This past week, Justin Bieber once again took a walk down memory lane and posted a vintage Instagram of himself and his ex-girlfriend, Selena Gomez, mid-smooch. The “Sorry” singer captioned the photo “Feels.” His series of quizzical, nostalgic social media posts have many fans—who also happen to enjoy easy puns—now thinking: “What Do You Mean?” The Jelena will-they-won’t-they plot thickened when Gomez commented on Bieber’s post, writing, “Perfect,” and later made an appearance at his concert. While their Ross-and-Rachel–style romance continues to unspool, here are five things you likely never knew about Justin Bieber.
1. Many people were first introduced to Bieber as Usher’s baby-faced protégé, but it turns out that another celebrity had his eye on the rising star: Justin Timberlake. At age 12, Bieber was discovered on YouTube and eventually flew to Atlanta to meet with several music executives to show off his sweet vocals and windswept ’do. But Bieber didn’t get the chance to perform and returned to Canada without giving a formal audition. “[Usher] actually watched my videos and was like, ‘Man, I should have let this kid sing,’” he said in 2009. “And he flew me back to Atlanta. I got to sing for him, and then a week later, I had a meeting with Justin Timberlake. They both kind of wanted me.”
2. When Bieber was 16 years old, he landed a gig playing a “troubled teen” on CSI. “I got a call that Justin really was a fan of CSI [and] that’s all I have to hear, and so it just was perfect timing,” executive producer Carol Mendelsohn said in 2010. “Justin was looking to make his dramatic acting debut. We had an incredible role for a young actor in [our season premiere], so it just seemed like the perfect marriage.” His role on the show was short-lived; his character was shot and killed in the second episode of the season. “It was really cool,” Bieber said of the experience of being gunned down on-screen. “There’s fake blood and everything. It’s crazy how the whole process is.”
3. Even the casual tabloid reader can probably recall Bieber’s string of law-breaking offenses over the past few years. Many of his run-ins with the law took place at his Calabasas, California, home. After he went on his Apology tour and pledged to clean up his act, Bieber parted with his lavish digs. In 2014, the singer sold his six-bedroom home to none other than Khloé Kardashian for $7.2 million. As of now, Bieber lives in a Beverly Hills hotel and says that he wants his next home to be “something really special that is unique to me.”
4. Despite his formidable social media presence—he is currently the second-most-followed person on Twitter—Bieber does not text. “I don’t want people to feel like they can just get in contact with me that easy,” he has said. Not only do very few people have his number, but the 22-year-old reportedly doesn’t even bother to memorize it, because he has to rotate out his phone every six months for security reasons.
5. Last year, Bieber revealed a softer side on James Corden’s popular segment, “Carpool Karaoke.” Not only did he reveal that one of his favorite films is The Notebook—“It made me cry,” he said. “I’m an emotional guy, man”—but he also told viewers that Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic” is one of his favorite songs. “Don’t make my heart melt right now,” Bieber told Corden. “Shower song,” he added, eyes closed, before breaking into the most sweetly soulful rendition of the ballad ever known to man.
Watch Justin Bieber and Olivier Rousteing get ready for the Met Gala: