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Bieber was born on March 1, 1994, in Stratford, Ontario. Bieber's mother, Pattie Mallette, was 18 years old when she became pregnant with her son. Mallette, who worked a series of low paying office jobs, raised Bieber as a single mother. However, Bieber maintains contact with his father, Jeremy Bieber.[12][13] As he grew, Bieber taught himself to play the piano, drums, guitar, and trumpet.[14] In early 2007, when he was twelve, Bieber sang Ne-Yo's "So Sick" for a local singing competition in Stratford and placed second.[5] Mallette posted a video of the performance on YouTube for their family and friends to see. She continued to upload videos of Bieber singing covers of various R&B songs, and Bieber's popularity on the site grew.[10]

While searching for videos of a different singer, Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive of So So Def, clicked on one of Bieber's videos by accident.[12] Impressed, Braun tracked down the theater Bieber was performing in, located Bieber's school, and finally contacted Mallette. Mallette was reluctant; she remembered praying, "God, I gave him to you. You could send me a Christian man, a Christian label!"[12] However, after praying with her church elders and receiving their encouragement, she permitted Braun to fly Bieber, then 13,[10] to Atlanta, Georgia to record demo tapes.[12] A week after arriving, Bieber sang for R&B singer/songwriter Usher,[15] who arranged an audition with Antonio L.A. Reid at Island Def Jam Music Group, who in turn signed him to Island Records in October 2008.[10] Justin Timberlake was reportedly in the running to sign Bieber, but he eventually signed with Usher.[16] Bieber and his mother then moved to Atlanta, also the home of Usher and Braun, to base his career.

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15y ago

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