Justin Bieber is everywhere. From magazine covers to Twitter and Facebook and online forums and television shows and shop shelves, there is no denying this Canadian teenager is a phenomenon of our times. So much so that even those who are indifferent, tend to have an opinion of him. As he turns 18 today, tabloid! takes a look at aspects of this teen sensation's life that might not be as well known as him.
He loves ice hockey
Bieber says he's played hockey all his life (he's Canadian, after all) and apparently he plays centre forward. His favourite team are the Toronto Maple Leafs.
He didn't fly before fame beckoned
The first time he was on an airplane was when he flew to Atlanta in the US from Ontario in Canada to meet his future manager Scooter Braun.
After talent manager Braun accidentally clicked on his videos on YouTube, he was so impressed he tracked him down and convinced Bieber's mother to let him fly to Atlanta to record demos.
He is left-handed
The Biebernator started playing the guitar when he was only eight. "When I started playing the guitar, I picked up a right-handed guitar. 'Cause that was all my mum had in the house. I picked it up left-handed. My mum would switch it the other way," he told ABC's Nightline. "And I would switch it right back to the other way and try to play. It was difficult, because it's backwards. My mum, I think it was for my birthday, she bought me a left-handed guitar."
His voice is changing
Like any teenager, even singing proteges like Bieber can't help the changes puberty makes to the body. "It's been a pretty transition so far," he said when he turned 16. "I have the best vocal coaches training me, but I have to work out and it's going to get lower, so I have to work with what I have."
He can't keep his shirt on
According to Jon M. Chu, who directed the 3D concert film Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, he likes to be topless when he can. "He loves to run around with his shirt off all the time," said Chu in an interview.
He can sing in French
Bieber's mother, Patricia Lynn Mallette, has French-Canadian ancestry. While how fluent he is in Francais is up for debate, he does sing with a pretty convincing accent. What? You haven't heard the One Less Lonely Girl French version? In his book First Step to Forever: My Story, Bieber says: "I'm really glad that I speak French, because, let's face it, girls dig it when a guy speaks French. They call it the language of love, and that ain't no coincidence. Plus, I love my French fans! Très jolie!"
He is claustrophobic
When Bieber was just seven, he was playing hide and seek when his cousin he locked him up in a toy box. "Ever since I've been scared to be in small places," he told American fan mag Tiger Beat. "He apologised but it was traumatising."
He is also scared of elevators. "I'm very claustrophobic. It's kinda weird," he told his fans on YouTube.
He wore his first tux in 2010
Bieber wore his first tuxedo at the White House Correspondents Association dinner, an annual convergence of American policymakers, Hollywood A-listers and journalists in Washington in May, 2010. He rubbed shoulders with the Jonas Brothers, Kim Kardashian, Steven Spielberg and Michael Douglas.
He once spilled spaghetti all over his date
No, not Selena Gomez. Bieber told teen magazine M: "Once I took a girl out for a first date to an Italian restaurant. During the meal I spilled spaghetti all over her. It was terrible and embarrassing. I never went out with her again. So I would suggest not going out for Italian on a first date. I'll never make that mistake again."
May we add his favourite food is spaghetti Bolognese.
He has a half-sister Jazmine and half-brother Jaxon
Bieber's parents split when he was two. His father, Jeremy Jack Bieber, married another woman and has two children. Bieber says he is close to his extended family because his mum and dad respect each other. "My parents weren't the type to talk trash about each other," he told Seventeen magazine. "Some parents, when they split up, the mum will say, ‘Your dad's a jerk,' but mine were never like that. So that definitely made it easier for me. I knew they loved me, and they split up because of them, not because of me."
He wrote Down to Earth about his parents' divorce
"[It's] the most personal song I've written because it's about how my mum and dad split up when I was at a young age. It's just about everyday life and how there are struggles," he told Twist magazine. "My parents splitting up is definitely not one of the highlights of my life. It's sad... It makes you not feel so good."
He once cried on stage singing it. Aww.
He plays four instruments — all self-taught
The Biebernator learned to play the drums when he was two. He now plays the guitar, the piano and the trumpet — and he learnt it all himself.
He is social media king
Only Lady Gaga, with 19 million plus followers surpasses Bieber's 17 million followers on Twitter. His video for Baby is currently the most viewed video ever on YouTube at 710 million plus. On Facebook he has 40 million plus followers. In 2011 the word #Bieberconda started to trend on Twitter after pictures of him swimming in his underwear appeared on the internet. According to whatsmytwitteraccountworth.com, Bieber's is valued at $8 million.
He has been a victim of cyber bullying
Thanks to his unbelievable rise to fame, Bieber has often been the victim of cyber bullying. In 2010, after scoring his very first Grammy nomination as Best New Artist, someone hacked into the Baby singer's Wikipedia page and wrote "Justin Bieber is squirrel in a blender. He is gay." Although it was never made public who was after the taunt, and many others have followed it, Bieber has risen above mostly. Last year, he released a public service announcement to help curb online bullying.
He broke his foot once at a concert but continued performing
In November last year, Bieber was opening for Taylor Swift at London's Wembley Arena when he fell and broke his foot while performing One Time. The Biebernator went on the finish a song without missing a beat. He was later rushed to the hospital for treatment. He later joked to Swift in a joint interview: "You told me to ‘break a leg'. I couldn't break a leg, I broke my foot for you."
He wants to get married soon and have kids
The Biebernator wants to be a young dad, and wants to start a family before he turns 30. "I want to see myself, like, married or start looking for a family," he confessed to Womens Wear Daily. "If the time is right, I definitely want to be married by 25."
Wonder what girlfriend Gomez thinks about that.
Last year, after a fan accused him of being the father of her child and later withdrew the case, Bieber decided to take a paternity test any way.
"I didn't have to do it, I did it because I wanted to," he said on talk show The View. "I wanted everything to be out in the open.
"You always have to keep your head high. I think we're bringing too much attention to this girl."
Word.
