Bieber was born in Stratford, Ontario, and was raised by his single mother, Pattie Mallette. He was 12 years old when he entered a local singing competition in Stratford, placing in second. He taught himself how to play the piano, drums, guitar, and trumpet. In late 2007, Bieber and his mother began posting videos on YouTube so that his family and friends that could not attend his performances would be able to view them, posting his versions of songs by Usher, Chris Brown, Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake, Ne-Yo and more.
Bieber's first album My World, was released on November 17, 2009. The album features guest vocals from Usher, who appears in the music video for the single "One Time". Bieber is on a promotion tour promoting his single and has made various appearances on several radio stations. The first single "One Time" reached number 12 in Canadian Hot 100 during its first week in July 2009, and number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. On September 26, 2009, "One Time" had gone Platinum in Canada. Three consecutive singles, "One Less Lonely Girl", "Love Me", and "Favorite Girl" were released to iTunes exclusively, and therefore charted at within the Top 40 in the U.S. and within the top 15 in Canada. "One Less Lonely Girl" was later released to mainstream radio also.
Bieber performed for U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at the White House for the Christmas in Washington, a televised musical special that benefits the National Children’s Medical Center, which aired on December 20 on TNT. He performed Stevie Wonder's "Someday at Christmas" for the program. Bieber was also one of the performers at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest on December 31. To support his debut effort, Bieber toured with Taylor Swift on her two-stop return to the United Kingdom on her Fearless Tour, and went on a five-date tour himself in Canada, sponsored by Urban Behavior. Bieber confirmed that he will be traveling on his headlining debut tour sometime in 2010, and will also open again for Swift when she performs at Gillette Stadium at the annual concert for the winner of the CMA Entertainer of the Year award. Beiber was a presenter at the 52nd Grammy Awards on January 31, 2010, in a segment along with Kesha, encouraging voters to vote in the Bon Jovi contest. He was invited to be a vocalist for the remake of We Are The World for its 25th anniversary to benefit Haiti after the earthquake. Bieber sings the opening line, which was sung by Lionel Richie in the original version.