Justin Bieber never thought he'd have a career in music.

The 'As Long As You Love Me' hitmaker - who was discovered through YouTube in 2008 - has admitted he never thought about becoming a musician for a living.

He said: ''Honestly, it was never something that I was going to do for a living. At 13 you're not even thinking about that, you know?

''I was just playing for fun and uploading videos on YouTube because I wanted to show my family. That's when [my manager] Scooter [Braun] found me.''

And the 21-year-old singer cites Michael Jackson and Boyz II Men as his main musical inspirations growing up.

He added: ''I listened to a lot of Michael Jackson growing up. A lot of Boyz II Men. I loved Mariah Carey. Just big vocalists. I was always that kid who just wore whatever and did whatever.

''And my mom always supported that. So I always looked up to Michael because he was never afraid to just be himself, never tried to be anything that he wasn't.''

The star also opened up about his early days in music, where he earned enough money busking to take his mother to Disney World in Florida.

He told Interview magazine: ''I grew up in a really rural town, Stratford, Ontario, with 30,000 people. There's a big festival thrown in the town. A lot of people travel from all over the world to see it, and growing up, I actually used to busk on the street. I'd play my guitar, sing, and people would throw money in the case.

''That was really fun, and I actually got enough money to bring my mom to Florida to go to Disney World, because I always wanted to go but we never had enough money.''