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Justin Bieber, an artist that defines what it means to be a modern artist,

last year he became the youngest singer to top the American Billboard Charts since Stevie Wonder in 1963.

, his emergence from YouTube is proof of the changes in the music industry and the wider world. "Five or six years ago there was no direct link between an artist and the fans," he says. "There was always mediation by a journalist, or a DJ, some sort of gatekeeper. There is now a completely direct route. Even parents are taken out of the equation too."

He says the lessons of Bieber's success are already being learned by the music business. "Record label talent scouts do look at YouTube. If you want a pop icon for your roster then trawling the clubs of Camden isn't the way to do it any more.

he's absolutely phenomenal, and he's young and he's a real inspiration for [the] young generation,

We have always been deeply social creatures. We have always sought collective experiences. But we've never been able to instantly decide, by the millions, what trend we're going to rush to embrace, and then ride a cultural tsunami together.

We've always had this in one way, shape or form, but YouTube, Twitter, and the 2-4/7 gossip cycle enable the Biebers of the world to accelerate to superstardom faster than ever before.

While this particular teenager may be gifted, which he is, and may be managed by smart people, which he also is

Well, one was his voice. I felt like his voice was incredible. I feel he was very charismatic, and that's what it takes to be able to handle what this is. It's the ability to turn it on and understand, but it was a very real ability. It was actually just him."

I feel he was very charismatic, and that's what it takes to be able to handle what this is. It's the ability to turn it on and understand, but it was a very real ability. It was actually just him."

his mentor says that this is just the beginning. He's got longevity.

How connected he is to his fans. People are like, ‘Oh he Twitters. He knows his audience.' He really does. But being with him, he knows fans by name. When he sees them on street, he looks them in eye. He won't stop for cameras or interviews, but he will stop for fans. If it's a little girl or a mom, he will stop. We had an interview the other day where someone showed him a video of a fan crying and going crazy, and everyone was laughing. I was laughing about how ridiculous this girl was. He wasn't laughing. He was like, ‘She is such a sweetheart.' This is real for him. I thought that was noble and admirable about him.

I didn't know how real he was. When I spent more time with him, I grew to love him as a friend. He is just a kid. This is just the beginning. This could be a trilogy; this is just the first chapter. We will see him in 10 years. Will he leave this world, or continue to grow in his music and art? That intrigued me in and of itself. I didn't know a lot about his music or his family. But to young underdogs, he is their Peter Pan.

An old soul is the last thing you would expect to find inside Justin Bieber. But all it takes is one listen to the 15 year-old soul-singing phenomenon to realize that he is light years ahead of his manufactured pop peers.

"I'm looking forward to influencing others in a positive way," says Justin. "My message is you can do anything if you just put your mind to it. I grew up below the poverty line; I didn't have as much as other people did. I think it made me stronger as a person it built my character.

A virtually untapped well of natural artistic talent, Justin Bieber is primed to be a solid force in music for many years to come

Justin is truly talented. He is that special superstar that you see once in a lifetime. He plays four instruments, self-taught. He showed that in is YouTube channel. He had an incredible tone in his voice. He was captivating and I think that the marketing was right.

people didn’t want to sign him because he didn’t have a Disney or Nickelodeon show, and because no one had ever broken in through YouTube. Justin Timberlake had the biggest YouTube star in the world, Esmee Denters, and it hadn’t worked yet.

There was no validly and no proven track record. The only ways minors have broken over the past years was through having their own Disney or Nickelodeon show and every label told me that unless I had a TV show attached to one of those networks, they were not interested whatsoever.

"Kids made Justin. They made the fan pages, they spread the Twitters, they put up videos. I'm a good marketer, but not as good as them."

affordable-housing apartment. "It was awful," Mallette says, laughing. "But we had a roof over our head and heat and food most of the time. It's quite different coming where we're coming from to being driven around in limos."

An admittedly “smitten” Gayle King raved on her video blog: “There is so much more to Justin Bieber than ‘Baby, Baby, Baby,’ but oh baby, is he good! I’m a Belieber!”

“I’ve seen an artist ascend this fast before but never this big,” says Antonio “L.A.” Reid, chairman of Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJ), who signed Bieber to a 360 deal in October 2008. “It’s like the Beatles. It feels like when I was a kid and wanted to go see A Hard Day’s Night.”

“It’s a big joke between me and Justin now, but I became completely obsessed with tracking him down,” Braun says. 

If one theme is a constant: it's how musical this 16-year-old truly is.

Does that mean Bieber fever is about to hit its peak? To the contrary. It's more like this team is just getting started.

Does that mean Bieber fever is about to hit its peak? To the contrary. It's more like this team is just getting started.

while his voice may change, Justin never specialized in the kind of high pitched soprano sounds that hobble other guys after their voices break.

"There's going to be mistakes I'm sure (he'll) make as a young man, like we all make," Braun said. "But overall he has a really good heart and he's a very intelligent kid. ... For him it's about living his life to be the best example he can be for others."