Dubbed “Baby Bieber” by music industry insiders, internet singing sensation Austin Mahone is sending teen and tween girls into hyper-hysteria. We compare the two to see how Mahone stacks up to his teen superstar icon. Could there be a coup in the Biebs future?
Justin “The Biebs” Bieber
Austin “Baby Bieber” Mahone
Hometown
Justin: Stratford, Ontario.
Austin: San Antonio, Texas.
Age
Justin: 18
Austin: 16.
Height:
Justin: 5’7 (although the subject of much speculation).
Austin: 5’9.
Hair comparison:
Justin: Signature style is swoopy, shiny and perpetually in his eyes.
Austin: Same shape as the Biebs, but bigger and wavier.
Humble beginnings:
Justin: Grew up below the poverty line in low-income housing his mom had to juggle several jobs to afford.
Austin: Has risen to internet stardom out of an 8-ft by 10-ft room with a foldout futon bed.
Homeschooling hiccup?:
Justin: Referred to the Sistine Chapel as the “Sixteenth” Chapel on the David Letterman Show.
Austin: None of note yet, aside from pretty silly grammar and punctuation.
La familia:
Justin: Only child raised by single (teen!) mom Pattie, with the help of her parents/his grandparents.
Austin: Only child raised by single mother Michele, after his father passed away when Mahone was 16 months (Michele later remarried, divorced and moved their family in with her parents/Mahone’s grandparents).
The start of teenybopper hysteria:
Justin: Started posting homemade videos of himself on YouTube in 2007, covering R & B artists like Usher and Ne-Yo, and racked up 10 million views before being signed to a label.
Austin: Started posting homemade videos of himself on YouTube in 2011 covering pop artists like the Biebs and Adele, and has thus far racked up more than 72 million views.
Cutesy name for legions of female followers:
Justin: Beliebers, who are stricken with “Bieber Fever.”
Austin: Mahomies.
Social media stats:
Justin: Almost 24 million Twitter followers and nearly 45 million Facebook fans.
Austin: Over 760K Twitter followers and nearly 500K Facebook fans.
Crushworthy confession:
Justin: Secret softie who loves classic chick flick The Notebook.
Austin: Lets fans ask him, like, anything on his blog’s “Ask Me” section.
Money, honey:
Justin: Made $55 mil in the last year alone.
Austin: Shows projected to draw at least $50K and merch sales projected at roughly $50K as well (per month!).
What you could probably buy instead of booking him:
Justin: Pedal powered submarine for two, exotic private jet tour by Smithsonian Journeys, 2012 Lotus Evora (all around $70K).
Austin:One night under the stars on AKA Central Park hotel’s penthouse terrace, iPad 2, Logitech customizable earbuds with personal sound coach (all around $2K).
Sweet yet slightly annoying catch phrase:
Justin: Never say never.
Austin: Haters gonna hate, Mahomies gonna love.
Heartbreaker status:
Austin: Single and ready to mingle.
Dream souvenir for a fangirl:
Justin: His bust immortalized in wax, currently in residence at Madame Tussauds.
Austin: The foldout futon bed upon which he laid his perfectly-coiffed head.
Who’s always on his iPod:
Justin: Usher, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder.
Austin:Justin Bieber (natch!), Drake, Chris Brown.
Like, OMG moment:
Justin: Named by Forbes in 2012 as the third most powerful celeb in the world.
Austin: Opened in May 2012 at the Q102 Springle Ball for Adam Lambert, the Wanted, Hot Chelle Rae and Carly Rae Jepsen.
Up next:
Justin: World domination, perhaps?
Austin: Continuing to gig around the country, plus several shows in other countries.
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