Justin Bieber Aims to be the Next Michael Jackson (Report)

TORONTO – Not content to be a short-lived teen hearthrob, Justin Bieber is looking for immortality as the next Michael Jackson.

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“I model my career on the decisions Michael made and how he kept his young fan base and kept his private life private. All those things add up to me. That made him super interesting,” Bieber told Canada’s Maclean’s magazine about the late King of Pop in an interview published Wednesday.

Manager Scooter Braun, who discovered Bieber in his hometown of Stratford, Ontario, said the pop phenom is aiming high for his career trajectory to avoid tumbling from his perch atop the music world.

“It’s not that Justin wants to be Michael Jackson. But his thing is, if Michael was the greatest, then why not look to him? You’re supposed to study the greats, their successes and failures,” Braun told Maclean’s.

The interview comes ahead of Bieber performing at week’s end in Toronto at the Grey Cup game as his Believe concert tour swings through Canada.

Canadian breakout singing star Carly Rae Jepsen, who opens Bieber’s concert tour and is signed to his label, will also perform at the Grey Cup game.