2009 debut from the young multi-talented singer, musician and
Usher's teen protg. An old soul is the last thing you would
expect to find inside Justin Bieber. But all it takes is one
listen to the 15-year-old Soul-singing phenomenon to realize that
he is light-years ahead of his manufactured Pop peers. The album
features production from The-Dream and Tricky Stewart. The first
single, 'One Time,' produced by Tricky, is about one of Justin's
favorite topics, puppy love. Usher 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 teenage singer maturing at a
steady rate while motivating his listeners to strive for their
goals.
About the Artist
----------------
An old soul is the last thing you would expect to find
inside Justin Bieber. But all it takes is one listen to the 15
year-old soul-singing phenomenon to realize that he is light
years ahead of his manufactured pop peers.
After posting dozens of homemade videos 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 singing about three years ago," says the Canadian
native who grew up an only child in Stratford, Ontario. "I
entered a local singing competition called Stratford Idol. The
other people in the competition had been taking singing 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
second place."
In an effort to share his victory with his loved ones, Justin
began posting his performance footage online. "I put my singing
videos from the competition on YouTube so that my friends 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 videos 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 singing talent wasn't enough
to impress Scooter's inner circle, Braun knew Bieber was also a
self-taught musician who plays the drums, guitar, piano and
trumpet.
"Right when we flew into Atlanta, Scooter drove us to the studio
and Usher 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 love your songs, do you want me to
sing you one?' He was like, `No little buddy, just come inside,
it's cold out.'"
All it took was a short time online for Usher to realize he was
in the company of a future superstar. "A week later Usher 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 Usher 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 look into the
mind of a budding young renaissance man. With production from
star hit men like The Dream and Tricky Stewart who produced
"Umbrella" for Rihanna 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 by Tricky, is about one of
Justin's favorite topics, puppy love. Usher 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 forward to influencing others in a positive way,"
says Justin. "My message is you can do anything if you 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 music for many years to
come. "I think older people can appreciate my music because I
really show my heart when I sing, and it's not corny," he says.
"I think I can grow as an artist and my fans will grow with me."
And just think, he's just getting started.