Justin Bieber

Immense chart success dating back to his adolescence, combined with a slew of Juno awards and Grammy recognition spanning five genre distinctions, are proof that Justin Bieber is a teen idol turned enduring and eclectic pop star. The singer and songwriter became a global phenomenon with his effervescent debut EP, My World (2009), a multi-platinum smash in his native Canada and several other territories. Only 15 years old at the time of its release, Bieber was fast-tracked to sustained commercial presence. A remix compilation, an acoustic set, a concert film, a Christmas release, and more significantly the albums My World 2.0 (2010) and Believe (2012), all hit the market within a three-year period. The first of the full-lengths featured "Baby," the singer's first global Top Ten hit, and earned him his first of three Junos for Best Pop Album, while the follow-up likewise topped numerous national charts. Bieber's progress ground to a halt, but he re-emerged with the "tropical house"-flavored Skrillex and Diplo collaboration "Where Are Ü Now," an eventual Grammy winner for Best Dance/Electronic Recording hotly trailed by his third proper album Purpose (2015), containing "What Do You Mean," "Sorry," and "Love Yourself," all number one pop singles in Canada and the U.S. By the end of the 2010s, Bieber had added to his hits as a featured artist with triumphs such as a Latin Grammy-winning remix of Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito," DJ Khaled's "I'm the One," Ed Sheeran's "I Don't Care," and yet another Grammy winner, Dan + Shay's "10,000 Hours," awarded Best Country Duo/Group Performance. Bieber's evolution as an R&B-inspired, stylistically flexible pop artist has continued with Changes (2020) and Justice (2021), positive-minded and open-hearted sets that have kept the singer's streak of number one albums intact. Born in London, Ontario and raised in nearby Stratford, Bieber inched toward stardom with a second-place finish in a local 2007 singing competition and began posting his performances on YouTube. The videos caught the attention of Scooter Braun, a talent agent and former So So Def marketing executive who helped Bieber land an impromptu audition with R&B star Usher. Impressed by what he saw, Usher, along with Island/Def Jam chairman L.A. Reid, quickly signed the 15-year-old Bieber to a recording contract. Bieber released his first single, "One Time," in May 2009. Supported by a popular video that featured an appearance by Usher, "One Time" went platinum in both Canada and the U.S., a feat replicated later that year with the release of My World. The disc was technically an EP featuring only seven songs, but it topped the Canadian Albums Chart and reached number six on the Billboard 200. Less than a year after his debut, Bieber returned with the "second half" of My World, a ten-song release titled My World 2.0. Further demonstrating his and his management's marketing power, over 8,000 fans who pre-ordered My World 2.0 had their head shots used in a photo mosaic (formed to look like a portrait of Bieber) that was displayed on the back side of the disc's booklet. The set, powered by the Ludacris collaboration "Baby" -- Bieber's first single to reach the Top Ten of the Canadian and U.S. Hot 100 charts -- entered the Canadian and U.S. charts at number one. A few weeks later, a combination of My World and My World 2.0, titled My Worlds, appeared in some territories. By the end of 2010, Bieber issued My Worlds Acoustic, a set featuring acoustic versions of nine songs off the My World discs, as well as one new song. The following February, the 3-D documentary Never Say Never was released to theaters. The seven-track Never Say Never: The Remixes, issued just days after the film, maintained the flow of Bieber product, and featured appearances from the likes of Kanye West, Usher, and Miley Cyrus. Just in time for Christmas 2011 came the holiday-themed Under the Mistletoe, complete with several celebrity guest duets and an original song, "Mistletoe," for the first single, which entered the Holiday Songs chart at number two. In 2012, Bieber returned with the proper follow-up to My World 2.0, titled Believe. With a more mature sound based in dance-pop and R&B, it featured production from Darkchild, Diplo, and Max Martin. Believe became yet another Canadian and U.S. number one album, paced by hits such as "Boyfriend," "As Long as You Love Me" (featuring Big Sean), and "Beauty and a Beat" (with Nicki Minaj). Believe Acoustic, a sequel to My Worlds Acoustic, followed in 2013. Late that year, Bieber released the first in a weekly series of singles. Nearly all of them charted, led by Top 40 showings in Canada and the U.S. for "All Around the World" (featuring Ludacris) and "Heartbreaker." Those and other songs were compiled for release as Journals, a digital download-only album that wasn't submitted for sales tracking, so it did not chart. Only two days later, on December 25, the documentary Justin Bieber's Believe was released to theaters. A collaboration with Cody Simpson, "Home to Mama," was Bieber's lone charting release in 2014, a year during which Bieber made headlines more frequently for nonmusical reasons. The next year, however, he bounced back in a major way. A tropical house remix of the My World 2.0 bonus cut "Where Are You Now," credited to Diplo and Skrillex Present Jack Ü (and retitled "Where Are Ü Now"), became a Top Ten hit in Canada and the U.S. Later in the year, "What Do You Mean?," a track that skillfully strengthened Bieber's tropical house connection, topped both national charts. This paved the way for Purpose, the singer's fourth consecutive Canadian and U.S. chart-topper, promoted with the equally successful singles "Sorry" and "Love Yourself." Bieber was subsequently a nominee in two of the "big four" Grammy categories -- Song of the Year, for "Lose Yourself," plus Album of the Year -- as well as Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance. After spending the first half of 2016 touring in support of Purpose, Bieber collaborated on a pair of singles, first with Major Lazer and MØ on the hit "Cold Water" and a little later with DJ Snake on "Let Me Love You." In 2017, Bieber was featured on a Grammy-nominated remix of the global reggaeton-pop hit "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, marking the first time he sang in Spanish. That same month, he notched back-to-back number ones when the DJ Khaled collaboration "I'm the One" preceded "Despacito" at the top of the U.S. Hot 100. Other hits as a featured artist, such as David Guetta's "2U," Khaled's "No Brainer," Ed Sheeran's "I Don't Care," and Dan + Shay's "10,000 Hours," kept Bieber's profile high as he worked toward his next album. Also preceded by the first installments of his Seasons documentary and the headlining singles "Yummy" and "Intentions" -- eventual Top Ten hits in Canada and the U.S. -- Changes arrived in February 2020 and continued his streak of number one albums in Canada and the U.S. Hits as a lead artist, co-headliner, and featured guest kept coming. Bieber was behind four subsequent 2020 singles that topped the Canadian pop chart: "Stuck with U" (a duet with Ariana Grande), "Holy" (featuring Chance the Rapper), "Lonely" (with Benny Blanco), and "Monster" (a duet with Shawn Mendes). He was up for four Grammys handed out in March 2021, nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album (Changes), Best Pop Solo Performance ("Yummy"), and Best Pop/Duo Performance ("Intentions"), while he and Dan + Shay took the award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance ("10,000 Hours"). By the time Bieber issued Justice in March 2021, he had another pair of Top Ten Canadian hits with "Anyone" and "Hold On." Like Bieber's five previous proper albums, Justice topped the Canadian and U.S. charts. After its release, he focused on collaborative work. Beside the Kid LAROI, he scored yet another global chart-topper with "Stay." This was followed later in 2021 by "Don't Go," which teamed him with Skrillex and Don Toliver, and a featured role on the posthumous Juice WRLD track "Wandered to LA." The following year, Bieber headlined another Toliver collaboration, the number 21 Canadian single "Honest," and was tapped to record with the likes of Omah Lay and Kehlani. He was featured on Toliver's "Private Landing" in 2023.
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