Following Justin Bieber’s announcement that he is “officially retiring”, the Canadian star’s management team have released a statement denying that Bieber will be quitting music.

On Christmas day (December 25), 19-year-old Justin Bieber posted a message on Twitter addressed to his fans which read:

“My beloved beliebers I'm officially retiring. The media talks a lot about me. They make a up a lot of lies and want me to fail but I'm never leaving you, being a belieber is a lifestyle.”

However, Allison Kaye, the General Manager of Scooter Braun Projects, has produced a statement explaining the circumstances surrounding the ‘Baby’ singer’s Twitter post:

“Regarding his recent tweeting about his 'retirement' Justin felt that this was the best way to respond to the latest in a long line of inaccurate or wildly exaggerated media reports about him. He chose to channel his frustration into playing along with this baseless rumor and even used 'beloved' to tip off his core fans that it wasn’t real.”

Kaye went on to state that fans were left confused by Bieber’s tweets and clarification was needed:

“Within 20 minutes, Justin realized that fans were confused by the media reports and clarified that he was kidding. This wasn’t a planned stunt, it was just another day in the life of living under the microscope. Justin loves his fans and understands that this scrutiny comes along with his success and the interest in him from fans and media.”

The Scooter Braun Projects GM also criticised press coverage of the teenage pop star by saying:

“Justin is a hard working 19 year old who would prefer that his recent fundraising work in the Philippines and the considerable amount raised for the cause be the media’s focus more than the recent reporting on him retiring.” 

Watch footage of Justin Bieber singing to Typhoon Haiyan victims in the Philippines below: