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Justin Bieber · S1 E1
London, Ontario
March 1, 1994. A single mom in a small Canadian town raises a kid who can play any instrument he touches
Pattie Mallette is eighteen years old, living in low-income housing in Stratford, Ontario, with a newborn son she can barely afford to feed. The boy won't stop humming.
"Anyone" (Justin Bieber, official music video, 2021). Before the fame, the screaming, and the tabloids, there was just a kid with a voice in a small Canadian town. This is what that kid grew up to sound like: raw, unguarded, and carrying every year of what he's been through.
Anyone, Justin Bieber (2021)
"Anyone" is Justin stripped to the bone: just his voice over piano and strings. Written with Andrew Watt and Jon Bellion, the song spends its first half with no drums at all, trusting the vocal to carry everything. There are no production tricks, no features, no safety nets. It's the kind of song only someone who grew up performing since childhood could deliver with this much control.
Sources
Watt, Andrew. Interview with Apple Music, 2021.
The Apartment
Pattie Mallette was seventeen when she got pregnant. She raised Justin largely on her own in Stratford, Ontario, working multiple jobs while the boy taught himself every instrument in sight. They didn't have much money, but the apartment was never quiet.
Sources
Mallette, Pattie. "Nowhere but Up: The Story of Justin Bieber's Mom." Revell, 2012.
“I lost hope for a while, I was in a dark place, but it's about getting out of that rut.”
— Justin Bieber
TAP TO REVEAL: How many instruments did Justin teach himself as a kid?
Stratford, Ontario, Canada
A city of 33,000 people, better known for its Shakespeare festival than its pop stars. Justin grew up here in low-income housing before the entire world learned his name.
Stratford: The Facts
Down to Earth, Justin Bieber (2009)
"Down to Earth" is the most personal track on My World, written about Justin's parents' separation. He recorded it at fifteen, but the feelings in the song go back to Stratford: a kid watching his mom struggle, wondering why his dad isn't around, and trying to make sense of a family that doesn't look like everyone else's.
Down to Earth, Justin Bieber (2009)
"I never thought that it'd be easy, 'cause we both so distant now." Justin wrote this about his parents at fifteen. Read the lyrics knowing he grew up in a small apartment with a single mom who worked three jobs, and every line lands differently. This isn't a pop star performing emotion. It's a teenager telling the truth.
Where was Justin Bieber actually born?
Justin is twelve years old when he sets up a guitar case on the sidewalk outside the Avon Theatre. Next episode: the people of Stratford stop, listen, and start dropping coins.
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