World, in late 2009. It has been certified platinum in the United States. He became the first artist to have seven songs from a debut record to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Bieber released his first full-length studio album, My World 2.0, in 2010. It debuted at or near number one in several countries and was certified platinum in the United States. It was preceded by the single "Baby". He followed up the release of his debut album with his first headlining tour, the My World Tour, the remix album titled, My Worlds Acoustic, and Never Say Never – The Remixes, and the 3D biopic-concert film Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. Bieber released his second studio album, Under the Mistletoe, in November 2011, when it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Bieber released his third studio album, Believe, in 2012. His fourth studio album Purpose was released in November 2015.

He has won numerous fan-voted awards, including American Music Award for Artist of the Year in 2010 and 2012. His fan base, dubbed "beliebers", largely consist of early to mid-adolescent girls. He was listed three times by Forbes magazine as one of the top ten most powerful celebrities in the world in 2011, 2012, and 2013.

As a child Bieber learned to play the drums, the piano, the guitar, and the trumpet. In 2007 he participated in a local singing competition, placing second, and his mother posted a video of his performance on the Web site YouTube for friends and family who were unable to attend. She later uploaded other homemade videos, in which Bieber sang popular rhythm-and-blues (R&B) songs and occasionally accompanied himself on acoustic guitar, and they soon attracted attention beyond their originally intended audience. Among those who saw Bieber’s videos was Scott (“Scooter”) Braun, a music promoter and talent agent, who invited the 13-year-old Bieber to record demos at a studio in Atlanta. While there, Bieber happened to encounter R&B singer Usher and arranged an informal audition with him. Impressed by Bieber’s natural confidence and vocal talent, Usher helped sign him to a recording contract in late 2008.

Bieber is often featured in teen magazines such as Tiger Beat, and has been labeled as a "teen heartthrob". Wax statues of Bieber are on display at Madame Tussauds wax museums in New York, Amsterdam and London. His change of hairstyle in 2010, and the consequent alterations to Bieber products, led to it being called 'the most expensive musical haircut of all time; one company spent $100,000 to fix its dolls for the 2011 Christmas season.

In 2010, Bieber was consistently criticized for looking and sounding younger than his age, and the following year for his androgynous appearance, which has been frequently noted in the media, including when he appeared on the cover of LOVE magazine's androgyny issue in 2011. His teen-pop music, image (especially as a heart-throb to young teenage girls), and the media attention he receives have additionally been criticized, and he has been a frequent target of Internet bloggers and message board posters, notably by users of Internet message board 4chan and users of YouTube.Nick Collins of The Daily Telegraph speculated that "Bieber's character appears to strike a particularly sour note with his Internet critics" and that they have also questioned his manner of speech.

Some of his fanbase are known as "Beliebers", which the Chicago Tribune included as one of the top buzzwords of 2010. The early Bieber fanbase developed on YouTube, and predated the release of Bieber's first album. Bieber's popularity is a result of the Internet, with a large segment of the fan community actively continuing to use it to communicate with their fellow fans. Bieber's management team makes an effort to mobilize and coordinate Bieber's fans into taking actions related to Bieber.