When a viral interview clip from 14 years ago makes the rounds again, fans are shocked to find that Justin Bieber was not only just a kid but a pop star. The Canadian singer became a household name after his mother started posting videos of him performing musically online in 2007. It wasn’t long before he had a large following and was discovered by talent agent Scooter Braun, who flew the then-teenager to Atlanta to meet Usher and potentially sign a record deal.
Bieber’s career skyrocketed and he went on to release a series of hit songs. His eponymous debut album in 2009 was a worldwide success, and his second offering My World 2.0 followed the year after, spawning the biggest single of his career—Baby, which has been streamed more than 30 billion times on YouTube. The tween idol also has appeared on numerous TV shows, including the Today show and Saturday Night Live.
Then things began to go sour. His romantic relationships and skirmishes with the law garnered him considerable tabloid attention, which was only magnified when he released his 2015 album Purpose, a collection of hits that included three top-ten singles. He collaborated with several other musicians, and also starred in a Calvin Klein underwear campaign alongside model Lara Stone.
Throughout his career, he has earned six Grammys and has sold more than 100 million albums. He has charted more than 33 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, and four of his six albums have reached number one. He has sold over 30 million concert tickets and has more than a billion views on YouTube.
Recently, the media has focused on the singer’s struggles to feel joy. He’s been seen zipping in and out of a hyperbaric chamber, which is supposed to help with his depressive episodes. “No one in the history of humanity has ever grown up like Justin Bieber—that’s why he can’t feel joy,” his manager, Scooter Braun, explains in a YouTube documentary series from last year.
The episode explores how Bieber’s life has been shaped by “have to” versus “want to” value systems. He was raised by people who needed him for their purposes, like managers and bodyguards and label executives. He argues that those people helped him to stay on track with his professional goals, but not to figure out what he wanted beyond that. He says that two things brought him back—his marriage and his faith—because they were value systems that did not depend on him for their existence. For more on justin bieber, visit the link below.