Justin Bieber Reluctant To Deny Retirement [Video]
Justin Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun has confirmed the singer will take a break in 2014 and has no plans to retire, although the teen seems reluctant to deny it.
Braun’s comments come after the 19-year-old’s out-of-context “retiring” remarks at a radio station earlier this week set off speculation that the controversy-prone star had finally had enough.
“He said in the interview that he was kidding two seconds later,” Braun told MTV News at the world premiere for the Believe concert-documentary in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
The manager, who discovered Justin singing R&B covers on YouTube in 2007, explained,
“Next year he is just taking a break to just make music and relax and take time to himself. It’s the first time [he’s had a break] since he was 12.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Braun told entertainment host Ryan Seacrest he hoped Bieber would take a year off.
For some reason, however, the Biebs seems keen for speculation to rage on.
While also attending the Believe premiere, the red-suited, sunglasses wearing phenom was asked by MTV to reassure fans that he was joking about “retiring.”
Justin replied, somewhat remotely: “I don’t know if that’s a joke. I don’t know. I don’t know.”
Shortly after, however, when quizzed about his plans for 2014 the star’s reply seemed to suggest a return to his native Canada for Christmas could extend beyond that.
Justin said: “I wanna get to know my family more,” adding that he wants to “figure out myself as a man.”
He went on: “I’ve been away so much, I’ve missed a lot of great years with my brother and sister.”
A point echoed by Braun in a interview on Access Hollywood Live, where he talked about Bieber’s retirement remarks.
“This is the fun thing about these Vines people post: they’re only a certain amount of time, so they cut off before the rest of the statement when he says ‘just kidding,'” the manager said.
“I think for his wellbeing at 19, 20 years old, [it’s good for him] to take time for himself, to figure out who he wants to be.”
The Believe premiere attracted a typically young turnout of screaming, female fans who reportedly later became chaotic when fans were removed from the Regal L.A. Live then not let back in after a fire drill.
Will Smith’s son Jaden Smith, a longtime friend of Bieber, Kylie Jenner, Harry Shum Jr., Christopher Meloni, Debby Ryan, Caspar Smart, Usher, Kiernan Shipka, Jessica Jarrell, Gabby Douglas, cast and crew from the Believe tour, and the late Paul Walker’s daughter Meadow were among guests at the premiere which was live streamed by MTV.
Some members of Bieber’s family including his mother Pattie Mallette, and grandparents — Diane and Bruce Lane, and a large group of the singer’s friends also attended the premiere.
The singer is set to release his Journals collection to iTunes on December 23, ahead of a video for his most recent single “Confident” — a collaboration with Chance The Rapper.
Justin Bieber’s Believe debuts nationally across the US on Christmas Day and in over 74 countries around the world for a limited festival run.
Bieber is also slated to drop a full-length album in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to Billboard.
To view more photos from the premiere visit here.
