How to sing like Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber is a professional heartthrob, a child star that has become a major phenomenon worldwide. Although he is the subject of jokes in the musical press, it’s worth remembering that he started in music very early. He effectively taught himself several instruments before he became the star  he is today. He knows his music.

Does that mean that you can’t sing like Justin Bieber? Certainly not! In fact, he is easier to imitate than other more technical singers such as Bono.

Sing like Justin Bieber for the fun of it

If you want to sing like Justin Bieber, you obviously want to do it for the fun of it (unless you are an impersonator). As you know already, two things distinguish Bieber:

• He has a light voice with a fair amount of control. He uses that control to add a very gentle amount of vibrato on the notes.
• He also uses a precise snappy, almost staccato effect to keep the words short. This is not unlike Michael Jackson (who is harder to sing – my advice is to start on Bieber).

It’s important to remember that diction is important if you want to sing like Justin Bieber. The words are important and so he makes sure that people understand them. Apart from the technicality of his singing (which is not that difficult if you practice and give it time), it’s very important to “play” his songs. You have to reach out and touch the audience.

Bieber’s songs are very light. So you have to make them sound like they mean something to you!

Bieber’s vibrato

If you’re having trouble with Justin Bieber’s vibrato, I recommend you find a vocal coach or buy some singing lessons to help you get more control over the voice. But either way: the important thing is to practice, practice and practice again.

Important: every time before starting to practise, grab a keyboard and play a middle C. Tune your voice to that note and sing it. Go as far up and as far down as you can. Do this to warm up before every practice. Every single time, push yourself to go that one note farther up and down, just as if you were weightlifting! It’s a physical exercise that takes 5-10 minutes; you get better the more you do.

Once you have been practising for a while (but not before), you are really going to have to star singing without Bieber himself playing in the background. Amazon has a selection of Justin Bieber karaoke material. Use them to sing, record yourself and then listen to yourself carefully. Don’t be put off! If there are things you thing are really bad – just practice some more and start again maybe the next day. You’ll be surprised at how you will progress.

Because let’s face it: that is exactly what Bieber himself does (or did) every day. Check this video: