Bieber is 'a real kid'

Justin Bieber is the Lady Gaga of summer 2010.

Huh? You may ask. And who?

At 16, Bieber is a bona fide singing sensation and, like pop phenom Lady Gaga, is one of the few performers selling out, rather than canceling, concert dates this summer.

“It's amazing to me,” Bieber says midway through a five-month tour spanning more than 70 cities. “I'm just a kid from a small town in Canada who grew up dreaming to be an ice hockey player. Singing is just something I did for fun in the shower.”

And in front of his mom's video camera.

Bieber's mother, Pattie Mallette, 34, started posting short videos of Bieber's at-home singing sessions, as well as a few local talent show appearances, on YouTube when he was 13. It wasn't long before his clips had millions of views, which caught the attention of pop superstar Usher.

With his mom (the singer remains close with his contractor father, Jeremy, who remarried), Bieber soon moved from Stratford, Ontario, to Georgia, and started work on an album. The rest is out of a corny “overnight sensation” screenplay: Boy releases killer album (My World 2.0 made its debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart), boy drives girls mad (some have been injured at his frenzied live appearances), boy appears on every major TV show imaginable (from Saturday Night Live to guesting on CSI this fall).

How long can he sustain such success? Mentor Usher says Bieber's “genuine, one-of-a-kind voice is only a part of what makes him good; the rest is the pure passion he has for music.”

Bieber, however, is quick to credit his fans for his fast ascent. “I wasn't made from a TV show; I was made by my fans clicking on my videos,” he says, sweeping his signature bangs away from his eyes.

“I feel I'm real. I guess I'm not processed. I'm a real kid. I go to the bathroom like everybody else. I wake up and eat Frosted Flakes. I'm not fake. I'm just me.”