Justin Bieber

The angel-faced YouTube sensation Justin Bieber dropped his debut album, My World, in 2009, to tween shrieks and big sales—the album went platinum less than two months after its release, making the 15-year-old Bieber a bona fide superstar. But how did this lil’ Canadian end up on top of the musical heap? His unlikely rise began just a few years ago when his mother posted videos of her son performing covers of songs by Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, and Usher, which eventually got Bieber signed with Island Records. Just a few short months after his debut, Island put out Bieber's second album, My World 2.0, which shows his handlers are looking to cash in on his teen-idol fame even faster than usual.

Updated 06/15/2010