Justin Bieber has commented on his apparent joke about retiring from music.

The singer turned heads recently in a radio interview after suggesting that he might hang up his boots after the release of his 'Journals' album on December 23.

It was reported that the comment was merely said in jest, but he told MTV that it could be true. The Canadian said:

"I don't know if that's a joke. I don't know. I don't know."

His manager Scooter Braun said on Wednesday (December 18) that he wants his client to take 2014 off and spend time out of the spotlight.

It seems this will be the case, with Bieber adding: "I wanna get to know my family more [and] figure myself out as a man. I've been away so much, I've missed a lot of great years with my brother and sister."

The 19-year-old has suffered a turbulent past year after suffering a number of negative headlines for apparent misbehaviour. Watch Justin Bieber's 'All That Matters' video below: