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Introduction
In 2007, a 12-year-old boy
entered the Stratford Idol singing
competition, a youth center
contest inspired by
American Idol
.
Performing a cover of Ne-Yo’s
So Sick
, the young Justin Bieber
impressed the judges and won
second place, despite having no
formal musical or vocal coaching.
Justin and his mother, Pattie
Mallette, had wanted to share the
young singer’s musical talents
with friends and family and began
uploading home videos on to
YouTube
. Little did they know that
this simple act would be the start
of a global phenomenon. With a
rich talent at such a tender age,
more and more people began
subscribing to Bieber’s
YouTube
channel and asked for more.
Fast-forward a year and
Scooter Braun, a former
marketing executive, stumbles
across the
YouTube
videos of a
bright, good-looking teen with a
pure and clear voice singing his
heart out.
Realizing that there was
untapped talent right in front of
him, he made contact with the
Bieber family and a meeting
was arranged. Scooter Braun
organized to fly Justin out to
Atlanta to record a demo and
meet with R&B singer-songwriter
Usher. Justin then went on to sign
to Raymond Braun Media Group
(RBMG) before signing to Island
Records in the fall of 2008.
After bursting onto the music
scene in the summer of 2009,
Justin Bieber quickly became
a household name who was
adored by millions and was
especially popular with his teen
following: The “Beliebers.”
His fame reached dizzying
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