Justin Bieber’s debut single is a hit
by Alida Pecanin

Justin Beiber's single "One Time" proves to be a hit. Image courtesy of Amazon.com

With his debut single, “One Time,” already being played on prominent radio stations, Justin Bieber has become an overnight sensation with not only teenage girls, but the entire nation.

Bieber’s sudden stardom does not come as a surprise.  “One Time” appeals to a wide spectrum of people due to its influence from multiple musical genres. The prevalent genre of the song is pop, but the song also contains elements of hip hop as well. “One Time” is very romantic and according to Bieber’s official website, justinbiebermusic.com, is about one of his favorite topics: puppy love.

Bieber’s high male voice on the track is similar to Chris Brown’s voice on his 2005 debut single “Run It.” In addition to their high voices, the two artists are similar because with Brown, “Run It” was his first single and it made him famous. The same goes for Bieber and “One Time.” However, the similarities end there.

Bieber’s song is family friendly. It contains no explicit material and no curse words; it makes for a song that the whole family can listen to.

What makes this song special is the fact that so many people can relate to it. The topic previously stated, puppy love, is something that everyone has experienced at one time or another. This song takes the listener back to the first time they felt in love.

“One Time” has been climbing the Hot 100 chart, confirming its status as an excellent single and a smash hit.

According to his website, Bieber began his career by posting dozens of homemade videos on YouTube in 2007, where he performed songs by Usher, Ne-Yo, and Stevie Wonder. The videos had over ten million views.

After viewing the YouTube videos, former So So Def marketing executive Scooter Braun had thirteen year old Bieber flown to Atlanta, Georgia from Canada to meet him. While at the meeting Bieber met a favorite artist of his, Usher. As if Usher wanting to sign him was not enough, Justin Timberlake wanted to sign Bieber as well.

Bieber ended up signing to Island Records in October of 2008. According to his website, Bieber’s producers are hip hop musicians The Dream and Tricky Stewart. The two produced hits like Rihanna’s “Umbrella” and Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).”

While his life might seem ideal, Bieber was not always so privileged. On his official website, Bieber states that as he was growing up, his family lived below the poverty line. He didn’t have as much as other people did and, Bieber says, that was what made him stronger and built his character.

“I’m looking forward to influencing others in a positive way,” Bieber said on his website. “My message is you can do anything if you just put your mind to it.”