Bieber was born on March 1, 1994, in London, Ontario in St Joseph's Hospital, and was raised in Stratford, Ontario
Bieber's mother, Patricia Lynn "Pattie" Mallette, was 18 years old when
she became pregnant. Mallette, originally from Stratford, raised her
son with the help of her parents, Bruce and Diane.Mallette worked a series of low-paying office jobs, raising Bieber as a
single mother in low-income housing. Bieber has maintained contact with
his father, Jeremy Jack Bieber, who married another woman and had two
children. Bieber's great-grandfather was from Germany. Bieber's mother's ancestry is French
Canadian Bieber attended a French immersion school called the Stratford school Jean Sauve.During his childhood, Bieber was interested in hockey, soccer, and chess; he often kept his musical aspirations to himself. As he grew up, Bieber taught himself to play the piano, drums, guitar, and trumpet. In early 2007, when he was twelve, Bieber sang Ne-Yo's "So Sick" for a local singing competition in Stratford and was placed second.
Mallette posted a video of the performance on YouTube for their family
and friends to see. She continued to upload videos of Bieber singing
covers of various R&B songs, and Bieber's popularity on the site
grew. Chris Hicks, Bieber's A&R at Island/Def Jam, explained the young artist's huge online following to HitQuarters by saying: