JUSTIN BIEBER has vowed not to let his fans down after he was caught up in a smoking scandal.

Several photos of the Baby hitmaker holding a roll-up cigarette at a party have been obtained by editors at TMZ.com, and were published online on Friday (04Jan13).

After the snaps appeared on the web, the 18-year-old singer took to Twitter.com to post a cryptic message to his followers, writing, "Everyday growing and learning. trying to be better. u get knocked down, u get up... i see all of u. i hear all of u. i never want to let any of you down. i love u. and... thank u... like i said... 2013... new challenges. new doubters... Im ready. We are ready. see u all tomorrow and everyday after that."