We’re used to seeing edgy Justin Bieber these days, but once upon a time he was just a floppy-haired kid singing Christmas carols for the President. This was really Bieber’s peak voice era in many ways, and seeing the 17-year-old megastar go to town completely live without a studio production really shows what an incredible talent he is. This wasn’t lost on the audience members, with a top commenter saying, “Obama’s daughter was trying so hard to keep her cool.”
Justin wowed Washington, D.C. with two Christmas classics, “Mistletoe” and “Away in a Manger,” before joining the President’s family and other stars on “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” The performance is a great showcase for Justin’s honeyed tenor and natural command of the stage – that kid was just born to be a star. The Music Man always has time for Justin on the playlist, and teen Justin performances are just too adorable to not come back to.
Justin’s 2011 Christmas performance for the President drew 7 million views when the singer uploaded it to his YouTube channel. Fans were loving the performance and added comments such as “THE Michael Jackson of this generation! Justin Bieber is a living legend in the making” and “Justin was so confident in this performance, he was so nervous the first time but also who would not be nervous singing for President Obama. This one was impeccable.”
The performance was indeed the second time Justin sang Christmas carols for Obama. In 2009, when he was just 15, Justin performed for the President on the number “Someday at Christmas.” This performance shows what a complete vocalist he was at such a young age – check out that gorgeous closing vocal run. Watching the two shows back to back sure shows how much he grew as a performer in the intervening two years.
The Music Man readers might be interested to hear that when Justin uploaded his 2009 performance for the President to YouTube, he used the occasion to give a very heartfelt message to fans in the video description. Justin said that just two years prior, he was singing in his small hometown of Stratford and noted how far he’d come to be singing for the President of the United States. He continued, saying, “It was an incredible honor and I was really nervous. You can tell by my hands, I didn’t know what to do with them. I was like Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights. Haha.”