Justin Bieber: 'Love is like a dog' official

Pop superstar Justin Bieber has defended his right to sing serious love songs, despite being just sixteen-years-old.

At a press conference for new film, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, the young Canadian silenced critics with a description of his credentials as a romantic song writer.

Bieber began with asking the press to imagine young love in terms of a dog they may have had before. When this elicited a bemused response, the singer launched into an explanation of his prepubescent feelings

"You start like seeing girls and you're like oh I like them, but you don't know the real meaning of love but you think you do," the star began.

He went on to add: "You turn like fifteen, sixteen and you have a little bit more knowledge of what it means because you maybe had one of two girlfriends but I think love is like a learning process."

At his film premiere Bieber later admitted that despite being inundated with marriage proposals, he has vowed to wait until he is at least twenty-five before settling down.