BIEBER Fever is here. Justin Bieber, a 16-year-old who has become an overnight pop culture phenomenon, lands in Australia on Saturday. "It's the craziest thing I've ever seen," Bieber's record label boss, George Ash, said yesterday. "This is a real deal phenomenon."
Bieber shot to global fame after posting songs on YouTube.
He had entered a singing contest and relatives wanted to check his skills.
"The first song I posted got 100 hits - but I don't have 100 family members," he told US broadcaster Katie Couric.
Soon after it went viral, with Bieber chalking up 100 million hits.
A surreal bidding war followed. Superstars Justin Timberlake and Usher fought to sign Bieber to their respective record labels.
"It was amazing to have two of the biggest pop stars fighting over me," Bieber said.
Usher won. Bieber's debut album,
My World 2.0, released last month, entered the US album chart at No.1.
His hits include
Baby, One Time and
One Less Lonely Girl.
Bieber will spend three days in Sydney promoting his music.
His label has been forced to move a scheduled meet-and-greet session to cope with demand.
Initially it was at a shopping mall, then a street. Now Bieber will meet fans at one of Sydney's international shipping terminals.
"This will be huge," said Sarah Cornish, editor of Girlfriend magazine. "Our readers haven't gone this crazy since Robert Pattinson showed up."
Bieber appears to have come from nowhere. But he is a further example of social networking and viral marketing success. Mr Ash said: "He made a connection with his fans outside of the mainstream media.
"He connected with fans directly and now all of us have to get out of the way."
Bieber, who comes from a small Canadian town, will travel to Sydney with mother Pattie, manager Scooter Braun and a tutor.
While on the promotion trail, Bieber must do four hours of schooling each day.
"I miss being a normal kid," he said. "But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."