Are You a Belieber?

The young, ordinary boy who used to beat the drums in his garage, is now on stage with millions of fans, full of excitement, cheering him on. Justin Bieber has flourished from an innocent  boy into a worldwide pop star and, by doing this, he has left a powerful effect on the world.

Justin Drew Bieber was born on March 1, 1994 in Toronto, Ontario in Canada. His mother, Pattie Malette, conceived him at the age of eighteen and raised him as a single parent because Justin’s father, Jeremy Bieber, separated from her a couple of months after Justin was born. Justin is still in contact with his father and later found out that he has two step siblings, Jaxon and Jasmine. During his childhood, he was interested in hockey, soccer, and chess.

At first, he kept his musical desire to himself. Years went by and Justin taught  himself  to play the piano, drums, guitar, and trumpet. He would pretend that he had a set of drums but instead he would beat on chairs with a pair of sticks. When his family saw how talented he was, Justin was entered in a local competition in Stratford, Canada in 2007. He sang many songs including “So Sick” by Ne-yo and received second place. After this performance his mother began posting videos on YouTube for Justin’s family and friends to check out. Bieber’s popularity began to grow.

Justin Bieber was discovered by Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive, when he saw his videos on YouTube. Braun was amazed by how talented he was and set up meetings with him. He set up one in particular with celebrity, Usher Raymond.  When Bieber saw Usher, he began to sing one of his songs because he was so excited. Raymond asked, “Who is this kid?” Raymond, was also astonished by Justin Bieber’s talent. Usher vowed that “If it is meant to be, we will meet again.”  The day came and Justin saw Usher once again. Usher introduced him to his producer who also saw Bieber’s talent. A few years later, Bieber released his first single, “One Time,” which immediately got his listeners’ attention. His first album My World was issued in November of 2009 and topped the billboards. In less than a month, the album went gold. Four albums followed and brought the same results. In 2011, he came out with the movie Never Say Never . Never Say Never topped the box office and earned 12.4 million dollars on its opening day from 3,105 theaters.

“Beliebers” embody one type of Justin Bieber fans. “I like Justin Bieber because he is not just a pop star, but is a nice guy,” says Lindsay Ringman, class of 2014.  “He started out just like the rest of us and we can relate to him through religion, the country, or just how he started out,” claims Ringman. Ringman also mentioned that she likes him because he is a really good singer and he does not need his voice to be auto-tuned. “I also think he is really hot, he can dance, and his hair is amazing, even after he cut it this year,” stated Ringman. One thing that Justin does is stay true to himself and does not let the fame get to him. “He is still the down-to-earth prankster he always was and, just like the rest of us, he is not perfect,” explained Ringman.

Justin Bieber began his career at a young age and even though many listeners loved him, some still had cons about him. The non-beliebers represent the other type who do not enjoy his music or him. “Basically, he is a five year old girl in a 12 year old guy body. He has a voice higher than most girls out there and the little hair flip he does is like a twitch,” states Ali McBride, class of 2014. “He tries to date girls that are twice his age. Musicians like him disgrace real music and I do not understand why so many girls out there are in love with a little girl,” she stated.

Now that they have seen him progressing through his career, appearance, and music, some think about him differently. Megan Healy, class of 2014, stated, “I think Justin Bieber is a little overrated at times.” Fans tend to make a big deal out of Justin Bieber. “He started off weird, being young and all, but his music and style is improving slightly.”

Justin Bieber’s career has progressed rapidly in the last two years and is becoming a huge impact on the world by saying, “Never say never.” He has many beliebers and non-beliebers but his fans will always support him throughout his career. No matter what negative influences impact his life, he will always keep his head up. He has done this through his music, charms, looks, singing, acting, and dancing skills.