The Rise of Justin Timberlake and Selena Gomez
Who else from the pop world does not have a huge personal fan base? Justin Bieber certainly makes the cut along with many of the biggest names in music and the list goes on. It appears as if he is able to attract even the most unlikely of fans with his charm and beauty. He may be just a teen now, but the fan base grows with each passing year, making him one of the biggest stars in the industry today.
Justin’s net worth as of late continues to rise with each new project he releases or has guest starring in. In late October, Justine Bieber was ranked number three on the Hot 100 chart, peaking at number eight. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Justin Bieber’s net worth as of late is $284 million as of late 2021, thanks largely to his concert sales, merchandise, album sales, video games, product endorsements and more business ventures. His income has translated into real estate for him and a selection of villas and luxury cars.
Justin’s whirlwind of popularity began in the late 1990s when he was just a teen, rapping about his abode in Canada while residing in the small town of Scarborough, Ontario. The small town just outside of Toronto, where Justin resides today, is well known for its musical tastes and has been the home of several well-known recording artists including The Guess Who, The Oils, Akon, Mary J. Blige and many others. The Guess Who were one of the very first to make their mark on the Toronto music scene with their single One Way or Another. The band’s subsequent single This Time was an instant success, featuring the single line, “I’m a millionaire.”
The real Justin Bieber was revealed in his early beginnings up until his early teens when he started going by the name Justine Timberlake. Justin first made a stir by performing at a Toronto nightclub called Raglan Road, which was also the home of The Oils. At this point in time, the singer’s real name was just Justin Timberlake, thus explaining his somewhat peculiar singing voice and persona. Justin’s stage name came from his mother’s maiden name of Justine Tunes, which was then changed to Justin after her marriage to Mike Wilkins, who was the singer and songwriter for the band Akon.
The first single off the Justin Timberlake solo career was the smash hit Gossip; which is something that has never been heard without the vocals of the Canadian pop star. Sadly, Gossip became only a minor hit in the United States and around the world. The single had the unfortunate condition of being a huge crossover hit between hip hop and R&B and never reached the heights of success that it should have. Despite this shortcoming, Gossip remains a high quality and interesting album that showcases Justin’s talent as a singer and just as importantly, as someone who is very conscious of the world that he inhabits.
The second single off of Justin Timberlake’s debut album wasn’t quite as successful as Gossip, but was more memorable for its controversial content. It is called Baby and is notable for the controversial video in which Justin and his friends perform the N-word over a synthesizer beat. The video has gone so viral that major news networks have given airtime to the performance, making it a worldwide sensation in just two months. Some people have criticized the video for being sexist, and to a certain extent it may be, but it is still a classic example of Justin’s boldness for using something so taboo to sell records. It was also noteworthy for the strong presence of rap music star Kanye West, along with several other well known rappers including Jay Z and Biggie Smalls. These collaborations made Baby one of the biggest singles of 2021.