justin bieber

Justin Bieber

• Justin Drew Bieber  March 1, 1994 is a Canadian singer, songwriter and dancer. After talent manager Scooter Braun discovered his YouTube videos covering songs, he was signed to RBMG Records in 2008. Bieber then released his debut EP, My World, in late 2009. It was certified Platinum in the United States. With the EP, Bieber became the first artist to have seven songs from a debut record chart on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Early life

• Bieber was born on March 1, 1994, in London, Ontario, at St Joseph's Hospital, and was raised in Stratford, Ontario. He is the only child of Jeremy Jack Bieber and Patricia "Pattie" Mallette, who were never married. Mallette was underage when she gave birth, and her mother Diane and stepfather Bruce helped her raise her son.  His mother is of French-Canadian descent; his paternal great-grandfather was of German ancestry, and his other roots are English, Scottish and Irish. He has also claimed that he has some undetermined Aboriginal Canadian ancestry.

Career

2008–2009: Career beginnings and My World

• 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 videos by accident. Impressed, Braun tracked down the theatre that 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. Bieber began singing for Usher one week later.

2010–2011: My World 2.0 and Never Say Never

• 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.

• 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.