An old soul is the last thing 당신 would expect to find inside Justin Bieber. But all it takes is one listen to the 16 year-old soul-singing phenomenon to realize that he is light years ahead of his manufactured pop peers. After posting dozens of homemade 비디오 on YouTube in 2007, where the multi-talented Bieber put his impeccable spin on songs from artists like Usher, Ne-Yo and Stevie Wonder, Justin racked up over 10,000,000 views purely from word of mouth. “I started 노래 about three years ago,” says the Canadian native who grew up an only child in Stratford, Ontario. “I entered a local 노래 competition called Stratford Idol. The other people in the competition had been taking 노래 lessons and had vocal coaches. I wasn’t taking it too seriously at the time, I would just sing around the house. I was only 12 and I got 초 place.”In an effort to share his victory with his loved ones, Justin began posting his performance footage online. “I put my 노래 비디오 from the competition on YouTube so that my 프렌즈 and family could watch them,” he says. “But it turned out that other people liked them and they started subscribing to them. That’s how my manager found me. He saw me on YouTube and contacted my family and now I’m signed!”Seven months after Justin started posting his 비디오 online, former So So Def marketing executive Scooter Braun flew the then 13-year old singer to Atlanta, GA to meet with his elite colleagues. As if Justin’s natural 노래 talent wasn’t enough to impress Scooter’s inner circle, Braun knew Bieber was also a self-taught musician who plays the drums, guitar, 피아노 and trumpet.“Right when we flew into Atlanta, Scooter drove us to the studio and 어셔 was there in the parking lot,” remembers Bieber. “That was my first time ever being out of Canada so I went up to him and was like, ‘Hey Usher, I 사랑 your songs, do 당신 want me to sing 당신 one?’ He was like, ‘No little buddy, just come inside, it’s cold out.’” All it took was a short time online for 어셔 to realize he was in the company of a future superstar. “A week later 어셔 flew me back to Atlanta,” says Bieber. “I sang for him and his people and he really wanted to sign me then and there but I still had a meeting with Justin Timberlake who also wanted to sign me. It turned out Usher’s deal was way better. He had L.A. Reid backing him up and Scooter had a lot of really good connections in Atlanta. I always tease 어셔 now and remind him he how he blew me off the first time we met.”In October of 2008, Justin Bieber officially signed to Island Records. His debut album, My World is an intimate look into the mind of a budding young renaissance man. With production from 별, 스타 hit men like The Dream and Tricky Stewart who produced “Umbrella” for 리한나 and Beyonce’s latest smash, “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” Justin has everything he needs to achieve pop supremacy. His first single, “One Time” produced 의해 Tricky, is about one of Justin’s 가장 좋아하는 topics, 강아지 love. 어셔 joins Justin on “First Dance” where the two share verses on a song that Bieber describes as, “A slow groovy song that people can dance to.” On the Midi-Mafia produced “Down to Earth” Justin digs deep to talk about growing up. “Bigger” finds the teenaged singer maturing at a steady rate, while motivating his listeners to strive for their goals.“I’m looking 앞으로 to influencing others in a positive way,” says Justin. “My message is 당신 can do anything if 당신 just put your mind to it. I grew up below the poverty line; I didn’t have as much as other people did. I think it made me stronger as a person it built my character. Now I have a 4.0 grade point average and I want to go to college and just become a better person.” A virtually untapped well of natural artistic talent, Justin Bieber is primed to be a solid force in 음악 for many years to come. “I think older people can appreciate my 음악 because I really show my 심장 when I sing, and it’s not corny,” he says. “I think I can grow as an artist and my 팬 will grow with me.” And just think, he’s just getting started.



On Thursday afternoon (June 3), Penny Noelle, 10, started standing in line for Justin Bieber's "Today" show 음악회, 콘서트 on Friday morning. She arrived in New York from Springfield, Massachusetts, equipped with her bag, posters, money, a chair to sleep on overnight and a very patient mom.

"For Justin Bieber, I'll do anything," Penny told 엠티비 News.

She's not the only one. 의해 Thursday evening, hundreds of fans, including some as young as 5, had already lined the streets outside Rockefeller Plaza in anticipation of the free Bieber concert.

Megan Hazelwood, 17, who said she attended one of Justin's first concerts, convinced her parents to travel 17 hours from Kansas City, Kansas, so she could see him once again.

"I've never driven 17 hours for anyone but Justin Bieber," she said. 의해 the time Megan arrived Thursday evening, though, the line already spanned a couple of blocks.

Most 팬 passed the time Thursday night making posters for the concert, 노래 Bieber's songs and playing games. Many families also got nearby hotels and took shifts standing in line throughout the night.

Joe Pezzino, who drove his daughter seven hours from Buffalo, New York, waited in line alone as his daughter joined some family 프렌즈 at a nearby hotel for dinner.