Justin Bieber: Just Getting Started (100% Official) Read online

  After we performed live on the show, I was able to share with Stevie Wonder what an honor it was to have him come out and perform with me. Then Stevie said something I will never forget; he said I reminded him of himself when he was a little boy. I cannot think of a higher compliment coming from someone with so much talent. I was overwhelmed by his kindness and generosity. Christmas came a couple of days early for me wrapped up in a package signed, sealed and delivered by the man himself, Mr. Stevie Wonder.

  Looking out across a sea of faces in Antwerp. Seeing my fans makes me so happy—all I can do is try to give a little bit of happiness back.

  It was a really big deal when we decided to sing the Beatles’ song, “Let It Be,” in Times Square for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. It was the 40th anniversary of his annual show, which also turned out to be his last, and a real honor to be included. Everyone kept telling me that the most important thing I needed to focus on was not messing up Paul McCartney’s lyrics. Scooter, Usher, Dan, and everyone else around me practically beat the lyrics into my head so I wouldn’t make a mistake. They were like, “You can’t mess up one word.” We even watched old footage of Paul McCartney singing the song over and over again. Usher ran rehearsals with me and even took the time to go on YouTube to show me footage of people who had botched the national anthem or messed up Beatles lyrics and all the criticism that they got for their mistakes.

  “You have to deliver this,” Usher told me over and over.

  I worked really hard at getting the song to a place where I felt comfortable enough to make it my own without disrespecting Paul McCartney or any Beatles fans. I had to make sure I had it perfect. I practiced on my little keyboard at my grandma’s house back in Stratford until I made sure I knew every single chord and note.

  Once I had it down cold, as a musician I wanted to put my own touch on it, so I started working on an original arrangement with my band. I knew exactly where I wanted the band to drop in a certain place and how I wanted the drums to sound. To make it clear, I took the sticks and showed my drummer how I’d play it—and thankfully, the ideas worked.

  When it came to the famous guitar solo, I thought it might be fresh to get someone big to play with us, so I asked Scooter to approach Carlos Santana. He was so cool about the invitation, immediately saying yes. It was such an honor and privilege to play with him that night. Right before we hit the stage, Santana turned to Dan and me and said, “I never play a note on my guitar unless I feel everything in my soul.” I totally understood what he was saying because I feel exactly the same way. I knew exactly how I wanted the song to sound to the audience that night and I didn’t stop tweaking until we got it right.

  There were over a million people in Times Square to celebrate the New Year and something like a billion people watching all over the world. I am pretty sure this was the biggest show I’ve ever done—so far. Hmm…a bigger crowd…I’m thinking Super Bowl half-time show, 2013? Hey, a guy can dream, right?

  The fans were crazy. It took 25 police officers to move me and the crew through the crowd. We all had to hold hands or someone could easily have got left behind. We had to move in and out of the people so quickly, keeping our heads down, hoping to get to and from the stage without anything going wrong. It was intense, but an unforgettable way to ring in the new year.

  It was an incredible performance. I made Usher, Scooter, my parents, my friends and yes, of course Dan (the ultimate Beatles fan) proud. Everyone in Times Square was singing along with me, which was truly moving. Naturally, Santana was incredible—it was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.

  After I finished that night, I got to go with Ryan Seacrest, Lady Gaga, and the other performers to count down to the famous ball drop in Times Square. Once all of the performances and the ball drop were done, my team threw a big party for me, my friends, family, band, and crew at a loft in New York City. It was the perfect way to start 2012!

  While shooting a commercial for my fragrance, I had the chance to take a ride in a zero-gravity airplane. I was psyched about the experience but I wanted to share it with my friends, so I asked the producer if Kenny, Ryan, Vanessa, and Allison could come with me. We are all on this journey together, so if I get to do the fun stuff, they do too! We all flew to Las Vegas where the plane was waiting for us at a private airport. When you go up in the plane, you experience three times the normal g-force on your body and you’re suddenly weightless. They warned us to go easy the first round and not to do anything too crazy. Of course, I was doing flips and spinning around. It didn’t take me long to figure out why they warn you—after 5 passes, I was feeling so nauseous that I was toast.

  Although I don’t like to make a big thing out of it, every deal I do has to have a charitable component or we don’t do it. We give away a portion of all proceeds from my fragrances right down to concert ticket sales—where one dollar of every ticket sold goes to two of my favorite charities: Pencils of Promise and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

  When I was approached about doing a fragrance, I decided to do something different. I know most male artists who do fragrances make cologne for men, but let’s be real; the way a girl smells is very important to a guy—especially this guy. I have such a deep connection to my fans, so creating a fragrance that I personally love is another way I could bring them closer into my world. Plus, in working with a company like Give Back Brands, I could use it to do something good for the community. In fact, the chance to give back is one of the main reasons why we created Someday. My team and I not only saw it as an opportunity to give my fans something they would love, but also as a chance to make a difference in the world.

  Someday became the bestselling fragrance in the world in 2011 and even won a FiFi Award—the equivalent of winning an Oscar in the world of fragrances. I was also given the Elizabeth Taylor Fragrance Celebrity of the Year Award, which honors a celebrity who has embraced and promoted the world of fragrance. Because of the incredible sales of the fragrance, through Pencils of Promise more than twenty schools were built from the proceeds in the first six months after its release. Since then we’ve been able to do even greater things to help those in need.

  Inspired to keep giving my fans what they want combined with ways to give back, I released my second fragrance in July 2012, called Girlfriend. The name was inspired by “Boyfriend,” my first single from Believe.

  As long as I have the opportunity to do good things for others, I will continue to dedicate myself to doing so. It wasn’t so long ago that I was a kid who had to swipe clothing from the school Lost and Found because my family couldn’t afford to buy me new things. I used to scoop them and use them. I’ve never forgotten what that feels like.

  In late October 2011, I appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where she did a follow-up piece on the Whitney Elementary School, a nationally renowned school which provides its needy students and families with food, clothing, health services, and the occasional rent check. Ellen originally did a spotlight on the school during her first show of the season and had become an advocate for the great work they do in providing their students with free haircuts, dental care and eye glasses, if they need them. It’s where families can get services and supplies they otherwise couldn’t afford. It’s also a place where parents can go to learn how to read or get help if they fall behind on their rent. If the school didn’t feed and clothe the majority of their kids, they’d be out on the streets.

  I was so moved by the clip because I instantly related to the kids in the school. While growing up I didn’t have a lot, so when I saw those kids and how they were being taken care of by their principal, it was very touching to me. After all, I used to be just like them so I wanted to do whatever I could to help out too. After the piece, Ellen announced that Target was donating $100,000 to the school.

  Much to the surprise of everyone around me, I offered to match the $100,000 donation dollar for dollar and promised the kids that I would come to their school to do a special Christmas concert just for them
in December. It wasn’t planned—I just felt like it was something I wanted to do.

  I kept my promise and made it to Whitney Elementary on December 16, 2011. I was pretty excited to tour the school and meet everyone. I popped in and out of the classrooms to say hello, talking to as many of the students as I could along the way. I answered their questions and shared my personal childhood struggles of being raised by a single mother in low-income housing and having to rely on food banks and charity donations for clothes. I told them all about how when I was young my grandparents helped out my mom, but I didn’t have a lot as a kid either. Just seeing how happy they were made that day really special. I was so happy to meet everyone—it was an experience I don’t think any of us will ever forget.

  When my tour of the school was complete, everyone gathered in the multipurpose room of their school where I put on a private concert just for them. I was only supposed to sing a couple of songs from Under the Mistletoe for 650 students and faculty that day, but I ended up doing about five songs. For me, that was one of the most memorable shows I have ever done. To top off the already amazing day we all shared, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Hasbro also donated an additional $100,000 in toys—one for every child —for the holidays.

  I’ve heard that Whitney has received well over 1 million dollars in donations since Ellen first adopted their school. I know many of the children think my coming to their school was an early Christmas gift to them, but the truth is, spending time with the students that day was the best gift I could ever have received. I enjoy doing that kind of stuff more than any other type of appearance because it’s just between me and the kids. I usually don’t like it if the press is there, and most of the time I restrict their access so nothing can interrupt our valuable time together. I love talking to kids and hearing how they have become best friends around the world because of my music. For me, that is one of the coolest things about my job, because I am from a small town and I never thought I would leave. When we talk, I hope they see me as someone to aspire to—that if I can break out of my circumstances, they can too.

  I like the idea that through my music I am helping people all around the world. I want to be known as an ambassador of people. Since music is the universal language, I can influence people’s lives in a positive way—something we can all aspire to.

  I was in Liverpool, England, for a show when I first heard about the crisis in Japan. My heart went out to all of the families who lost loved ones and who would eventually be displaced by the utter devastation that took place afterward. We were scheduled to do two shows in Japan in May, one in Tokyo (which is 170 miles from where the nuclear reactor was located), and the other in Osaka, which is a little further away.

  At the time, there was a lot of concern about traveling to Japan. I’d heard that many other performers were cancelling their appearances there because of the potential exposure to radiation. We were equally concerned at first, but after Scooter and I talked it through and looked at every possible side of the argument, we both wanted to keep our commitment and go. I mean, this is what you do it for. You do it not only for entertainment, but to support your fans the way they support you. If I abandoned my fans now, I’d be abandoning everything I stand for. One of the oldest sayings in show biz is, “The Show Must Go On.” And so for us, it would.

  Fear affects a lot of people and holds them back from doing things in life that ultimately matter. I look at these as opportunities and as the moments in life that separate the good from the great. These are the situations that come up where I can prove that I live for my fans. Then more than ever, they needed something to help them start to heal, and music, whether it’s mine or anyone else’s, is always a good start.

  Once Scooter and I were firm on our decision, we had a meeting with the crew to get them on board too. I was pretty shocked when a bunch of our musicians and crew refused to go.

  They started talking behind the scenes, saying it was wrong to make the trip and that we didn’t care about them. We are like a tight-knit family so it kind of freaked me out to hear some of my team talk that way about us. With all of the smack talk, we immediately called a team meeting so I could tell everyone how I felt. I said that I was going to Japan whether they did or not. I tried to explain that my fans expected me to be there and under the circumstances, I wasn’t willing to let them down … especially in a time of need. I was hoping everyone would band together, but I wasn’t totally convinced they would after I left the room.

  Once I was gone, I heard later, Scooter looked at everyone and said, “Listen up, he is 17 and he has more courage and heart than you guys. Whether you say you want to go there or not, we all have responsibility in our life to other human beings. All of you need to make a decision. If you don’t want to go to Japan, then you don’t need to be a part of this team at all and you can go home and I will hire someone else. So, either man the *&%$ up or get off my tour.”

  It took a while to win them over, but eventually only three people left the crew and the rest said that if me and Scooter were in—and they meant both of us—then they would go. Everyone knew that Scooter wasn’t originally scheduled to be in Japan, so in a way they made us both prove our loyalty to them and the Japanese fans by being there. Scooter flew 16 hours from Australia to LA for a meeting he couldn’t change and then hopped on a flight to Osaka so he could be there before we arrived from Taipei, Taiwan. By the time we landed, he was already at the airport in a show of solidarity and to make sure they understood that if he could make it happen, no one had an excuse not to be there. #Beast

  When we got to Tokyo, I wanted to do something special for some of the victims of the earthquake and tsunami, so we had several kids from the areas that were affected come to Tokyo to spend the day together. We met at the American Embassy, where the Canadian and Japanese Ambassadors joined us for an unforgettable day for all of us. We all hung out, played some songs, took lots of pictures and, most important of all, listened to their stories. For most of them, this was their first trip to Tokyo, and for some, their first time away from their homes. I will never forget the kids I met, especially a girl named Ayaka, who lost her sister, parents, and grandparents in the quake.

  We surprised everyone by arranging for them to stay in Tokyo so they could come to my show the next night. We gave them all front-row tickets so it would be extra special. I even brought one of the girls on stage to be my “Lonely Girl” and sang to her during the show.

  The Japanese audience was very grateful we came to entertain them—as so many other stars had cancelled their tours. After we left, we arranged for Apple to donate computers to each of the kids we met that day as our way of helping them move on toward their future. I heard that Ayaka is set to start college in the United States this year. It makes me feel really good to know she is doing so well.

  I left Japan proud of the time we spent there, especially the time I got to spend with the kids whose lives had been so drastically changed by one single event. I was reminded of the importance of living a life to help, support, and care for others. Whether you think so or not, one person can make a difference in someone else’s life.

  Ayaka and other survivors of the tsunami—it was amazing to meet such strong people.

  Reaching out in Osaka. I love connecting with you guys!

  I was home in Stratford to celebrate Christmas with my family and kept hearing this song, “Call Me Maybe,” on the radio. It’s a really catchy tune—you know, the kind where you remember all of the words after hearing it a couple of times. Anyway, whenever I was driving around with my friends and we’d hear the song, one of us would have to turn it up so we could sing along. Even though it was doing well on the Canadian charts, I thought it was an amazing song that should be doing better outside of Canada so I tweeted, “Call Me Maybe is the catchiest song ever.”

  I kept asking my friends about the singer—who is she?

  They told me her name is Carly Rae Jepsen—a singer who had been on Canadian Idol in 2007 and had a
few hits since then.

  OK, got it. But was she signed to a label?

  No one knew.

  It didn’t take Scooter long to call me after reading my tweet, and when he did, I asked him to find out if she was signed to anyone. As soon as we found out that she wasn’t signed outside of Canada, we had an opportunity to sign Carly. I liked what I heard, and I thought, what better way to use my name than to help another artist, who I think is great, get out there for everyone else to hear? #payitforward

  Since then, she has had tremendous exposure and success all around the world. I am really proud of her. I am happy that I was able to do for another artist what Usher once did for me. At the end of the day, it’s just my own way of paying it forward. When I first started, after Scooter found me, we went to Usher to help me get signed and get my name out there. He’s been my mentor ever since. I feel like I have a duty to do the same for other up-and-coming artists who I believe in. There’s no greater feeling in the world than knowing you’ve given someone something they needed, then sitting back and watching them take off and fly.

  Even though I didn’t have a so-called “normal” family growing up, I have made it a priority in my life to put them first. I love my family and I’m very protective over everyone—especially my little brother and sister. I’m the kind of guy who never wants to let anyone down, whether it’s a friend, family, or even my fans. I have always been like that. I know what it is like to feel let down and I never want anyone else to feel that way.