NEW YORK (AP) — It took El DeBarge 22 years to get off drugs — and he says watching performers like TI and Bruno Mars get into trouble over them only proves that everyone deserves a second chance.

The 49-year-old singer says his heart goes out to TI and Mars.

DeBarge says he knows that people experiment with drugs and that he did so because he was curious.

Earlier this month, Los Angeles police caught TI with several pills confirmed to be a controlled substance.

Mars was arrested this week in Las Vegas for allegedly possessing cocaine.

DeBarge was jailed for two years following a 2008 drug possession arrest. He’s planning the release of Second Chance, his first album in 16 years.