Justin Bieber And Miley Cyrus Produce Forgettable Songs, Only Focus On Their Popularity: Lionel Richie

Pop stars Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus are producing songs that will be forgotten in the years to come, believes legendary singer Lionel Richie. The 65-year-old American singer and songwriter says that pop stars who are using tactics to become popular by various means do not focus on the quality of music unless they are as good as Michael Jackson or Madonna.

Richie is of the opinion that shock value does make a particular artist popular, but what goes in the favour of the artist in the long run is his "catalogue" or the quality of music. The "Hello" singer then gives the example of Michael Jackson and Madonna to prove his point. Both the pop stars were good at creating shock value for audience by their controversies and music videos, but they also had great sense of music, feels Lionel.

"The beautiful part of where we were -- we had shock value. But what came with shock value was hit after hit after hit. Madonna was outrageous -- but she had a catalogue of music that was unbelievable," Lionel tells the London Evening Standard.

"Twenty years from now, let's take anybody -- where's the body of work? I'm going to judge you not by your popularity, but by your longevity. Your staying records. I'm thinking about Miley, Justin Bieber," added the legendary singer.

Lionel is of the opinion that today's musicians are more "amateur" and they fail to understand the difference between a stylist and a singer. Most people are blessed with the ability to sing. But what makes a singer different from the masses is his uniqueness and distinct voice, which he feels is sadly missing in today's artists.

Meanwhile the singer has released dates for his upcoming tour in the United States, tickets of which have gone on sale. Check this link to book tickets. Check out his full itenerary below:

Saturday 28th February Manchester Arena

Sunday 1st March The O2, London

Wednesday 4th March First Direct Arena, Leeds

Friday 6th March The SSE Hydro, Glasgow

Saturday 7th March Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle

Friday 13th March Echo Arena, Liverpool

Saturday 14th March NIA, Birmingham

Monday 16th March Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff

Tuesday 17th March Capital FM Arena, Nottingham