The meteoric rise of singer Justin Bieber from YouTube phenomenon to teen idol has wowed the pop music world and prompted comparisons to none other than Michael Jackson.
Los Angeles.
(Arash Ghadishah/ABC News)
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Yet outside of a certain demographic — i.e. teenage girls — the young Canadian remains something of a mystery. Justin recently sat down with Chris Connelly of “Nightline” to fill in some of the blanks. For 10 things you still may not know about Justin Bieber, read on.
1. Justin Bieber’s voice is changing.
“I’m at that age where my voice is changing,” Justin, who turned 16 on March 1, told Connelly. “It’s been a pretty smooth transition so far. I’m not all the way through it, but I have the best vocal coaches training me and stuff. … I like my voice how it is right now, but I have to work out it and it’s going to get lower, so I have to work with what I have.”
2. Justin Bieber loves Beyonce“I was a little nervous,” Justin said of his recent meeting with Beyonce. “But I was basically like, ‘You’re very good looking.’ I was trying to keep it real quiet.
Jay-Z was beside her.”
3. Justin Bieber grew up listening to Boyz II Men.“She played a lot of R&B,” Justin told Connelly. “Like Boyz II Men. That played in our house a lot. I would take the CD and take it in my room and try to do the little runs they did. And mimic what they were doing. … Amazing.”Justin said his mom played a lot of music around the house as he was growing up.
4. Justin Bieber did not grow up rich.
“I grew up with not a lot of money,” he said. “I was lived with mom. My mom and dad split up when I was very young. I had a relationship with my dad, but they were split up. So I was with my mom. Then I was with my dad. … I didn’t have a lot of money, but I didn’t know that. Being young I had everything I wanted. I played sports. I had clothes. But now that … being in my position that I am now is just like looking back, I’m so blessed.”
5. Justin Bieber took an airplane for the first time on the way to meet the man who would become his manager.Scooter Braun, a former executive at So So Def Recordings, discovered Justin on YouTube and flew the teen to
Atlanta from
Ontario,
Canada.
“First time I was ever on an airplane,” Bieber said. “It was amazing. … I met Jermaine [Dupri, founder of So So Def], and then about a week later my manager had showed Usher the videos of me online.
“And Usher was like, ‘That was the kid? Man, that kid is … I should have let him sing for me.’ And so, he flew me back to Atlanta where I got to sing for him and meet him. He then wanted to sign me. And then he got in contact with
Justin Timberlake and JT also wanted to sign me.
6. Justin Bieber thinks Jessica Biel is hot.Justin said the best part of meeting Justin Timberlake was meeting Timberlake’s girlfriend, Jessica Biel.
“That was the best part,” Justin Bieber told Connelly. “That was like all … that was the best. She is so hot.”
7. Justin Bieber is left-handed.
“At 8 I started to play the guitar,” Justin said. “Basically when I started playing the guitar, I picked up a right-handed guitar. ‘Cause that was all … my mom had a right-handed guitar in the house. And picked it up and I picked it up left-handed. My mom would switch it the other way. And I would switch it right back to the other way and try to play. It was difficult because it’s backwards. My mom, I think it was for my birthday, she bought me a left-handed guitar. And so ever since I was young I learned on a left-handed guitar.”
8. Justin Bieber loves hockey.
“I love hockey,” Justin said. “I played hockey all my life.”
Justin said he played center forward and that he roots for theToronto Maple Leafs.
“I’m a Leafs fan, yeah,” he said.
9. Justin Bieber’s favorite color is purple.
“What’s your favorite color?” Connelly asked.
“Favorite color is purple,” Justin said.
“You laughed there,” Connelly said. “Do people ask you what your favorite color is sometimes?”
“Yeah, sometimes,” the singer answered.
“Is it really funny to be asked what your favorite color is?” Connelly asked.
“Yeah,” Justin said. “Like, who cares what my favorite color is?”
10. Justin Bieber’s favorite food is spaghetti Bolognese.
“People ask you what your favorite food is?” Connelly asked.
“Yeah,” Justin said.
“What do you say?”
“Spaghetti bolognese,” Justin said.
Watch the interview on “Nightline” Friday at 11:35 p.m. ET
(ABC NEWS)
