Ashley Tisdale Georgina Grenville Amanda Detmer Missy Peregrym
Justin Timberlake also wanted to sign Bieber, 'Never Say Never' star said in 2009.
By Jocelyn Vena
Justin Bieber
Photo: Brian Phares/MTV News
Just as the world was learning who Justin Bieber was, MTV News caught up with the shaggy-haired singer in September 2009. He was gearing up to release his debut album, My World, and plotting his pop-world domination. In the year and a half since that interview, Bieber has done the nearly impossible, launching himself into the pop mega-sphere.
In the chat, Bieber recalled how he and his manager, Scooter Braun, met and eventually got big names interested in signing the teen.
"My manager found me on YouTube. He flew me out to Atlanta for the first time — I'd never actually been on a plane before. He flew me to Atlanta where i was going to the studio to meet some people," he recalled.
"And Usher happened to roll up in his Range Rover. I ran up to him, and I was like, 'Usher, I love your songs. Want me to sing you one?' The politest possible way he could say no, he did. ... I took the hint. I didn't get to sing for him: He had to run into a studio session."
But later, Usher was beckoning the teen back to the ATL. "He actually watched my videos — after my manager got to talking to him — and was like, 'I should have let this kid sing,' and flew me back to Atlanta where I got to sing for him in a proper setting. A week later, I had a meeting with Justin Timberlake, who also wanted to sign me, so they both kind of wanted me."
As the story goes, Bieber went with Usher, and the two never looked back.
"As far as Usher being my mentor, he's definitely given me words of wisdom. I hear it from everybody, but definitely to hear it from Usher is great, just to stay humble and grounded is very important," he explained.
"There's a lot of people, especially young stars, that have gone down the wrong path, and I definitely plan to stay humble and stay grounded and keep my family first, because that stuff really is important in life."
On Friday, Justin Bieber's 3-D documentary, "Never Say Never," opens. The film takes a look at how the teen star worked to hit it big. MTV News has been chatting with him along the way, from the time he first burst on the scene in 2009 until now, as he embarks on a huge 2011 that will include a tour and more new music.
Related Videos Related Photos Related ArtistsAfter performing her Monster Ball in Kentucky, the pop star joins a Gaga impersonator at a nearby club.
By Gil Kaufman
Lady Gaga performs in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday
Photo: Gil Kaufman
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — The concourse at the KFC YUM! Center was packed with Lady Gaga impersonators — male and female — during her show at the venue on Saturday night. There were drag queens in towering heels, caution tape and not much else, and an endless sea of ladies in neon-colored wigs strutting their stuff in a variety of homebrewed costumes based on Gaga video looks, from the soda-can-in-the-hair 'do to skull face-paint, hot pants, fishnets and lots of glitter.
One venue employee said that at a pre-show meeting to discuss appropriate attire for attendees, they were told "anything" goes, as long as underwear of some sort was involved.
But even after a nearly two-hour Monster Ball extravaganza that featured the usual compliment of fire-belching pianos, sexy, nun-stocked subway cars and an attack by a giant angler fish puppet, Gaga had still not had enough. According to a video posted on TMZ, Mother Monster popped up unexpectedly at a Louisville gay bar called Connections at around 1:15 a.m. to show the girls how "Born This Way" should sound.
The instantly iconic gay anthem — which she'd done onstage as both a moving piano ballad and as a show-stopping, night-capping encore — was being performed by a queen at the club when the Gaga walked out unannounced, wearing fishnets and a black leotard, and proceeded to make the club go nuts by singing the song live over a pounding remix.
Gaga performed an impromptu dance duet with her doppelganger, a 6-foot-plus queen in a spangled bikini and long blonde wig, and then did a mini-stage dive into the crowd before strutting off stage three minutes later amid screams of delight from her stunned followers.
Have you been to the Monster Ball? Share your favorite moments in the comments!
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After meeting the Biebs, Odd Future MC tells MTV News he wants them to 'do fun sh-- that I feel like he hasn't been able to do.'
By Steven Roberts, with reporting by Christopher "CJ" Smith
Tyler, the Creator
Photo: MTV News
Needless to say, Justin Bieber has a lot fans. From Kanye West to Kim Kardashian to nearly every teenage girl in the world, Bieber has amassed quite a dedicated following. But he seems to have picked up a rather odd fan along the way as well.
Odd Future's Tyler, the Creator has Bieber Fever in a big way. In fact, the MC has called the teenage Canuck his idol. In the days leading up to the premiere of Bieber's 3-D movie, "Never Say Never," Tyler could be found online tweeting down the days until its release. So of course, when the two finally met late last month, Tyler was excited.
"I WAS JUST WITH JUSITN F---ING BIEBER. F---," Tyler tweeted. "HE LIKED YONKERS, F---."
Two photos emerged of the two together, one blurry and the other showing the teen sensations posing side-by-side. When MTV News caught up with Tyler — and the rest of Odd Future — at South by Southwest, he still had a huge smile on his face.
"We [were] kicking it with him for like 10, 20 minutes. He's a chill dude. First thing he was like, 'Oh, I just finished talking about your video, that sh-- was crazy," Tyler said. "He just started asking me questions about my sh--, and it was kind of weird because I was going to ask him sh--. But he was intrigued enough [about] what we had going on."
He also said he showed the Biebs how to pose for their photo. Initially, Bieber threw up the peace sign, but Tyler convinced him to swag it out another way. Bieber was really chill and Tyler hopes they'll hang out soon.
"I want to take him egging cars and f---ing sh-- up and paintball and just go skate and go do fun sh-- that I feel like he hasn't been able to do," the MC said.
What do you think of Tyler and Justin's budding bromance? Tell us in the comments!
Related Videos Related ArtistsPop singer posts video message inviting fans to ask her questions.
By James Dinh
Lady Gaga
Photo: Anita Bugge/ Getty Images
Lady Gaga has always found creative ways to interact with her fans, and her latest idea is no exception. On Tuesday, the pop titan took to YouTube to post a video message inviting her Little Monsters to ask her questions in an upcoming Google interview.
Standing against a brick wall, Gaga greets her fans in the beginning of the black-and-white video, saying, "Hello, Little Monsters. This is Lady Gaga on the road at the Monster Ball. I wanted to let you in on the news that I'll be doing an exclusive Google interview using one of their tools called the moderator, which allows you guys to ask me all the questions that you want.
"Do you have something that you always wanted to know about me or maybe you have questions about my fashion love or even the kind of things I search for on Google. Well, now is your chance!" she continues in the clip.
Fans can participate in the interview by heading to the singer's YouTube channel and submitting videos or written questions. While on the singer's page, they can also vote for the questions they want to hear the most. In addition to the video network, fans can tweet their questions using the hashtag #GoogleGoesGaga. Fans have until the end of the day Friday to submit their entries.
"I'll post the video interview with all my questions next week, so stay tuned. I'll let you know when it goes up, and remember, you're all amazing and I love you so, so much. I'll see you soon. You were born this way," she concludes with her monster growl.
As of Wednesday (March 16), some of the most popular submissions included everything from pre-fame bullies to backstage tour stories.
"You said that in school a lot of people bullied you and didn't like you," one fan wrote. "Now that you are famous, have any of them tried to 'apologize' and become friends? If so, what did you say to them?"
"What do you do with all the T-shirts, stuffed animals, letters, hats and other monster gifts you receive?" asked another fan.
Have you asked Lady Gaga a question yet? Tell us in the comments!
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The Chief has finally come to terms with the idea that Adele probably has Alzheimer's, and so his way of dealing with it is to pressure Derek to accept her into the study. When a patient unexpectedly drops out, a spot opens up, but when Mere runs the test to see if Adele is eligible, Adele doesn't score low enough to qualify.
When Richard finds out that she only failed (passed?) by a single point, he hits the roof, but Mere makes Derek hold firm since the whole study could be ruined if they make one exception to the standard protocol. Adele is thrilled to be rejected since she wants to believe she doesn't have Alzheimer's but when Meredith tells her about the things she got wrong on her test and Adele finally has to admit she's sick; the reason she was in denial is that she and Richard finally found happiness and now this is threatening to tear them apart once again.
Watch the full episode below:
Georgina Grenville Amanda Detmer Missy Peregrym Leelee Sobieski