Justin Bieber tops list of music acts under 21

Los Angeles: Teen pop star Justin Bieber has been dubbed the hottest young musician of 2012 by Billboard for the second year in a row.

The 18-year-old `Boyfriend` hitmaker fended off competition from British boyband, One Direction and new `The X Factor US` judge Demi Lovato, reported Ace Showbiz. During the past 12 months, Bieber has toured around the world and released two albums `Under the Mistletoe and `Believe` that spawned chart-busting single `Boyfriend`. The One Direction boys make their debut on the list by following Bieber at the second spot. The boybanders took the US by storm with their music in debut album `Up All Night`, making history by reaching No 1 on Billboard Hot 200 and dominating 2012 MTV Video Music Awards with a total of three gongs. Lovato is the third powerful music minor under 21. The 20-year-old former Disney star was applauded for her triumphant struggle against her inner demons. After going through rehab for her eating disorders and self-harm issues, she scored a major TV gig as a new judge on The X Factor US. Other young stars who made it to the top-10 list include American Idol winner Scotty McCreery, Bieber`s girlfriend Selena Gomez, The X Factor UK alum Cher Lloyd and Jonas Brothers` youngest member Nick Jonas. Cody Simpson and Miley Cyrus failed to make it to the top ten list. PTI