It's been 5 years since Justin Bieber's mother Patricia Lynn "Pattie" Mallette uploaded to YouTube two videos of her then 13-year-old son singing Neyo's 'So Sick' and Lil Bow Wow’s ‘Basketball’ in a local singing competition.
Mallette created the YouTube channel ‘kidrauhl’ on January 15, 2007. It was named after Justin’s father, who referred to himself as ‘Lordrauhl’. Four days after, she uploaded the two videos more that would eventually kick off her son’s singing career.
Justin’s version of ‘So Sick’, the very first video uploaded on the channel, was initially intended only for Pattie's friends and family to see. It now has almost 5 million views to date.
But even after the young Canadian singer took on a personal manager, Scooter Braun, in 2008, it took almost two years before he got signed onto a joint venture with singer and songwriter Usher.
Five years after
Today, ‘The Biebs’ —the name affectionately given him by his ‘Belieber’ fans— has an impressive 16.7 million Twitter followers and 39.4 million Facebook “Likes.”
From just ten videos five years ago, YouTube channel kidrauhl now has a total of 75 videos on queue. In addition, the music video of Bieber's hit single “Baby”, hosted by YouTube Channel JustinBieberVEVO, has 695 million views with one million likes to date.
It is very evident in his Twitter account that Bieber appreciates his fans a lot.
After a confessed Belieber Drew Ryniewicz got eliminated last Dec. 1, 2011 in Season 1 of X Factor USA, Justin Bieber tweeted her an inspirational message: “Keep your head up. I lost my first competition too. This is just the beginning for you. Never say never. Best wishes.”
Whether we may like it or not, Justin Bieber is a star in his own right.
“I’m looking forward to influencing others in a positive way.” Justin says. — TJD, GMA News
source: GMA Network
