OMG! Were you one of the lucky Bieber tween fans to receive one of Justin’s 2010 photo Christmas cards from your BFF this year? Or maybe you were lucky enough to find a Justin Bieber look-alike doll under the Christmas tree left by Santa Claus? The business of selling Justin Bieber is big business. A cottage industry has evolved around young Master Bieber that sells not just music but singing dolls, jigsaw puzzles, watches, nail polish, life-size cardboard cut-outs, tee shirts and books to name just a few items that yielded over $100 million in 2010 alone.

Justin Bieber is everywhere. He has even managed to infiltrate Christmas!

Is he being used by those who purportedly are mentoring him? Will he survive all this youthful celebrity or go the route of others such as Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus to name a few? Speaking of Miley, she impersonated Bieber in a skit on Saturday Night Live in 2011 making fun of herself as well as Justin with references to her smoking salvia, his infantile stardom and his recent bad behavior using an inappropriate finger gesture.

Justin Bieber recently turned the ripe old age of 17 and celebrated by getting his windswept doo cut into a more mature manly haircut resembling that of Ellen DeGeneneres. Then he appeared on her show and gave a lock of his shorn hair to Ellen for her birthday. All this drama over hair! This is something Moms do when their toddlers get their first haircut but seems out of place for someone turning 17. But then again Justin’s most recent hit “Baby-Baby-Baby” is perhaps self-titled?

Justin Bieber is being guided through his new found celebrity by another child musical prodigy- Usher. He was discovered singing on You Tube and practically overnight became a teenage heart throb singing sensation. Justin was born to an 18 year old Canadian teenager who raised him as a single mom living in low income housing. He was interested in soccer, hockey and chess as a youngster but kept his musical interests a secret. He taught himself to play piano, drums, guitar and trumpet. The rest is history.

The fact is that Justin Bieber has 4 albums in the Top 40, performed for the Obama family at the White House in 2009, guest starred on CSI and appeared as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live in 2010 to mention just a few highlights in his brief career. Justin is supposedly a Christian who talks casually and apparently uninformed about sex and abortion and gave the finger to paparazzi who were bothering him on his birthday date with his new girlfriend (an older woman) 18 year old Disney star Selena Gomez. Like him or not, the Biebs is an interesting phenomenon that should be watched closely for many reasons in the next few years to come. If nothing else, Justin and his fans can live for the moment, have fun and grow up together.

2006 Thanksgiving invitation holiday cards from Usher and mom Jonnetta Patton

Let’s face it, you have a lot to be thankful for when you’re blessed with selling 35 million records; winning 5 Grammy Awards; making eight number-one selling singles; launching a fragrance line; owning your own record label; and having a family that supports your career. When Thanksgiving rolls around and Usher is deciding where to spend the day, his mom, Jonnetta Patton, knows best. And she should since she moved to Atlanta for the greater opportunities that the city could provide for the young Usher and managing his career. At age 13, Usher’s mom entered him on Star Search, where he was spotted by an A&R representative from LaFace Records, and the rest is history.

For the 2006 Turkey Day celebration, Jonnetta Patton ordered personalized thanksgiving holiday cards inviting her entire family to her home in Alpharetta, Georgia. The third name on the imprint is James, Usher’s half brother. The holiday cards design she chose is classic and graceful. It features beautiful script writing stamped in gold foil that says “Happy Thanksgiving.” The color scheme is soft and elegant with just the right amount of embossed detail. Ms. Patton also showed her eco-friendly side by choosing a card that is certified environmentally-friendly and was made using wind power.

In response to his fame and fortune, Usher gives back with his charity organization called New Look, whose mission is to provide young people with a new look on life through education and real world experiences. He also continually calls young people to serve, which began with Project Restart after Hurricane Katrina and has continued over the years with New Look and most recently with his appointment as Youth-Chair of the Service Nation Summit. Usher is also one of the most active celebrities in the 2008 Presidential elections, leading youth rallies and organizing voter registration. In January 2008 Barack Obama asked Usher to serve as National Co-Chair for his voter registration campaign and to perform at the opening inaugural celebration. Usher is a busy boy!