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| Bieber outside the Avon Theatre as a child and on June 16. |
PopGoesTheMusic.com Justin Bieber returned Saturday afternoon to the place where it all started — the steps of the Avon Theatre in Stratford, Ont.
The 18-year-old singer played an acoustic version of his hit "Baby" outside the theatre where he used to busk as a child at around 2:45 pm, surprising families during intermission for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival production of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown.
"Always remember where you came from," he tweeted later. "Yes that was me."
Like he did as a youngster, Bieber played in front of an open guitar case but this time he didn't collect any money (Forbes estimated he earned $55 million last year). Many in the swelling crowd sang along to their hometown star, who was wearing a white T-shirt under a black jeans with black jeans and sneakers.
Bieber was born in London, Ont. but grew up in Stratford, a picturesque city of about 31,000 people about two hours west of Toronto that — until Bieber's global debut in 2009 — was most famous for its annual theatre festival. The young star has returned several times to visit his grandparents, including a stay last summer with his girlfriend Selena Gomez.
After rehearsing his performance for Sunday's MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto, Bieber and Gomez were whisked to Polson St. where they boarded a black helicopter for the ride to Stratford. They enjoyed dinner with his family accompanied by Alfredo Flores, a friend who has directed several videos for Bieber.
Tune in to MuchMusic tonight to see Bieber perform on the MMVAs (Gomez will be there, too). His new album Believe comes out Tuesday.
Photos via YouTube and Twitter.
