Shawn Mendeswas recently bestowed the title of “Prince of Pop” — andJustin Bieberhad something to say about it.
In a hilarious exchange between the Canadian singers this week, Bieber quipped that Mendes still had a ways to go in order to officially “dethrone” him as the “Prince of Pop” and that they could battle it out on the rink or basketball court to declare a winner.
The friendly feud all started on Sunday when Mendes, 20,shared theApril 7 coverofObserver Magazineto his Instagram, which featured him posing front and center with the words “Prince of pop” written across his chest.
“Hmm Gonna have to break a few more records to dethrone my title there bud,” Bieber, 25, jokingly commented, before adding, “(canadian voice)..but if you want we can play hockey for it but i heard your [sic] a real bender on the ice we could just drop the buckets and tilt for it.”
Mendes was game for the fake challenge, and in response, wrote back: “LOL any time any day you just let me know!!!!!!”
Once fans started arguing which Canadian singer deserved the title more, Bieber weighed in on the situation.
Kevin Mazur/WireImage; Rich Fury/Getty
The innocent exchange comes a month after Biebershut down rumors on social mediathat Mendes was flirting with Bieber’s wife,Hailey Baldwin.
Bieber has also previouslyshown his support for Mendes on social mediaafter the singer released his hit single “Stitches” in 2015.
“Shawn I checked out the music and I’m so proud! So glad to see another boy from Canada crushin it. #canadiansdoitbetter,” Biebercaptioned a screenshotof Mendes’ song playing on his phone.
Shawn Mendes.David Davis for imageSPACE/MediaPunch
While Mendes focuses on his career as a musician, Bieber has been prioritizing his mental health, a source previously confirmed to PEOPLE.
“Justin is still receiving treatments and working on his health. Sharing his struggles and thoughts with fans seems to have been very beneficial to him,” the source said. “He seems to feel less pressure and is able to focus on his health in peace.”
Last week, the singer shared a selfie on his Instagram Storiesduring a therapy session. “It’s cool to have a healthy mind and emotions,” he captioned the photo.
Shareif Ziyadat/Getty
Just days before, Bieber wrote to his fans explaining that he would return to music afterrepairing some of his “deep-rooted issues”in treatment.
“So I read a lot of messages saying that you want an album .. I’ve toured my whole teenage life, and early 20s, I realized and as you guys probably saw I was unhappy last tour and I don’t deserve that and you don’t deserve that,” he wrote. “You pay money to come and have a lively energetic fun light concert and I was unable emotionally to give you that near the end of the tour.”
Bieber also noted that prioritizing his mental health came from the desire to “sustain” his marriage to Baldwin and live up to the expectations he had created for himself as a future father.
source: people.com
