Justin Bieber

During elementary and high school, Bieber learned to play the piano, guitar, drums, and the trumpet. At age 12, after placing second in a local talent show singing Ne-Yo’s “So Sick,” Bieber’s mother, Mallette, began to upload the singer’s performances to YouTube.

In mid-2007, marketing executive Scooter Braun accidentally clicked on one of Bieber’s videos, which ultimately resulted in the young singer signing with Braun and R&B singer Usher’s Raymond Braun Media Group. Whilst still recording his full-length debut, the singer issued his first single “One Time” in July 2009. Reaching No. 12 on the Canadian Hot 100 and No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, the single catapulted Bieber to international success at the age of 15.

The EP My World followed in November 2009, spawning the singles “One Less Lonely Girl,” “Love Me,” and “Favorite Girl.” Following a host of high-profile TV appearances, the release was certified platinum in the U.S. and double platinum in Canada and the UK. Toward the tail end of 2009, Justin Bieber performed Stevie Wonder’s “Someday at Christmas” at the White House for President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama.

Ahead of his album My World 2.0, Bieber released the smash hit single “Baby” featuring rapper Ludacris. Issued in March 2010, My World 2.0 topped the U.S. Billboard 200, making Bieber the youngest person since Stevie Wonder to reach the top spot, as well as the first act since the Beatles to have a debut album reach No. 1.

Spawning the singles “Never Let You Go,” “Eenie Meenie,” “Somebody to Love,” and “U Smile,” the My World 2.0’s R&B style earned positive reviews from critics and later a 2011 Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album. The album’s success was not limited to the U.S. and Canada, and Bieber embarked on his “My World Tour” after the release to reach his international fan base.

The album My World Acoustic arrived in October 2010, featuring several acoustic covers of previous songs, followed by the 3-D music biopic Justin Bieber: Never Say Never in February 2011. Bieber’s Christmas-themed album Under the Mistletoe appeared in November 2011, once again topping the Billboard 200 and generating significant buzz.

Released in June 2012, Bieber’s second full-length album Believe marked a move away from his teen-pop audience and toward a more dance- and R&B-inspired style. With production from Diplo, Darkchild, and Max Martin, the album spawned the Top 10 hit singles “Boyfriend,” “As Long as You Love Me” featuring Big Sean, and “Beauty and a Beat” featuring Nicki Minaj. The album became the singer’s fourth No. 1 album and was followed once again by an acoustic album, entitled Believe Acoustic.

In October of 2013, Bieber announced to his fans that he would release a new track every Monday until Christmas Day, when his new film Justin Bieber’s Believe would come out — a sequel to his first film Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. This round of singles kicked off with “Heartbreaker” followed by “All That Matters,” “Hold Tight,” and others.

The final release in the holiday series was “Confident,” with a special feature by Chance the Rapper. That day, Bieber also announced that all 10 songs would appear on an upcoming album Journals, on top of five other unreleased tracks. Those five additional tracks featured big names like Lil Wayne and Future, and the album was released to massive cheers from fans for exclusive purchase on iTunes.

February 2015 saw the release of “Where Are Ü Now,” featuring Jack Ü (a duo including Skrillex and Diplo). The track rose up to the number one spot on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and even earned Bieber a Grammy. Yet even that success paled in comparison to his announcement of his fourth studio album Purpose, which he teased with a new single called “What Do You Mean?”

“What Do You Mean?” became Bieber’s first number one single in the U.S., and he set a Guinness World Record as the youngest solo male artist to debut at the Hot 100’s number one spot. The song reached the number one spot on iTunes within five minutes of its release. The third single from Purpose, “Love Yourself,” is an acoustic ballad with some of Bieber’s best lyrics and melodies yet. When Purpose came out on November 13, 2015, it debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 — a career-crowning moment for most, but the sixth album of Bieber’s to do so.

April 2017 saw the unexpected release of the remix “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, which featured Bieber singing in Spanish. This remix shook the music industry, rising to the top of charts worldwide and marking a merging of the Spanish- and English-listening markets.

2017 marked some of the most iconic collaborations yet in Bieber’s career, including an appearance on DJ Khaled’s single “I’m The One” with Quavo, Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne. He also teamed up with BloodPop to release the single “Friends” in August of that year.

In 2019, Bieber surprised everyone at Coachella when he appeared on stage for the first time in two years. Less than a month later, he released a single with Ed Sheeran called “I Don’t Care,” which became a worldwide hit in a short time. On July 11, 2019, he featured on “Bad Guy,” a remix of the breakthrough hit by Billie Eilish.

In 2020, he released the docu-series Justin Bieber: Seasons on YouTube, which documented parts of his life less visible to the public until then: his marriage, his music, and his struggles with Lyme disease. It received over 32 million in the first week alone, breaking YouTube’s all-time records. Bieber followed this by announcing his fifth studio album Changes, which came out on Valentine’s Day 2020.

Since then, Bieber has released singles with Ariana Grande, Drake, and countless others — and also found time to record Freedom, an EP inspired by gospel music that came out on Easter 2021. He continues to break all-time records for Billboard music charts, Spotify, and other platforms worldwide. It’s hard to name a bigger superstar in the world today, and you have a chance to catch him in concert this year — don’t miss the opportunity.