Justin Bieber Essentials

Justin Bieber is one of the few pop stars of his generation to have truly grown up in public. The Canada-born singer arrived in 2009 at age 15, lending his baby-faced image and voice alike to collabs with rap and R&B royalty like Ludacris (“Baby”) and USHER (“Somebody to Love”). More than just catnip for pre-teens, he proved himself as a chart-topping balladeer with 2012’s “Boyfriend,” while still playing well with rappers on the same year’s Nicki Minaj-assisted “Beauty and a Beat.” But Bieber’s biggest smashes were still ahead of him, thanks to a post-teen career reset in 2015 that began with the ubiquitous Skrillex and Diplo teamup “Where Are Ü Now” and hit properly with his fourth album. Purpose yielded multiple diamond-certified singles, including the clubby mea culpa “Sorry” and the weepy farewell “Love Yourself.” Bieber didn’t slow down from there, reteaming with “Love Yourself” co-writer Ed Sheeran for the jaunty dancehall flirtations of 2019’s “I Don’t Care” and enlisting Migos leader Quavo for the feathery R&B of 2020’s “Intentions.” After cementing his adult identity as a sensitive singer who can make a meal of either comforting arrangements or edgy electronics, Bieber sounds equally at home on “STAY”—passing the torch of young talent to The Kid LAROI—and the beachy future soul of “Peaches,” both from 2021. He’s still maturing in real time in front of the whole world, and we’re still hanging on his every word.