American Music Awards 2012: Justin Bieber Thanks 'Haters' in Acceptance Speech

Justin Bieber is thanking his haters.

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The 18-year-old won favorite pop/rock male artist in the first award handed out at Sunday’s American Music Awards and gave a shout-out to those who didn’t think he would last on the music scene.

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“I want to say this is for all the haters who said that I was just here for one or two years. I feel like I’m going to be here for a very long time,” he said, also thanking his mom, manager, family and his “beautiful, beautiful fans.”

Bieber won a total of three awards at Sunday's awards show, including artist of the year and favorite pop/rock album.

The singer has been in the news more than usual thanks to his reported breakup with Selena Gomez. The actress-singer broke up with the teen pop sensation over "trust issues," according to various reports, but several tabloids have reported that the two have been spotted together and might be headed toward a reconciliation.

The AMAs, which took place at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, aired live on ABC.