Ever since Scooter Braun discovered Justin Bieber on YouTube in the late aughts, the singer has become one of the most successful and recognizable names in the music industry.
Bieber released his debut EP, My World, in 2009 and his first full-length album, My World 2.0, in 2010. His fan base quickly grew, thanks in part to his early hits “One Time,” “One Less Lonely Girl” and “Baby” — and his trendsetting swoop hairstyle.
The pop star went on to release two concert films, 2011’s Justin Bieber: Never Say Never and 2013’s Justin Bieber’s Believe, and four more albums: 2011’s Under the Mistletoe, 2012’s Believe, 2015’s Purpose and 2020’s Changes. In addition, he has made guest appearances on other artists’ hit singles, including Jack Ü’s “Where Are Ü Now” (for which he won a Grammy in 2015); Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito (Remix)”; DJ Snake’s “Let Me Love You”; DJ Khaled’s “I’m the One” with Quavo, Chance the Rapper and Lil Wayne; Ed Sheeran’s “I Don’t Care”; and Dan + Shay’s “10,000 Hours.”
On top of his music career, all eyes have been on Bieber’s personal life since he hit the scene. He made headlines several times as a teenager for his bad-boy behavior — which included a DUI arrest and a vandalism charge, both in 2014 — as well as his high-profile romances and flings. He dated Selena Gomez on and off from 2011 to 2014 before they briefly rekindled their relationship at the end of 2017. Bieber went on to marry Hailey Bieber (née Baldwin) in 2018 at a New York courthouse before walking down the aisle in front of their family and friends in South Carolina one year later.
“Hailey’s very logical and structured, which I need,” Justin told Vogue in 2019. “I’ve always wanted security — with my dad [Jeremy Bieber] being gone sometimes when I was a kid, with being on the road. With the lifestyle I live, everything is so uncertain. I need one thing that’s certain. And that is my baby boo.”
The model echoed, “We’re two young people who are learning as we go. I’m not going to sit here and lie and say it’s all a magical fantasy. It’s always going to be hard. It’s a choice. You don’t feel it every single day. You don’t wake up every day saying, ‘I’m absolutely so in love and you are perfect.’ That’s not what being married is. But there’s something beautiful about it anyway — about wanting to fight for something, commit to building with someone. We’re really young, and that’s a scary aspect. We’re going to change a lot. But we’re committed to growing together and supporting each other in those changes. That’s how I look at it. At the end of the day, too, he’s my best friend. I never get sick of him.”
Scroll down to take a look back with Us at Justin’s life and career so far: