Bieber Fever

This past year teenage phenomenon Justin Bieber has swept the nation with his cute looks and catchy songs. Girls cry over his presence much like they did in the 60's for the Beatles. His rise to success virtually happened in the blink of an eye. In 2010 he won 16 awards and is now nominated for 2 Grammy's but just a couple years ago he was an ordinary kid with a dream.

An only child born and raised in Stratford, Ontario, Bieber showed a zeal for music from a very young age. He tapped out beats on chairs from the time he was 5 years old until he could receive a full drum kit. He also taught himself to play the guitar, piano, and trumpet. He also sang many songs around the house. Everyone in his family saw how much he loved music from a young age.

At 12 years old, Bieber entered a local singing competition called Stratford Idol. With no vocal training whatsoever he won 2nd place in the competition. He began posting his performances from the competition and other homemade videos of him singing Usher, Stevie Wonder, and Ne-Yo songs on YouTube to show his family his achievements. Other people began to watch them and soon he had 10,000,000 views. He attracted the attention of Scooter Braun who became his manager and flew him out to Atlanta where he met Usher. Bieber sang for them, and Usher realized this kid had real talent. Justin Timberlake also wanted to sign Bieber but he chose Usher's deal instead. In October of 2008, Bieber was signed to Island Records and began work on his debut album and first single "One Time". Since then, Bieber has had many hits and has collaborated with many stars such as Ludacris, Usher, and Sean Kingston. In addition to his music career, a documentary "Never Say Never" was released this weekend which tells the story of Bieber's almost accidental stardom. Though his career is just beginning he has already reached great success and the future seems bright for this young singer.

The first time I heard Justin Bieber's "One Time" I had no idea who was singing the song! It came on the radio and my dad asked me who sang this song. I usually know who sings most of the songs on the radio stations I listen to because I love music. I thought the guy who was singing this song was black! I did not know Justin Bieber was white until I saw the music video for "One Time". I became a fan of his because I liked his songs and how he sang them with so much soul. I was never obsessed with him though like many other girls are. I thought he was cute but I would not cry over seeing his picture or anything. At first I honestly did not have very much respect for him simply because I thought he would fit the stereotype of other young singers. These days, many young pop singers cannot even sing, producers use machines and auto tune to make them sound good. I thought this may have been the case for Justin Bieber. I also believed that he would be a one hit wonder. After he kept coming out with new singles I realized that he could genuinely sing and he had a lot of talent. Then I read his bio and found out that he was a self taught musician. The movie "Never Say Never" will provide a look into Justin Bieber and his talent which will make skeptics believe in Bieber.