eTalk is a Canadian entertainment news show.
2008[]
Back in April 2008, eTalk sat down for their very first interview with a then 14-year-old Justin Bieber. The episode was aired on 8 April.
Video[]
Transcript[]
Justin: Yeah.
Interviewer: You play the guitar?
Justin: Yeah.
Interviewer: What else do you do?
Justin: Uhm. Well I play the piano. At school I played the trumpet.
Interviewer: Really?
Justin: Yeah.
Interviewer: And why you play the trumpet? Did they make you?
Justin: Uh. Well you got to choose what you got to do and trumpet kinda just interested me so.
Interviewer: Oh really?
Justin: Yeah.
Interviewer: 'Cause when I was in high uh elementary school. They made us all around the clarinet in grade 3 and then in grade 4 I wanted to play drums but the teacher's like "No, Sean needs to play the drums, you can play the cornet." I didn't get the trumpet, I got the cornet.
Justin: Well uh. We got to choose so.
Interviewer: Yeah. So how did you get to develop all your musical talents like with the singing and the guitar playing. Where did that start?
Justin: Well I kinda just taught myself like I picked up the guitar when I was really little. I would just strum on it but I didn't really know what I was doing but like a few people like some of my mom's friends and stuff they taught me a few cords and then I just went from there.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Justin Bieber: Yeah.
Interviewer: So how do you go from just playing, strumming on the guitar. Just strumming on the guitar, learning yourself to making videos and like putting on the internet.
Justin Bieber: Well um, about a year and a half ago I was in a singing competition.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Justin Bieber: And uh, it was my first time ever singing on stage so I was kinda nervous.
Interviewer: (?).
Justin Bieber: Yeah but…
Interviewer: Okay.
Justin Bieber: …like I just put them up for friends and family and turns out people like them so I just kept putting up more and more videos for people to watch.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Justin Bieber: So it just kinda went from there.
Interviewer: Ok so like on your MySpace, can people message you?
Justin: No on my YouTube because you can get messages on YouTube.
Interviewer: Okay so do you respond to all the people who write to you?
Justin: Actually I get a lots and lots of emails so it's kinda hard to keep up. But I try as best I can.
Interviewer: How many times have people viewed your videos? Like 1.5 million times, is that true?
Justin: That's just on one video. My newest video "With You".
Interviewer: Oh really?
Justin: Oh yeah.
Interviewer: So what is it like having all these people going on the internet and check you out like looking for you. How does that feel?
Justin: It's kinda weird 'cause I'm just like a normal person. I play sports and stuff with my friends and I don't know it's just kinda different for me so.
Interviewer: What do your schoolmates think about this? What do they say?
Justin: Sometimes they're like "Wow, that's really cool" but sometimes I don't tell them because I just want to be a regular kid so.
Interviewer: But is it a way to for them not to know 'cause isn't it on the internet everyone can get that. Do they know?
Justin: They know about YouTube and stuff. But like I've been traveling into a lot of different places.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Justin: But sometimes I don't tell them. Well like uhm.. 2 or 3 weeks ago I was with Usher.
Interviewer: Yeah. Just hanging out with Usher?
Justin: Just hanging yeah, just hanging. I was about there yeah 2 or 3 weeks ago and uhm yeah.
Interviewer: What was that like?
Justin: Uhm, it was really exciting to meet him and stuff. He's like one of my inspirations so.
Interviewer: How did he find you? Like how did that meeting come about?
Justin: Well my manager, he has a lot of connections. He kinda set it up 'cause he knows Usher personally.
Interviewer: How do you go from just being this kid whose just learning your talent. Now you doing a talent show, now you make a couple web videos, your friends check it out, next thing you have a manager. How did that happen? How do go from just being an internet guy to getting a manager and you know on your way to get (?).
Justin: Uhm well my manager kinda, he kinda hunted me down but he messaged me on my YouTube and my mom kinda ignored it 'cause we get a lot of emails saying oh I want to be your manager, I wanna sign you, I wanna do this, that and my mom kinda just thought of it's like whatever like he's just Justin. After that he got like he looked at my background of my videos and seen that where I live and stuff yeah and kinda tracked me down. And I, it was kinda creepy actually.
Interviewer: (laughs) Yeah
Justin: Yeah and then he's just, my mom finally just wanted to get rid so she called him back from an unknown number. And then it was just like hello. He told my mom a lot of stuff about him and told her to check him out on Google and stuff so.
Interviewer: So that's the real deal.
Justin: Yeah.
Interviewer: But you know what it's good. Because you know that if he's got that much dedication. He can get you some good work. He's gonna find you. So let's talk about some of the coolest things you've been able to do because of this. You met Usher but you're also seen with Esmée. Right?
Justin: Yeah.
Interviewer: Like how, is it the manager again doing this stuff?
Justin: I was going to LA to meet with Justin Timberlake. But Justin Timberlake was in Louisiana shooting a movie.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Justin: So I was there, I met with uhm Timberlake's people and his executives and all that. He, Justin Timberlake has signed Esmée.
Interviewer: Yeah.
Justin: So Esmée was there just for the week and I happened to be there when she was there and she, we just hit it off I guess.
Interviewer: Did she give you any tips because he discovered her through YouTube.
Justin: Through YouTube as well yeah.
Interviewer: So what kind of advice did she give you?
Justin: She kind of told me like, like just stay humble and stuff like that but um I don't know like.
Interviewer: What is it like when you sing for these people who are like, you know, have so much success and other people know them? You know you talked about talent and everything but when you sing for like Usher and Justin like what is it like?
Justin: Oh wow it's, it's crazy. I would have never thought that this opportunity would happen like it's out of this world.
Interviewer: Yeah. Do you get nervous when you sing?
Justin: To be honest, no.
Interviewer: No?
Justin: Not really no.
Interviewer: Well okay that's good, that's good but when you sing for these people do you get nervous?
Justin: No.
Interviewer: No? Star in the making. Nice.
Interviewer: When you get success you know when you get that recording deal. What do you see for yourself? What kind of career would you like to have?
Justin: Well I see myself doing more like R&B like sort of like Usher and Justin are like an old Michael Jackson. But yeah.
Interviewer: So can you dance?
Justin: I don't know.
Interviewer: Wat do you mean you don't know. Haven't you tried dancing?
Justin: Yeah I can dance but.
Interviewer: You got to practice the moves?
Justin: Yeah.
Interviewer: So I was watching a video and I saw the crazy hairstyle you have the one with the, what do you call that when you shave a design in to your hair?
Justin: I've seen some guy do it and I was like that's really sweet. I decided to do it
Interviewer: And your mom let you do that?
Justin: Yeah.
Interviewer: What did she say when you did that?
Justin: Well she, she actually was for it.
Interviewer: Oh really?
Justin: Yeah. I went to the hairdressing place and um yeah.
Interviewer: And you just got it done.
Interviewer: What happened last week? You were supposed to be interviewed with us and you had to cancel. What happened then?
Justin Bieber: Actually I had a pretty important basketball tournament. That, so.
Interviewer: Oh really?
Justin Bieber: Yeah, couldn't make it.
Interviewer: How do you decide which song you wanna sing?
Justin Bieber: Kinda, it happens like which songs are like popular, really popular and sometimes people request songs like they message me saying "oh will you sing "With You" by uh, Chris Brown?"
Interviewer: Yeah.
Justin Bieber: So. I just, I listened to the song and listened to the lyrics and kinda yeah.
Interviewer: How do you find your, the music to do it with.
Justin Bieber: Well I find like kinda like karaoke tracks in the back so I just sing with karaoke tracks and um I had this program and it can word the key without changing the speed. So if it's a song that's too high for me I can lower the pitch.
Interviewer: But how do you have all of this stuff? Like did you go crazy? 'Cause you're just a kid.
Like did you feel stressed out?
Justin Bieber: Kinda, it's like, it's all new so it's like, it's like I'm in a dream.
Interviewer: Yeah?
Justin Bieber: Yeah. Waiting to wake up. It's like wow, it's coming so fast.
Interviewer: Have you signed a record deal yet?
Justin Bieber: Um actually not, not yet. But I plan to (?) next couple of months.
Justin Bieber: Actually what I plan to do when I, like if I get famous. The first thing I want to do is get me and my mom a house.
Interviewer: That's so sweet.
Interviewer: It was nice meeting you.
Justin Bieber: Nice meeting you too man.
2009[]
Justin was interviewed in May 2009.
2011[]
On February 1, 2011 Justin was interviewed by eTalk. Jon Chu and his little sister Jazmyn joined him.
