Justin Drew Bieber (born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian pop musician, actor, and singer-songwriter. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by American talent manager Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager. Braun arranged for him to meet with entertainer Usher Raymond in Atlanta, Georgia. Bieber was signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), and then to an Island Records recording contract offered by record executive L.A. Reid. His debut extended play, the seven-track My World, was released in November 2009, and was certified platinum in the United States. He became the first artist to have seven songs from a debut record to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Bieber's first full-length studio album, My World 2.0, was released in March 2010. It debuted at or near number-one in several countries and was certified platinum in the United States. It was preceded by the single "Baby". He followed up the release of his debut album with his first headlining tour, the My World Tour, the remix albums My Worlds Acoustic and Never Say Never -- The Remixes, and the 3D biopic-concert film Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. Bieber released his second studio album Under the Mistletoe in November 2011, when it debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200. Bieber released his third studio album Believe on June 19, 2012, and it became his fourth chart topper in the United States, debuting at number-one on the Billboard 200. Bieber has received numerous awards, including both Artist of the Year Awards at the 2010 American Music Awards and the 2012 American Music Awards, and was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards. With a global fan base, termed as "Beliebers", and over 40 million followers on Twitter, he was named by Forbes magazine in 2012 as the third-most powerful celebrity in the world. He had earned an estimated US$55 million in the previous 12 months. As of May 2012, Bieber has sold 15 million albums In March 2011, he was photographed making an obscene gesture at a photographer outside his 17th birthday party; however, he later released a public apology via Twitter. He was photographed performing the same gesture to photographers in November 2011 and November 2012. In July 2012, he was pulled over on the Ventura Freeway in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles Metro by California Highway Patrol, where he was reportedly driving at a speed of over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) in a 65 mph (105 km/h) zone. Bieber claimed he had been attempting to lose a team of photographers who were following him. Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine called the incident a "very dangerous, chaotic situation", and called Bieber's driving "careless" and "reckless". Bieber was ticketed for the incident, and a photographer reportedly received four misdemeanor charges, two of which were later dropped. On January 1, 2013, a paparazzo, Chris Guerra, was killed while attempting to cross the street after he saw Bieber's car and pursued it on foot to take a picture of him. Bieber was not in the car at the time. Bieber in Cannes, France, at the 2012 NRJ Music Awards ceremony. Bieber's pet capuchin monkey, Mally, was confiscated by customs agents upon the singer's entry to Germany in March 2013 to play dates on his tour and in May of the same year after no health documents were provided, the monkey was permanently settled into a new home amongst members of its own species in a wildlife park.[138] In March 2013, Bieber was involved in an altercation with a photographer in London which resulted in him being restrained by his own bodyguard. Bieber swore at the photographer, threatening to "fucking beat the fuck" out of him. About two weeks later, Swedish police found a "small amount of drugs" on board his tour bus. Police reportedly acted "after smelling marijuana coming from inside the bus". However, they said in a statement that they were unable to connect the drugs to a "single person" and that charges would not be filed. Bieber denied the reports on his Twitter account. Bieber also received scrutiny throughout March and April 2013 for walking shirtless through airport security in Poland and for posting a cartoon of himself in bed with a young "belieber".[146] On May 2, 2013, Devin "the Dude" Copeland filed a lawsuit against Bieber and Usher for alleged copyright infringement. The lawsuit, which was filed in a Norfolk federal court, stated that Bieber's 2010 single "Somebody to Love" copied a song of the same name that was written by Copeland in 2008, with Bieber's song containing "several lyrical and stylistic similarities" to Copeland's lyrics. Copeland is seeking $10 million in damages.

• published: 03 Nov 2013
• views: 82