Justin Bieber: 'I'm officially retiring'

http://www.usatoday.com

Bieber tweeted that he's retiring, but then told fans, "I'm never leaving you."

On Christmas Eve, and on the eve of the premiere of his documentary, Believe, Justin Bieber tweeted, "My beloved beliebers I'm officially retiring."

Is he for real?

Well, the tweet did follow another public comment about retirement. Last week, he told Los Angeles radio station Power 106, "After the new album, I'm actually, I'm retiring man, I'm retiring." However, sources told TMZ the singer was joking.

We're thinking maybe the 19-year-old doesn't define "retiring" the same way we do. (As in, he doesn't think it means "to stop working.") Proof:

In an e-mail to USA TODAY from the Philippines, the final stop of his 15-month Believe tour, Bieber wrote, "I'm going to take my time (next year) to really find my sound as an adult. That takes time and patience, and I'm grateful I have the ability to step back and focus on my creativity."

Stepping back to focus on creativity? That doesn't exactly mean retiring.

Bieber's manager and friend, Scooter Braun, told USA TODAY, "Next year will be less about the career. I expect Justin to be doing things like snowboarding, backpacking, working on his charities, but more often than not, he'll be in the studio. Music is his therapy."

It sounds like the superstar, who told USA TODAY that "the last year has not been the easiest for me," wants to step away from the spotlight for a bit.