My World (Justin Bieber EP)

Bieber first began his career through YouTube, posting videos of his performances in singing competitions for family members who could not attend. As his popularity on the website grew, he was discovered by his eventual manager Scooter Braun, who flew Bieber to Atlanta, Georgia to consult with recording artist Usher. He provided him with an audition for L.A. Reid of Island Records, and signed a recording contract in October 2008. In April 2009, after recording his debut single "One Time", Usher described Bieber as a "young phenomenon" and "definitely a priority for me and Island Def Jam."[4] Bieber later described the record's title as "the only way [he] could really describe it", adding that it represented "so many elements of [his] world".[5]

When recording My World, Bieber expressed a desire to "grow as an artist" and have "[his] fans grow with [him]".[8] Musically, the project is similar to the catalogs of Chris Brown and Usher.[9] Entertainment Weekly described the record as featuring "sugary puppy-love ballads and dinky dance-pop confections".[2] Bieber looked to address a variety of lyrical themes, which he described as "songs that teens can relate to" and "just stuff that happens in everyday life".[10]

The introductory track "One Time" discusses an admiration of a female and a desire to become her significant other. "Favorite Girl" shares a similar sentiment, describing the object of his affection as his "prized possession". The ballad "Down to Earth" was inspired by the separation of Bieber's parents, and was written to reassure fans in a similar situation "that it wasn't because of something they did".[11] "Bigger" details an aspiration to work past the difficulties a relationship experiences. It was noted for experimenting with New jack swing elements that were prominent in Michael Jackson's eighth studio album Dangerous,[7] and was also described as a "P.Y.T. rip".[12] Bieber felt that "One Less Lonely Girl" was "really important [that] these girls have something so they can be one less lonely girl".[13] The track was compared to Chris Brown's "With You" and Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable".[14] "First Dance" features vocals from Usher, and garnered comparisons to Jackson's "You Are Not Alone".[7] My World closes with "Love Me", which samples The Cardigans' "Lovefool" and was described by MTV News as a "widescreen club track that is full of bubbly synths and Bieber's now-signature croon".[15]

"One Time" was released on 18 May 2009, as the lead single from My World.[16] It received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who complimented Bieber's vocals, but noted a lack of originality.[17][18] The track peaked at number seventeen on the US Billboard Hot 100,[19] and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales exceeding one million copies.[20] Internationally, it peaked at number twelve of the Canadian Hot 100,[19] where it was later certified platinum for sales over 10,000 units.[21] The song also reached number eleven on the UK Singles Chart.[22] It attained moderate success in other European territories, peaking within the top thirty in singles charts in Austria, Belgium, and Germany.[23] An accompanying music video was released on 24 November 2009, and depicted Bieber throwing a party in Usher's house in his absence.[24]

"One Less Lonely Girl" was released on 30 November 2009, as the second single from My World.[25] It was met with a generally positive response, where Bieber's vocals were deemed strong enough to overshadow generic lyrical content.[14] The track peaked at numbers ten and fifteen in the United States and Canada, respectively,[19] and was certified platinum in the former country.[26] Internationally, the song charted in the top thirty in Belgium and Germany.[27] Its accompanying music video was released on 30 November 2009, and depicts Bieber searching for his crush, who had left her scarf at the local laundromat.[28] "Love Me" and "Favorite Girl" were released as promotional singles to the iTunes Store prior to the release of My World. They peaked at numbers thirty-seven and twenty-six on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively.[19]

Bieber originally promoted My World through a series of radio and television appearances. In summer 2009, he was featured on the radio stations Z100 and Radio Disney.[29][30] In September, he appeared as a presenter during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards,[31] and performed "One Time" at the network's mtvU VMA Tour.[32] In Canada, he performed "One Time" and "One Less Lonely Girl" during the finale of The Next Star at the end of the month.[33] In October, Bieber performed "One Time", "One Less Lonely Girl" and "Favorite Girl" on Today's Toyota Concert Series;[34] the crowd was the program's largest of the year, surpassing that of an earlier Miley Cyrus performance.[35] He also appeared on It's On with Alexa Chung,[36] The Ellen DeGeneres Show,[37] Good Morning America, Lopez Tonight, Chelsea Lately,[38] The Wendy Williams Show,[39] and 106 and Park throughout November. Bieber also held a guest role on the Nickelodeon television series True Jackson, VP.[40] During the winter, Bieber performed at several "Jingle Ball" holiday concerts.[41] A performance as the Roosevelt Fields Mall in Long Island, New York was scheduled, but was cancelled after it was deemed an unsafe environment due to the exceptionally large crowd of 3,000 people.[42] On 31 December, Bieber performed during the Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest.[43]

In November 2009, Bieber collaborated with clothing retailer Urban Behavior to host the Urban Behavior Tour. It consisted of performances at five locations across five days. The first event was held on 1 November, at the Metropolis at Metrotown in Vancouver. The tour resumed on 3 November and continued through 6 November, during which dates he appeared at the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton; the Centre Eaton in Montreal; the White Oaks Mall in London; and Vaughan Mills in Toronto.[44] In December, Bieber traveled to Foxborough, Massachusetts and was featured as a guest performer for two dates of Taylor Swift's Fearless Tour.[45] Bieber announced his My World Tour in March 2010, held in support of My World and his debut studio album My World 2.0. It started on 23 June at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut and concluded on 4 September at the Great Allentown Fair in Allentown, Pennsylvania.[46] Bieber performed eighty-eight shows, sixty-seven of which became sold-out. In total, nearly 1.4 million tickets were sold, generating a revenue of over $53 million by its conclusion.[47]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	65/100[48]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[49]
Billboard	(favorable)[50]
The Boston Globe	(mixed)[6]
Entertainment Weekly	(B-)[2]
The New York Times	(favorable)[7]
Rolling Stone	[12]
Toronto Star	[9]
The Washington Post	(favorable)[51]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, My World received an average score of 65, based on six reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[48] Andy Kellman from Allmusic complimented the material as being "the kind of age-appropriate content that would fill out a release from a younger Chris Brown or a junior version of Ne-Yo", adding that his charisma made up for lacking lyrical depth.[49] Writing for Billboard, a reviewer opined that the strength of the material opened the possibility of Bieber "racking up more hits in the next decade to come".[50] Mikael Wood of Entertainment Weekly commended "Love Me" as a "killer electro-glam groove" and expressed a desire to see Bieber's "swagger" advance with age.[2] The New York Times's Jon Caramanica provided a favorable review, describing "One Less Lonely Girl" as an "uncomplicatedly beautiful and earnest" track.[7]

Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone selected "First Dance", "Bigger", and "Love Me" as his personal stand-out tracks from the project.[12] Toronto Star's Ashante Infantry described Bieber's vocals as those of a "young Chris Brown with overdubbed New Edition-style harmonies", adding that the production and songwriting worked well with his "earnest pubescent vocals".[9] Writing for The Boston Globe, Marc Hirsch provided a mixed review, commenting that Bieber was "indistinguishable" from the popular mainstream artists, but noted "Down to Earth" as an "essential" track from the record.[6] Alison Stewart from The Washington Post was pleased that Bieber co-wrote several of the tracks, but was less optimistic of the prominent use of Auto-Tune.[51] At the Juno Awards of 2010, My World was nominated for the Album of the Year and the Pop Album of the Year,[52] but lost to Crazy Love by Michael Bublé in both categories.[53]

In the United States, My World debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 137,000 copies. In doing so, it became the strongest-debuting release for a new artist in 2009.[54] However, it was topped the following week by I Dreamed a Dream by Susan Boyle, which moved 701,000 units.[55] In its sixth week of availability, the record moved 157,000 copies, displaying stronger sales than its debut week.[56] It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on 14 December 2009, for sales exceeding 500,000 copies. It attained platinum recognition on 8 January 2010, after moving over one million units.[57] After his debut studio album My World 2.0 debuted at number one in March 2010, its predecessor reached a new peak at number five, making Bieber the first artist since Nelly in 2004 to have two titles in the top five of the Billboard 200.[58]

Internationally, My World enjoyed similar success. The extended play debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart,[59] where it was later certified double-platinum for sales of 160,000 copies.[60] In Austria, the record peaked at number two,[61] and eventually earned a platinum certification for sales of 6,000 copies.[62] The project reached number seven in Germany,[61] and was later recognized as a platinum-selling release after moving 200,000 units.[63] In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number three,[22] and attained double-platinum recognition for sales of 600,000 copies.[64] In Japan, My World was certified gold after selling 100,000 units.[65]

Bieber performing in Bogor, Indonesia during his My World Tour, 2010.

The remix album My Worlds Acoustic was released on 22 November 2010.[66] It was originally distributed as a Walmart-exclusive release, but was made available through the iTunes Store on 8 February 2011. The track list consisted of four re-recorded tracks each from My World and My World 2.0, in addition to the then-recently recorded songs "Pray" and "Never Say Never".[67] Music critics appreciated Bieber's increasingly maturing vocals,[68] but felt that the set lacked fully acoustic material, making its title misleading.[69] Having only been released in North America, the record debuted at numbers four and seven in Canada and the United States, respectively.[19]

International territories were provided with the compilation album My Worlds: The Collection on 19 November 2010. The first disc featured an expanded version of My World Acoustic, while the second disc consolidated My World and My World 2.0 into one track listing.[70] Music critics reinforced previous compliments of the individual albums,[71] but questioned if his modestly sized catalog warranted the need for a reissue.[72] The compilation charted modestly in Europe, peaking in the lower positions of album charts in Finland, Greece, and Sweden and in the top twenty in Denmark and the Netherlands.[73]

Credits adapted from liner notes of My World.[74]

Sample credits

• "Love Me" contains an interpolation of "Lovefool" (1996), performed by Swedish band The Cardigans.[15]

Credits adapted from liner notes of My World.[74]