Justin Bieber is no slacker.
Despite all that malarkey about retiring , the 19-year-old superstar spent part of the holiday recording new music in Toronto with producer Douglas Romanow.
More recently, he hit the studio with rapper Kid Cudi.
On Friday (Jan. 3), the teen singer tweeted an Instagram photo of himself and the “ Satellite Flight ” artist, captioned,
“Studio with kid cudi.”
The picture showed a casually dressed Bieber and the former G.O.O.D. Music rapper resting against a mixing desk.
On New Year’s Day, Romanow tweeted a photo of himself and Bieber from Noble Street Studios.
“Justin Bieber’s retirement rumours are greatly exaggerated,” the producer wrote, along with a hashtag #bieberintoronto .
He added, “I’ve been recording him in Toronto.”
(Photo: Bieber and Romanow [far right] In Toronto Studio).
After later denials by his management, the studio sessions further cement the non-serious nature of the “ Confident ” singer’s Christmas Eve tweets about leaving the music business.
In the first of three tweets the Canadian wrote, “My beloved beliebers I’m officially retiring,” seemingly confirming a similar remark made during an interview with Los Angeles Power 106 radio last month.
The second tweet cited the media’s “lies” as his apparent reason for the drastic decision, while the third sent a mixed message, adding “Im Here Forever.”
Bieber’s Twitter depth charge capped a mixed to appalling year for the teen star, which is perhaps only to be expected if the world’s media is watching your every move. Among the masterclass PR faux pas committed by the pop prince in 2013 – to many – the New York mop bucket incident or the poor box office showing of his latest film Believe are contenders for its nadir.
One year today, all hell broke loose when photographs allegedly showing the star smoking weed hit the Internet. Facepalm headlines accelerated in March during the London leg of Bieber’s Believe world tour after a delayed first London concert, backstage fainting, and a verbal spat with a British paparazzo.
Hysteria over Bieber’s innocent but inarticulate guestbook entry at Amsterdam’s Anne Frank museum, a disastrous South American leg, during which he was charged with vandalism for graffiti in Rio, Brazil, unwittingly starred in a “sleeping” video filmed by a Brazilian woman of dubious means, and incurred Argentina’s wrath after he mishandled national flags thrown onstage during a show.
Conversely, there were also high points for the singer in 2013 . Bieber’s 2010 signature hit song “Baby” was officially recognized by the Recording Industry Association of America as the highest selling digital single in US history.
He was presented with the R.I.A.A.’s Diamond Award in August by his manager, Scooter Braun, during a Believe tour show.
The singer’s record as the first artist in US chart history to have five No. 1 albums while still in his teens was also noted last year.
(Photo: Bieber and Kid Cudi in studia via Instgram)
Bieber’s philanthropic efforts were also sizable in 2013. He set a Make-A-Wish Foundation record as the biggest musician contributor notching up a “wish” count of 200, and helped to fund and build a school in Guatemala with the non-profit organization Pencils of Promise.
The singer also wrapped his highly successful – if eventful – tour with an acoustic concert in the Typhoon Haiyan-hit Philippines, while raising over $3 million for the relief effort with more than $1 million coming directly from his own online campaign .
In addition, the pop phenom dropped an iTunes-exclusive album Journals which garnered mixed to highly positive reviews.
Now on a break in 2014, it seems Bieber can’t stay away from the studio .