The real story, not surprisingly, is a little more complicated. Usher wins, IDJMG chairman/CEO Antonio “L.A.” Reid gives the green light, and voila - Donny Osmond reincarnate. His mother fights off pushy managers until finally choosing Braun, who immediately positions Bieber at the center of a bidding war between Justin Timberlake and Usher. Like most young artists, Bieber has a back story that reads more like creation myth: Canadian musical prodigy teaches himself to play the drums at age 3, becomes a YouTube sensation at 12 by covering Chris Brown and Ne-Yo hits. Video: Bieber sings “Baby” live onstage for screaming fans. People could feel confident that they were buying into a burgeoning superstar.” That’s why we sold albums and not singles over the holidays. “We monetized almost every corner of ‘My World’ - every record we released charted. “So many artists have Internet traction but are not able to attach anything to it and make money,” Def Jam executive VP Chris Hicks says. Those expectations, however, are the result of Team Bieber’s ability to harness his vast online fan base in ways unprecedented. It’s not as easy when they have such high expectations.” Now they have a different outlook, and part of me is nervous because it’s easy to be underestimated and then prove people wrong. “Last time, the Universal research team told the label that we would sell 30,000-60,000 records from Nov. “I’ve heard the forecasts, which make me smile because they’re a lot higher than what they thought last time,” Braun says. 5.) Though Bartels and other label executives declined to give a specific sales projection, IDJMG plans to ship 1 million copies of “My World 2.0” in its first week of release - a stark increase from the estimated 300,000-400,000 copies shipped of “My World” in its first week. (“Baby” has charted the highest, debuting at No. Once again, four tracks have already been released to iTunes, and at press time, two have reached the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. LISTEN TO JUSTIN BIEBER’S “MY WORLD 2.0” FOR FREEīieber will release “My World 2.0” - his second album in less than five months - March 23.