Bieber Fever: Israel’s got it!

What is the connection between Justin Bieber and  Shmuel ben Eliezer?

Shmuel ben Eliezer is the Jewish name of Scott “Scooter” Braun, the guy that everyone in the music industry is talking about.

Scooter Braun, 28 years old, born to a Conservative Jewish family in Connecticut with many relatives in Israel, discovered sensation Justin Bieber on YouTube and now works as his manager.

Where did this kid come from? Bieber’s mother starting putting clips of him on youtube 4 years ago. Just a year and a half ago his first album came out, and all of it’s songs appeared on the Billboard charts. Today he is the most searched person on the internet, pushing Lady Gaga into second place. And if that’s not a feat enough, he’s searched for 29 times as often as President Barack Obama is.

Adi Gold, the NY Bureau Chief for Yedioth Ahronot (Israel’s largest newspaper), and their cultural supplement “Seven Nights” had a chance to meet with Scooter Braun and ask him some questions:

What was the moment that you understood Bieber was what you were looking for?

I’m a big fan of Michael Jackson, the only thing I regret is that I never had the chance to meet him. I worked for a record company and had a concept of who is going to be the next superstar: I thought the next big thing would be a child with a young voice who sings songs about love that adults could also enjoy since he would be someone who makes great music. I saw Justin on YouTube when he was 12 and I was really impressed. I just had to find him. I googled him and played the role of a detective until I ended up with the phone number of his mother in Canada. I succeeded in convincing her that they should come to Atlanta. That was their first time on an airplane. The rest is history that we are still writing.

Still?

Yes. I believe Justin could be much bigger than he is right now. It’s all up to him. He plays lots of instruments. He sings amazingly, he dances great. Will Smith said that there’s talent and then you have skills. Talent you’ve been given, skills you need to work on. And if Justin keeps working hard on his skills, he will be big in a way we haven’t seen. The biggest.

Also, I have to tell you, the thing that children from Israel will most want to hear: Justin prays the “Shema” before each show. First he says a Christian prayer, then he says the “Shema” (The “Shema” is a Jewish prayer, proclaiming the oneness of God).

Why?

Because I am Jewish, and it’s really important to me. I always say the Shema. Justin and I are like blood brothers, we are a real family. Justin heard me pray, he gets why I do it and now he does the same prayer every time before he goes on the stage.

Do you keep the commandments?

I’m trying. I never had a cheeseburger and I’ve never had bacon, but I have a tattoo which is kind of against the rules. At 17 I was in Israel with Camp Ramah.

“Camp Rock” the Jewish version?

Something like that. We traveled a lot in Israel. It was awesome. Look, the most beautiful thing I saw online was a video clip that an Israeli girl filmed in a mall in Tel Aviv with 100s of kids singing Justin’s songs. And later a Muslim girl wrote in the comments section: I am Muslim and I love Justin Bieber and I want everyone to know that music will bring us together. And an Israeli girl wrote her back saying I hope that all wars will stop and it’s about time we all sing the songs together. I was really moved by this.

Scooter also told Yedioth that a portion of the money that Bieber brings in is used to build new schools in countries that need them the most, such as Laos, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Nigeria. Scooter will be going to Laos in the end of this year to help build another school.

Something about Scooter many people might not know is that up until age 19 he wanted to be a basketball player. One of his biggest heroes was Doron Shefer, the Israeli basketball star who played guard for Jim Calhoun at the University of Connecticut from 1993-1996.

In the end of the interview Scooter had one last important thing to say. “I want to say it loud and clear, I’m proud to be Jewish and to support Israel. I know many people in the industry aren’t saying it at this period of time. Members of my family are Holocaust survivors and without the State of Israel and the United States of America, I couldn’t be safe and secure. They say that some American Jews are weak and scared to say things, [but I wanted to say that] we will come to Israel to perform next year. I want to support Israel. I don’t have a problem performing anywhere in the world.”

Photo courtesy of xojoelleeexo on flickr. Used under Creative Commons License.

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