Justin Bieber wants now to get to a place where he no longer has to apologise for his mistakes.

Speaking to the Radio Times on the eve of his first Grammy Award, where he delivered a celebrated performance at the Los Angeles ceremony, he said: "I'm not a bad guy. People might have misconceptions. And hopefully those walls start to come down and they see the real me. But I'm not that guy. I was in a bad place... It wasn't fake. I just was in a... I don't know, dude."

He added: "I just want to get to a place where I can stop apologising. We all go through trial and error. We all go through moments of downfall. Let's talk about our success now. Let's focus on me now. And I think we're getting there."

Earlier, Bieber, 21, said: "I pray when I go to sleep. I pray during the day – when I have a problem or when I just wanna thank Him for all He's done for me. Without God I wouldn't be in this position. He's blessed me with the talent and opportunity. And I feel like there's also a reason I'm here."

Last year the Canadian star's comeback album Purpose entered the UK charts at number two. Three singles from the album have made number one in the UK and the United States.

His Grammy Award, coming on top of the success of Purpose, shows he has nailed his return to the top after the series of run-ins with the police for speeding in a Lamborghini and for egging a neighbour's house that followed the 2012 release of his album Believe. He also aroused controversy for writing "Hopefully, she would have been a Belieber" in the visitors' book at the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam.

He said his album was called Purpose because he felt he had lost his purpose for a while. "But now I've found my purpose... Because I do have a platform, and there's so much I can do for the world and use my music to bring that hope and light."