Justin Bieber Tells Twitter: 'I'm Officially Retiring'

Justin Bieber handed a bitter Christmas present to millions of Beliebers. Just before midnight on Christmas Eve, the singer tweeted that  he was “officially retiring. 

”However, Bieber calmed the nerves (and likely confused the minds) of his nearly 48-million followers about 40 minutes later, tweeting that he was "here forever. "Without giving a cast-iron explanation for his tweets, Bieber went on to cite his love-hate relationship with the media. And he sounded-off with a Christmas-vibed message. The theme of Bieber's retirement popped up -- and was dismissed -- last week, when the singer told radio station Power 106 FM that his next album would be his last: "The new album… I’m actually retiring," he said. "I’m just gonna take some time. I think I’m probably going to quit music." Scooter Braun, his longtime manager, quickly defused the bomb saying that Bieber was "just kidding" and was "taking a break just to make music and relax, take some time for himself for the first time since he was 12." Whether Bieber will actually hang up his mic for good, only time will tell. But the timing of his announcement will undoubtedly give the singer a bit of extra publicity, just in time for the release of his new movie, "Believe," which opened worldwide on Christmas Day.