The Justin Bieber Guide: a timeline

Just when we thought the whole world knew about Justin Bieber, we meet a friend who’s heard the name but really has no clue who he is. Where have they been living for the past year? We’re sure you’ve met the type, too; that’s why we’ve created this handy dandy Justin Bieber primer for you to forward to the head-in-the-sanders. It’s just in time, too—the Biebs is set to play the ACC this Saturday.

2007: Bieber’s mom posts a video on YouTube of him performing Ne-Yo’s “So Sick” at a singing competition in his hometown of Stratford. The performance (it now has over 1.3 million views) was followed by dozens more, launching him to on-line stardom.

2008: Scooter Braun discovers Bieber through YouTube, becomes his manager and introduces him to Usher, who signs him to the Raymond Braun Media Group (after beating out Justin Timberlake for the honour).

November 2009: Bieber’s debut album, My World, goes platinum, making him the first artist to have seven songs on the Billboard Top 100 from a first effort.

March 2010: Bieber releases a follow-up to his debut album, My World 2.0, which contains the single “Baby,” featuring Ludacris. The song debuted at number five on the Billboard charts before the album came out, helping its first-week sales to exceed 283,000 copies.

April 10: Solidifying his pop-culture cred, Bieber appears on Saturday Night Live. In one sketch, his infatuated teacher (played by Tina Fey) calls him “a dreamy Christmas elf.” People over the age of 15 finally figure out who that Bieber kid is.

April 26: Bieber’s concert in Sydney, Australia, is cancelled when eight girls are hospitalized after being trampled in a tween stampede caused by rumours that the Biebs had arrived at the venue early.

April 29: The moment we were waiting for: Bieber admits his voice cracks.

May: Kim Kardashian receives death threats after the two were (ridiculously) rumoured to have struck up a romantic relationship at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Bieber explained she was just a “very sexy friend.”

May 4: Bieber appears on a New Zealand talk show, where he appears to not know what the word “German” means. After a flurry of media uproar, he later defends himself by saying he thought the interviewer said “Jewman” and proves his German skills by counting to 10 on another talk show.

May 13: The Biebs goes on Oprah, who declares him one of the world’s most talented kids and dares to tousle his famous bob.

May 14: Stratford, Bieber’s hometown, releases a Justin Bieber guide to the city, increasing its tourism site traffic by 558 per cent.

May 19: Bieber is nominated for a BET Award, along with K’naan and Drake. Good thing he went with Usher instead of Timberlake.

May 26: An app that eliminates any mention and photograph of Justin Bieber from the Internet is released. Its creator, Greg Leuch, receives death threats.

Mid-July: Shaquille O’Neal tries to bring down the Biebs in a dance-off. He fails.

July 26: Bieber announces that he’ll make his acting debut on CSI next season.

Late July: Biebs is seen escaping fans on a Segway.

August:

• Plans for a Bieber 3-D biopic, starring Justin Bieber, are announced. Oscar-winning Davis Guggenheim signs on as director but changes his mind, and Step Up 3D director Jon Chu steps in.

• A photographic Bieber biography, First Step 2 Forever: My Story, is announced for an October release, but the cover is leaked early. Also coming out in October is a graphic novel by the same company that published Robert Pattinson, David Beckham and Lady Gaga comic biographies.

• The teen heartthrob becomes the spokesperson for the quintessential teen product: Proactiv.

• An Elle photo shoot fuels Bielieber rage with a Graduate-themed spread of Bieber alongside his gorgeous older lady friend Kim Kardashian.

• Kanye West and Justin Bieber share a Twitter bromance, which leads to their collaboration on a remix of “Runaway Love.”

• Biebs exacts revenge on a meddlesome fan by getting thousands of fans to text him love notes.