An old soul is the last thing you would expect to find inside 15 year old Justin Bieber, but all it takes is one listen to the new artist to realize that he is years ahead of his manufactured pop-star peers. After posting dozens of homemade videos on YouTube in 2007, where Bieber put his spin on songs from artists like Usher, Ne-Yo, and Stevie Wonder, Bierber racked up over 10,000,000 views from nothing more than word of mouth.

Per Billboard:

“I entered a local singing competition called Stratford Idol. The other people in the competition had been taking singing lessons and had vocal coaches. I wasn’t taking it too seriously at the time, I would just sing around the house. I was only 12 and I got second place.” In an effort to share his victory with his loved ones, Justin began posting his performance footage online. “I put my singing videos from the competition on YouTube so that my friends and family could watch them,” he says. “But it turned out that other people liked them and they started subscribing to them. That’s how my manager found me. He saw me on YouTube and contacted my family and now I’m signed!”

The videos caught the attention of former So So Def marketing executive Scooter Braun, who helped Bieber score an impromptu audition with R&B star Usher. Impressed by what he saw, Usher and Island Def Jam chairman L.A. Reid quickly signed Bieber to a recording contract. Bieber released the single “One Time” about one of Justin’s favorite topics, puppy love, and his album “My World” was released in September. I think we may just have another Jessie McCartney on our hands – Only this one is cutie! You can check out the video for “One Time” above – the song is catchy!