From his online fame with billions of fans screaming his name, Justin Bieber is by far, one of the world’s greatest musicians. At the young age of 22, he is one of the youngest in his generation of notable performers. Releasing his first album when he was 15, singing in tours in his early teens and having music videos and collaborations with well-known singers, artists, and musicians, one can’t help but recall how exactly did this young boy catapult to worldwide success? The simple answer: YouTube.
Born in London, Ontario on March 1, 1994, Justin grew in a peaceful household, although his parents are not together anymore. As a child, Justin taught himself to play the piano and guitar. He also mastered playing the drums in his early teens. Playing his guitar every single day of his adolescent life, his mother saw how Justin had potential. Because of this, his mother encouraged him to compete in different local singing contests. He won second place in a teenage singing competition at the age of 12, but despite this, he had no idea that he would become one of the world’s greatest musicians.
Believe it or not, Justin’s YouTube fame was all thanks to his mother who tirelessly posted videos of him online. She started recording and taking videos of all his performances, be it competitions or local contests and posted it on YouTube which was relatively new at that time. By posting Justin’s performances in his hometown, it grew to a fairly sufficient amount of followers that started his YouTube fame.
Scooter Braun, a record executive who constantly collaborates with Usher and is the latter’s partner in Raymon-Braun Media Group, discovered Justin and thus, he played a big role in the young singer’s success. While he was browsing YouTube one day searching for songs and covers, he stumbled upon one of Justin’s videos his mother posted and was amassed with Justin’s talent. The talent agent noticed Justin’s abilities and performances and saw his potential in becoming a musician and a singer. He contacted Justin’s mother and talked about the young boy’s contract, asking to meet them in his hometown of Atlanta. Of course, his mother was hesitant at first because she was concerned about Braun’s strong Jewish faith, but in the end, she agreed to the recording contract. He introduced Justin and his mother to Usher, his business partner.
Justin signed a contract with the new RBMG media company at the age of 13. His first album, “My World”, was released via Braun’s label at the age of 15. Although his initial releases were not particularly popular, the succeeding records catapulted him to worldwide fame. One time, his first single charted the twelfth position on the Canadian Hot 100 and failed to top in the US Top 10. If it wasn’t for his second single, “One Last Lonely Girl”, he wouldn’t have succeeded at the start of his career. “One Last Lonely Girl” was such a hit, it reached the Billboard Hit 100 and earned him a certified Gold status in the United States.
Justin made the most out of his success with “One Last Lonely Girl” by following it up with his second album, “My World 2.0”, in early 2010. If “My World” was a starter for Justin, “My World 2.0” was the main course, as it brought the young star to international success. When the album was released in January 2010, it skyrocketed in both Canadian and American charts due to the success of his worldwide chart-topping hit “Baby”. Charting at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in just 2 weeks, “Baby” was Justin’s most successful single. Released in 2011, Justin made his third studio album named “Believe”. The album sustained his success with singles like “Boyfriend” and his collaborations with various leading artists such as Max Martin. Justin also starred in a musical film with Jaden Smith, “Never Say Never”, released in 2010. It received over $30 million in the worldwide box office.
Justin is one of the world’s most recognizable stars. His songs reached not only teens, but also older audiences. According to the people who are close to him, his success, which came at a young age, hasn’t changed him that much and he focuses on singing, writing and performing because that’s what he knows best. His success story is all thanks to the Internet and social communities like YouTube. The internet site made posting videos possible, which only became easily accessible in this generation and generations to come. The internet is a strong network and Justin uses it as a tool to communicate with his fans. It also goes back to the core of how he was discovered, promoted and marketed online, a tangible evidence that the Internet is an incredible tool for gaining worldwide fame. Justin’s success was exceptionally unexpected.
One of the reasons why he collaborated with Usher is because, like him, Usher was also signed to a record label at a young age. Both Usher and their mentor did not expect that Justin would get used to the limelight with just online exposures in such a short time.
Whether or not you are a fan, you can’t contradict the success of Justin Bieber. A star, who started at an early age of 15 and is now the most recognizable performer in the whole world, with his billions of adoring fans who love him and his works. A talented kid who started from YouTube videos at a young age, Justin’s immense level of success is immeasurable at this point. Moreover, Justin’s success story is a demonstration of one thing: if you work hard, always stay positive, have a little faith and develop your skills, sooner or later someone is bound to discover you. If you want to be discovered, let them see your talent. Show them every ounce of talent you’ve got. Let the right people come to you and they will help you grow. Just like Justin Bieber’s talents and with the help of his mother’s promotional efforts, it made him the man he is today, the world’s biggest star, influencer and public figure.
