'Being With You' hitmaker Smokey Robinson has revealed that Justin Bieber should keep a distance from the friends he keeps around him at present because they're nothing but bad news for him. 

Speaking to People magazine at the 56th Annual Thalians Gala in Los Angeles, the star explained that his friends don't have his best interests at heart and it would be better if he could just walk away from them and get his life back on track:

"I know Justin pretty good. But I would love to sit him in a room somewhere and talk with him for an hour just one on one. I would tell him that the guys that you're doing this stuff for, and in front of, and with, they have nothing to lose."

Robinson went on to add that the heartthrob's growing popularity means that people tag on expecting to ride on his coattails: "He's not only living for himself anymore. He's too popular. So his image, and what he does, has influence on a lot of young people, so he needs to think about that."

When asked how Bieber could go about giving his friends the heave-ho, Robinson offered: "He just divorces himself from that. That's what he does. He just divorces himself from that element and gets himself together."

Watch Bieber's music video for 'Confident' here: