For his next trick, Justin Bieber will be traveling into space. Yes, the pop star (and his manager) are the latest celebs who will blast off on a spaceflight thanks to Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.
Branson broke the news on Twitter this morning. "Great to hear @justinbieber & @scooterbraun are latest @virgingalactic future astronauts. Congrats, see you up there!" he wrote.
Bieber and manager Scooter Braun later confirmed the tycoon's tweet. "let's shoot a music video in SPACE!! #nextLEVEL," the teen pop star responded.
"Music video in space? Now that's what I call music!" Branson said, a reference to the omnipresent musical compilations that got their start at Virgin Records.
Braun, meanwhile, chimed in with "im going to space momma!!"
Branson's Virgin Galactic is prepping to become the first "space tourism" company, offering commercial flights to those willing to fork over big bucks to get a glimpse of Earth from space. At this point, the company's spacecraft are still in the testing phase, but Branson expects to kick off manned flights in the coming years.
You'll need Bieber money to catch a flight, though. Each future astronaut must pay $250,000 for the pleasure of blasting off into space. To date, about 580 people have provided more than $70 million in deposits, according to Virgin Galactic. The 500th deposit came from actor Ashton Kutcher, so Virgin's spaceflights will likely be celeb-filled excursions.
As Branson explains, putting in that deposit provides entry into "the world's most exclusive club." Until Virgin Galactic spacecraft actually get off the ground, Branson has been entertaining future astronauts with exclusive meet and greets on his Caribbean island home and South African game reserve.
Not surprisingly, news of Bieber's space plans was met with some virtual eye-rolling on Twitter, with many users asking Branson to leave the teen singer in space, while others gave their Photoshop skills a workout (above).
"Justin Bieber has booked a flight on Virgin Galactic. Thank god sound doesn't travel in space," one user quipped.
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