Why do we keep comparing Justin Bieber to other celebrities?

Attention, everyone! Rolling Stone magazine would like you to know that Justin Bieber is "Hot, Ready, Legal."

Bieber is obviously eager to grow up. The June release of his latest album "Believe" was well-timed, coming out only a few months after he turned 18. The album reveals a more mature sound (or, at least, a deeper voice).

Then the "Boyfriend" video came out, in which he drives cool cars, dances with pretty girls, and chills with his buddies without parental supervision. Then Bieber graduated from high school and called himself a "swaggy adult" in GQ. Baby Bieber is becoming a man before our very eyes.

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This is where the comparisons come in. With Bieber frequently touted as the second coming of Justin Timberlake, the "Boyfriend" video instantly brought up references to *NSYNC's "Girlfriend" -- and this new mash-up proves just how close they really are. Now, the Rolling Stone cover is eerily close to Timberlake's 2002 shot, and the headline is taken straight from a 2004 Lindsay Lohan feature.

We know that Bieber hates it -- like, really hates it -- when he's compared to other artists, specifically the one who previously brought sexy back. But it keeps happening. Sometimes it's warranted, like the "Boyfriend Girlfriend" mash-up, but that doesn't explain why we are so concerned with drawing parallels between Bieber and other young Hollywood success stories and/or tales of caution.

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Seeing as how Bieber is Southern Ontario's biggest darling, do Canadians feel a parental need to watch out for his best interests? Or maybe we're so fascinated by his meteoric rise to fame, we're convinced the rest of his career will be either a huge success or a train wreck that would put Lohan to shame.

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We don't often feel sorry for the international superstar and teenage multimillionnaire, but we know how difficult adolescence was without being compared to both Hollywood's best and saddest stories. For now, we're content to set aside our predictions and just watch what happens next in the Bieber saga.