Justin Bieber started touring as a teenager, and he's now one of the most famous musicians
in the world. How does raw talent bloom into international celebrity?
And how has he changed over the years? Here's a look at his ascent.
It's normal to hear of a public figure getting their start on YouTube or Instagram today. Back
in 2007, such a path to fame was hardly well-worn. People realized they could say,
do, or sing anything they wanted and publish it on the Internet.
15-year-old Justin Bieber told Ellen DeGeneres on The Ellen Show that he, quote,
"was in a singing competition, like, awhile back."
He added,
"I was 12 years old, and my friends and family, they couldn't make it,
wanted to see me, so I posted those videos on YouTube, and I guess it kind of just blew up."
Well, sort of. Scooter Braun, the manager-mogul who discovered Bieber,
shed some light on the process in a 2011 Forbes interview.
When asked about the short time in which Bieber became a pop star, Braun answered,
"I don't think it was a short period of time. We built his YouTube channel over
three years. He had a bigger YouTube channel before we even did a record deal with Usher."
Braun emphasized his own involvement, saying he filmed many of Bieber's videos
and moved Justin Bieber and his mother, Pattie Mallette, into his neighborhood.
Bieber suddenly met Usher, who got the singer an audition with
L.A. Reid, and Reid offered Bieber a contract with Island Records.
Scooter Braun and Usher paired Justin Bieber with a vocal coach, Jan Smith,
who is known as "Mama Jan." Bieber kicked things off with an EP called "My World" in 2009 and
released his first full album, My World 2.0, in 2010. The debut EP introduced hits like "One Time"
and "One Less Lonely Girl," and the full album gave the world "Baby" featuring Ludacris. Justin
Bieber told Interview magazine that My World 2.0 was, quote, "mostly about girls," adding,
"I want them to hear my music and wanna play it again because it made their hearts feel good."
Bieber got his wish, climbing to the number one spot on the Billboard
200 with his 2010 album. Crowds of screaming fans surrounded him,
and countless female fans hoped to be the girl he'd bring onstage while he performed the song.
Fans got their first look at Bieber's life and initial success with the Never Say Never
documentary in 2011. The film covers everything from Bieber's early childhood and love for music
to the realization of his dream. The wide-eyed pop star sold out Madison Square Garden in New
York City as gleefully as he returned to Canada for a Toronto concert with his loved ones.
He worked through the rigors of tour life with the help of his team.
It wasn't always easy, but the singer seemed to love his career, for the most part.
The beginning of adulthood was a rocky ride for Justin Bieber. According to BBC News, Bieber came
out nearly two hours late for a London concert on the Believe Tour in 2013. A follow-up BBC
article noted that Bieber apologized on Twitter, but maintained that he was only 40 minutes late.
The "As Long as You Love Me" singer was developing a bad reputation. TMZ reported that he relieved
himself in the mop bucket of a New York City restaurant. The Daily Mail publicized his underage
drinking at a Los Angeles party. Media outlets were reporting on bad news involving Bieber fairly
regularly — Entertainment Weekly characterized 2013 as a bad year for the celebrity.
In 2019,
Bieber reflected on the trials of his younger self in an Instagram post. He wrote in part,
"I went from a 13 year old boy from a small town to being praised left and right by the world
with millions saying how much they loved me and how great I was. [...] By 20 I
made every bad decision you could have thought of and went from one of the most
loved and adored people in the world to the most ridiculed, judged, and hated person in the world!"
Fame and fortune were a lot for the star to handle as he matured.
Throw in relationships, and things got even more complicated.
Selena Gomez told MTV News in 2010 that she felt, quote, "like a big sister" wanting "to protect"
Bieber. Those feelings shifted to romance over time. People reported on a 2011 date, for which
Bieber was said to have rented the Staples Center so the couple could have a candlelit
dinner and a private screening of Titanic. Bieber supposedly tweeted after the dinner,
quote, "romance isnt dead. treat your lady right fellas. #REAL." Bieber and Gomez weren't exactly
low-profile thereafter. In 2015, Bieber sang to Gomez in Beverly Hills.
The relationship had high highs and brutal lows that caused concern.
Bieber and Gomez have each spoken about their on-again, off-again relationship,
which they shared throughout the 2010s and ended in 2018. When an Instagram bully claimed Justin
only married Hailey Bieber as revenge on Gomez, Justin responded, according to Harper's Bazaar,
"I absolutely loved and love Selena. She will always hold a place in my heart,
but I am head over heels in love with my wife
and she is absolutely the BEST THING that has ever happened to me period."
Even if Bieber still feels love for Selena Gomez,
Gomez shared with NPR that she endured, quote, "emotional abuse"
in the relationship. On the meaning of her track "Lose You to Love Me," Gomez said,
"I had something beautiful and I would never deny that it wasn't that.
It was very difficult and I'm happy it's over."
Justin Bieber was known as a Hillsong guy after his bathtub baptism at Tyson Chandler's home.
Then-pastor Carl Lentz and Bieber were close for a while, but Bieber
was a bi-coastal Christian who's worshipped regularly at Pastor Judah Smith's Churchome.
The Daily Beast reported that Pattie Mallette once called Judah, asking if he'd come
meet Bieber. But they'd met years earlier when at an event Judah hosted in Toronto.
Justin, who was 8 at the time, bought one of Judah's cassette tapes and listened to it nightly.
At the church, The Daily Beast found that celebrities arrive at a back entrance
and are treated as front-row VIPs. Judah Smith said he wanted them to have, quote,
"a fair opportunity to sit in peace and quiet without being distracted and bothered." When
Justin Bieber led worship at Churchome, he said he didn't want people to think he was performing.
Bieber is committed to sharing Jesus with his followers. The star's Instagram
is full of evangelizing messages, like, quote, "God is madly obsessed with you."
Bieber sometimes elaborates, like when he wrote,
"I am a Jesus guy. What you may not know is that I am not a religious man. I follow the teachings
of Jesus and believe he is the Messiah." Diehard Beliebers likely know that Hailey Baldwin
and Justin Bieber first met in 2009. Justin recalled the meeting in his Seasons documentary.
"I was on an early morning show, and she did not wanna be there."
They eventually became pals, although rumors swirled around
their friendship. Smiling in a car with Hailey, Justin wrote on Instagram in 2014,
"People are crazy. I'm super single and this is my good friend u would know otherwise."
In 2015, i-D asked Hailey, Gigi Hadid, and Kendall Jenner about their friend, Justin Bieber,
and Baldwin said that, quote, "Justin would be back, bigger and better than ever."
When prompted, Justin said,
"Hailey, isn't she just the best, ever?"
In 2016, Hailey told The Times,
"We went through a long period of time when we weren't friends.
We didn't speak for quite some time and there was a lot of weirdness that went on."
Hailey said she and Justin were, quote,
"better as friends" and called him "somebody I really cherish." Romance returned in due time.
Justin announced the couple's engagement in a lengthy 2018 Instagram post,
joyfully pledging his love to Hailey and delighting over God's, quote,
"literally perfect" timing. In sum, Justin's excitement at marrying Hailey was clear. He wrote,
"Can't wait for the best season of life yet!.
It's funny because now with you everything seems to make sense!"
Justin and Hailey Bieber will admit that their marriage isn't perfect. Hailey told Elle in 2021,
"I learn new things about him and about myself and about our relationship all the time. Do we
have little fights and stuff that we have to work through sometimes? Yeah, of course,
but it really doesn't ever feel like work, because I love him so much. I see forever with him."
The Biebers said yes to forever for the first time in September 2018.
About a year after those New York City courthouse vows, the couple had a ceremony in Bluffton,
South Carolina at the Montage Palmetto Bluff, People reported.
Bieber told GQ,
"I just felt like that was my calling. Just to get married and have babies and do that whole thing.
We're just creating these moments for us as a couple, as a family,
that we're building these memories. And it's beautiful that we have that to look forward to.
Before, I didn't have that to look forward to in my life. My home life was unstable. Like,
my home life was not existing. I didn't have a significant other. I didn't have someone to love.
I didn't have someone to pour into. But now I have that."
Justin Bieber is one of several celebs to release an eye-opening docu-series on YouTube.
Seasons explores Bieber's adolescent struggles while also highlighting his serious health issues.
An episode called The Dark Season specifically focuses on Justin Bieber's woes and illnesses.
He was, quote, "12 or 13" when he began smoking cannabis.
"The first time I smoked weed was in my backyard here. I got super stoned."
Bieber's doctor, Dr. Daniel Amen, said that when he met the star,
Bieber was anxious and overwhelmed, and hadn't been sleeping.
"He was a wreck.”
The documentary incorporated old news footage of Bieber being arrested at age
19 — he was charged with drag racing, driving under the influence, and resisting arrest.
Bieber explains in the episode that he, quote, "never had [...] security [...] consistency
[...] reliability, or accountability." Such psychological needs were woven into the medical.
Bieber discovered that he had Lyme disease and the Epstein-Barr virus, but he was
previously misdiagnosed as being bipolar. He discussed these darker days with GQ, saying,
"I did have mono, and I do have Lyme disease. But
I was also navigating a lot of emotional terrain, which had a lot to do with it."
Thankfully, Bieber is feeling better. The film has a triumphant air as the musician
resumes work after a long break. He is happy at home,
joyfully making music in the studio with his beautiful wife by his side.
Bieber fever surrounds Justin Bieber's New York pad. In 2021, a fan, @vanessafex, made a TikTok
video that captures Justin Bieber's frustration at the stakeout. In the video, Bieber said,
"I hear you. But this is my home. You know what I mean? This is where I live, and I
don't appreciate you guys being here. [...] You know at the end of the night, when you come home,
you want to relax? This is my space to do that. So I'd appreciate it if you guys could [leave]."
Boundaries are important to the singer. He appears to have streamlined his life in some ways.
When Billboard interviewed Bieber, they found that he doesn't have a cell phone. No instant
access to this pop sensation. Bieber handles his chatting with an iPad instead. The man knows that
his personal life is precious, and he clocks out at 6:00 p.m. each night to hang with his wife.
Music is a lifeblood to him that is best when properly nourished with family time.
He told Billboard,
"There was a time where I really did have my identity wrapped up in my career,
but I really do have an overflow of feeling like my purpose is to use my music to inspire.
Justin Bieber's odd news items could plausibly be linked to the trials of his youth,
or simply to his gargantuan amount of privilege. In 2013, Justin Bieber abandoned his monkey,
OG Mally, when German officials confiscated the pet in Munich.
Bieber failed to obtain the necessary paperwork and retrieve him, so Mally went to the zoo.
Bieber told GQ,
"It wasn't like I went looking for a monkey. [...] It just kind of fell in my lap."
He claimed he had the right papers but also acknowledged that he was
encouraged not to bring the capuchin monkey.
In 2016, in another perplexing incident, Bieber and his friends mooned staff at
the site of Mayan ruins in Tulum, the National Institute of Anthropology and History told ET.
Bieber admitted to GQ that he realized that what he did was, quote, "disrespectful."
More positively, in 2021, Bieber befriended a 79-year-old Greek man who had no clue
who Bieber was, while opening the tavern door for him to eat lunch.
Bieber made the Greek City Times for his simple seafood meal. The outlet reported that he, quote,
"obviously went crazy for grilled sardines," even taking four packets back to the boat.
With over a decade of work in the entertainment industry,
it's no surprise that Justin Bieber has amassed a fortune.
On top of his music, tours, and official merch, he's also got his Drew House clothing line,
which he launched in 2019 with friend and stylist Ryan Good and designer Gianpiero D'Alessandro.
Selling a bunch of pricy threads must add up, but Bieber has also worn some of the finest. His 2021
GQ shoot finds the star decked out in clothes and accessories with jaw-dropping price tags.
Justin and Hailey Bieber live in some lavish abodes, too. In addition to a home in Beverly
Hills, the Biebers own an Ontario, Canada house, which cost $5 million and has a horse
racing track, according to TMZ. Justin Bieber has also owned and rented plenty of other properties.
It seems that Justin Bieber makes time for his parents and many siblings whenever he can.
He is the only child of his mom, Pattie Mallette, but his dad, Jeremy Bieber,
has several other kids. While married to his first wife,
Jeremy Bieber welcomed Jazmyn and Jaxon. When he married Chelsey, his current wife,
Jeremy gained a stepdaughter named Allie, and he and Chelsey had a baby girl named Bay in 2018.
Justin Bieber posted a picture on Instagram with Jazmyn and Allie in 2021, writing,
"My sisters r growing up so fast."
He also shared a photo of Jaxon on the playground and captioned it,
"@jaxonbieber comin with the sauce."
In Bieber's Seasons documentary finale, Jaxon watches his older brother play hockey and says,
"It's sometimes hard and I get really sad when I don't see him. But when the times I do get
to see him I'm really happy 'cause we get to play with each other, play games and stuff like that."
"Let's go, Justin!"
Jazmyn followed, saying,
"He teaches me some dance moves. We mostly spend time with family when he comes."
"And he's really fun.”
Bieber's maternal grandparents have also been a positive force in his life.
His grandfather in particular said he was very proud.
"You can't distinguish how proud I am of him. I couldn't
even try and tell you how proud I am of him."
After Changes was nominated in the pop category at the Grammys,
Justin Bieber became frustrated and shared his thoughts on Instagram,
saying that he intended to create an R&B album. However, Bieber's 2021 Justice album
isn't so fussed about its genre. Songwriter and producer Gregory "Aldae” Hein told Vulture,
"There are songs you can dance to, but I think every song makes you feel something."
Writer and bandleader Bernard "Harv" Harvey added,
"It sounds like big pop, but if you listen to the lyrics, it's very simple love songs."
Harv said Bieber was at his best in, quote, "his mental [health],
his relationship with Hailey, his career, and just his overall happiness," adding,
"He put all of that into this album."
With permission from Bernice King, Bieber includes Martin Luther King, Jr recordings on Justice.
Bieber told Zach Sang that he is, quote,
"in the people business" with his music. The star continued,
"As long as people want to hear from me,
then I want to continue to give them records and content and whatever that looks like.
I want to keep evolving with the times and I want to keep being connected to what people are into,
and I just want to continue to grow as an artist and give people what they want
but also make sure that it is connected and makes sense to what I'm going through."
It sounds like Justin Bieber has arrived at a healthy approach to music-making.
Justin Bieber has taken time to reflect on his career and growth as an artist.
His music video for "Lonely" has Jacob Tremblay playing a younger Justin Bieber,
who feels the effects of his newfound fame. He sings,
"What if you had it all, but nobody to call? Maybe then you'd know me.
'Cause I've had everything, but no one's listening. And that's just lonely."
The pop star knows what it's like to take a leap and work hard for a dream.
Bieber has become a mentor to younger artists like Billie Eilish Eilish and The Kid Laroi.
Eilish said in Seasons,
"Anything that he makes at all, I'm excited about.
I don't care if he pooped and put it on a plate and put that in a store. I'm excited."
In Billie Eilish's own documentary, Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry,
the singer called Justin Bieber her, quote, "first love" when she was on Kevin and Bean.
Later in the film, Eilish was incredibly moved when she met
and hugged the Biebs, who sent her personal words of encouragement.
Both Eilish and The Kid Laroi are officially collaborators of Bieber's.
Justin Bieber dedicated an Instagram post to his "Stay" project with The Kid Laroi, writing,
"@thekidlaroi is no one to play around with."
Bieber even plays basketball with The Kid Laroi, who told Olli Mag,
"It is loopy, that is my boy now."
As he continues on his own musical path, Justin Bieber is clearly inspiring the next generation.
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