In an interview with Ryan Seacrest, the 'Baby' hitmaker says he wants to be more than just a teen heartthrob and vows to prove his worth.
- Sep 12, 2012
AceShowbiz - Justin Bieber is determined to prove that he's not just another teen heartthrob. "I feel like I just don't want to be another teen heartthrob," he tells Ryan Seacrest. "I just think that that just annoys me. To think that's what people will - will think of me - or, like, I just want to prove people wrong."
His new album "Believe" is a step to shake off the heartthrob status. He gushes, "My new album has really showcased what I'm capable of ... especially becoming an 18-year-old and becoming an adult. And hearing older people say, 'Wow, this new album's great. Like I didn't know that was Justin Bieber'."
"Or, you know, 'Wow, like I never used to listen to Justin Bieber's music, and now I like his music.' Or 'This 'As Long As You Love Me' that's Justin Bieber singing?'," he continues. "I like those reactions, because I feel like they're now - they're judging me based on my music and not based on, you know, my - a flick of my hair."
In addition to aiming for larger audience, Bieber sets his eyes on something bigger, Grammy. "That's something that I've always want," he said. "When I was little, like, 'Oh, my God, like what if I won a Grammy? That would be crazy.' So that's one of the things that I'm still striving for."
In the interview to promote his book "Justin Bieber: Just Getting Started", he also sings praise for his mother Pattie. "There were so many struggles that she had to go through to be able to raise me, as an 18-year-old girl," he states. "So I give my mom ... you know, kudos to you, Mom ... because I was not easy."
She agrees, "No, you were not easy ... every year, he got kicked out of class ... The first day of school, [he was] kicked out of class ... you were so adorable, too." He remembers, "The first day of school, in 1st grade, I started making armpit fart noises in class."
Revisiting a few more years back, Pattie says, "I called him Jesse the whole pregnancy. And then, once he was born, I was like, 'No, he doesn't look like a Jesse. Justin'." He is relieved for that as saying, "I feel that I'm not a Jesse. That would have been weird."
The interview will air on "TODAY and "Rock Center with Brian Williams" on Thursday, September 13.
