Break-ups are hard — even for Justin Bieber.

A month since his split from Selena Gomez, the 18-year-old singer has opened up in an exclusive interview with Billboard magazine.

"I'm not in the happiest place that I've ever been," he said. "I'm trying to get through what I'm going through. Like I said, I have my really close friends to cheer me up and keep me going.

"People are like 'You're 18. What have you really gone through?' I'm thinking, 'What do you mean? When you were 18, you don't think you went through that stuff?' When you are 18, you're going through that transition. You have a high school girlfriend, you might not. Going to college. Figuring yourself out, leaving home."

"There are so many rumours. People say I call Selena every day and she won't pick up the phone or I'm chasing her down, and these are all fake stories."