2012 has been a big year for Justin Bieber -- he turned 18, bought a multimillion dollar home, and he graduated from high school.
Though the pop star earned his degree on the road with the help of tutors, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres wanted to make sure his educational accomplishments were properly celebrated. On Wednesday, DeGeneres surprised Bieber with a graduation ceremony in front of her entire audience, which included Bieber's mother and managers.
After handing him the traditional graduation robe, Ellen noted that she knows how important his hair is to him, and so she had a special cap created that hovered above his head and thus wouldn't interfere with his famous tresses.
Ellen gave a joke-filled speech before handing Bieber his diploma:
"We're here to honor the accomplishments of the Biebs, a great American who happens to be from Canada. Justin, you finally made it, you're graduating and I'm so proud of you, because I always said 'there ain't nothing more better than an education,'" she said as the audience burst into laughter. "You've accomplished so much in a short time, you're only 18 and an international superstar. When I was 18, my biggest accomplishment was drinking a whole bottle of boysenberry syrup from the International House of Pancakes."
DeGeneres had a few words of advice for Justin as he embarks on the next chapter of his life, telling the pop star, "So now that you're graduating, you're going to have to survive on your own. You're going to need a strong character, a good business sense, and you're going to need suspenders -- honestly, your pants need to be pulled up at some point."
In early May, Bieber first revealed the good news to the Australian newspaper The Telegraph: "I just finished high school. I passed my test -- I'm free! It was hard doing school and work every day," he said, adding that he made sure to finish his schooling for his mother, who really wanted him to earn his high school diploma.
