Justin Bieber wants to be like Michael Jackson

The least we can say is that Justin Bieber has ambition. Posing for the cover of the February issue of Vanity Fair, the teen heartthrob, who turns 17 on March 1, admits in an interview that he wants to become as famous as Michael Jackson.

“Michael [Jackson] was able to reach audiences from young to old; he never limited himself,” Bieber says of the King of Pop. “He was so broad, everybody loved him, and that’s what my goal is—to basically make people happy, to inspire them, and to have everyone root for me.”

For now, Bieber is content with his mostly female fan base. “For younger guys, it’s like [they think] they’re not cool if they come to my concert. That’ll [change], I think; it’ll happen, maybe when I’m 18. But meanwhile all their girlfriends are coming to watch me.”

The young performer is forthcoming about his detractors. “Of course, I think that people are just waiting for that time when I make a mistake and they’re gonna jump on it….There’s gonna be haters,” Bieber told the magazine.