Justin Bieber rocks out. (Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
You know about the hair, his famous girlfriend, and his ridiculously popular music. But as pop sensation Justin Bieber celebrates his 18th birthday on March 1, we share five fun facts you may not know about the teen idol. Warning: Those with Bieber fever probably memorized all of this information years ago. We know this. It's simply meant as a cheat sheet for the rest of us.
He Was Born to a Teen Mom: Ready to feel old? The Biebs' mom, Patti Malette is still in her 30s. She became pregnant with the future superstar when she was just 18 years old, splitting with Justin's father, Jeremy Jack Bieber, when Justin was just a toddler. Though JBiebs maintained a close relationship with his dad growing up, he was mostly raised by his single mother, who worked multiple low-paying jobs over the years, while raising Justin in Ontario, Canada.
YouTube Was Justin's First Step to Success … by Accident: After coming in second at a local talent competition when he was 12, Justin began posting videos of himself performing on YouTube. While looking for a clip of a completely different singer, hip-hop marketing exec Scooter Braun (who eventually became Justin's manager), accidentally clicked on one of Justin's performances instead. According to reports, Braun jumped through hoops to track down his soon-to-be prodigy, scouring his videos to figure out where the young musician was from and then contacting his school to get in touch with his mom. A short time later, Justin was on his way to Atlanta to record demos. Soon, Usher caught wind of the up-and-coming kid and signed him to a production deal and then eventually introduced him to the head of Island Def Jam Records.
Justin's Mom Wasn't Thrilled About His Potential Pop Career at First: "I said: 'God, I gave him to you. You could send me a Christian man, a Christian label!'" Malette told The New York Times in 2009. After praying with her "church elders," they gave permission to allow her son to move forward. Teen girls everywhere are thanking them.
Justin Bieber with Usher in 2009. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
The Bieber Men Have Matching Tattoos: Last July Justin and his dad visited a tattoo artist in Israel where they both got the word "Jesus" tattooed in Hebrew on the left side of their torsos. Papa Biebs even held his son's hand while he got his tat. Talk about a cool dad! Justin has since gone a step further -- he got Jesus Christ's face tattooed on his calf!
JBiebs Has Gotten Waxed Around the World: Last year, Madame Tussauds unveiled three different wax versions of the teen dream in London, New York, and Amsterdam. Since then, the Biebs has become a permanent fixture at the Vegas location and, in honor of his 18th birthday, the "museum" will release yet another Bieber figure in Hollywood on March 1, to be revealed by a 14-year-old girl from Seattle who won a Facebook contest. Sadly, she won't get to meet the real deal.
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