Justin Bieber Talks About His New Music and Fixing His Image: "I Hope People Felt the Sincerity in My Apologies"

"I feel a responsibility to my fans and to the public who believe in me to make it right," the singer tells Hero Magazine

By Zach Johnson Apr 28, 2015 6:00 PMTags
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Will the world ever take Justin Bieber seriously? He sure hopes so.

After a year of bad press, the singer went on an unofficial apology tour earlier this year, which included multiple appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and his very own Comedy Central Roast in March. The "Eenie Meenie" singer hopes that through time, people will take him seriously in the music industry.

Bieber continues his comeback campaign in Hero Magazine (Issue 13), on newsstands in the U.K. Apr. 27 and in the U.S. May 18. "I hope people felt the sincerity in my apologies," he says. "There are a lot of things that have happened in the last couple years that I'm not very proud of, and I feel a responsibility to my fans and to the public who believe in me to make it right. I hope everyone believed it—because it was honest."

Being in the spotlight has a tough transition for the former YouTube sensation.

"It's definitely hard having so many people judge you from a distance. Sometimes you just want to explain yourself, but then that's giving into gossip and it makes things worse. It's a tough line to walk."

That being said, the singer can take a joke.

Nothing was off limits during Bieber's Comedy Central Roast, and he welcomes that kind of humor. "It was good fun. Everyone on the dais gets roasted on those things, so I was just grateful that everyone was willing to go through that alongside me," he says. "I was nervous to watch it but it was really funny."

Bieber says he's learned from his mistakes, and his music will reflect that.

"The biggest difference is that I'm older. I was 17 when I recorded most of my last album and I'm 21 now. I've been through a lot in a public way, which gives me a much different perspective on things. I am working with producers like Kanye [West] and Rick Rubin who have influenced me and the music I listen to in a big way," the "As Long as You Love Me" singer tells Hero Magazine. "The creative process this time around is more personal. When I was younger I would take other people's experiences, now I have my own to draw from and it makes all the difference because it's a release. It's amazing because I'm able to really work out anything I am feeling in my music. I'm nervous whenever I put out new work because it's such a personal journey, but I try to remember music is meant to be enjoyed—so I try to roll with it."