Almost every human on the planet is familiar with Justin Bieber, but not that many know that he started on YouTube. Bieber filmed himself singing covers of songs on YouTube at an early age. Eventually, he was “discovered,” and thus, his rise to fame began.
What made him stand out from all the other singers on YouTube?
He was passionate.
One thing every successful artist has in common is passion. If you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, you won’t succeed. Being driven and loving what you do is the key to success, especially in the entertainment industry, where the competition is endless.
He was driven.
Sticking with something you aren’t sure about can be extremely difficult. Maintaining a sense of motivation and driving is incredibly important. Even though Bieber didn’t know whether his videos would get him noticed, he persisted!
He catered to a specific audience.
Not having a target audience can make any entertainment venture too daunting. Catering to a specific audience, in this case, young and teenage girls, allows one to focus the energy on pleasing one group. Rather than spread yourself too thin by trying to be overly diverse in content, you can focus and perfect one type of content.
He had his unique look.
While many longtime fans cringe at it now, that bowl cut Bieber sported in his early days set him apart from the crowd. He was easily distinguishable and thus memorable.
He also has a unique voice, which lets people know he’s the voice on the radio. Building a persona or style helps you get noticed because you’re set apart from the crowd.
Drive, passion, and individuality are the critical factors of Justin Bieber’s success. Maintaining a sense of self while promoting his music from a too-young age allowed him to get discovered, and thus his rise to fame began.
With acclaim came both derision and terrifying fandom. To many, he was the epitome of the synthetic pop star – a money-spinning persona created for the pre-teen female market–and Bieber became the butt of a thousand cruel jokes. Meanwhile, he produced a devotion among his fan base that verged on hysteria. On Twitter, followers dominated trending topics, talking about his latest songs, and in one scary incident, #CutForBieber, young ‘Beliebers’ self-harmed to get the star’s attention.
Unsurprisingly, Bieber found it challenging to adjust to his heightened profile, galloping off the rails and hitting tabloid front pages regularly for teenage pranks, drugs, turning up late for gigs, or smashing up sports cars. If ever a pop star needed a miraculous turnaround, it was Bieber.
Having said all that, let’s allow ourselves a moment to remember how great this is… Justin Bieber is singing about grace, hope, and redemption. He’s sharing the ‘work’ that is ‘in progress’ with the world. And gloriously, his baptism seems to have resulted in him hitting his artistic peak. Bieber is no longer a punchline; he’s a story to be shared and celebrated. He’s not someone to warn our young people against, and he’s becoming an example for them to follow – a story of a life transformed via a large bath and some brutal honesty.
‘We have the greatest healer of all, and his name is JESUS CHRIST.’
-Justin Bieber