Carly Rae Jepsen in Cosmopolitan.

Bieber, like millions of others, was enamored by Jepsen’s pop tune “Call Me, Maybe.”

He made it an international hit when he Selena Gomez, Ashley Tisdale and other pals posted a sing-along on YouTube. Jepsen went viral.

But she’s no flash-in-the-pan. She waited on tables and performed in small clubs for years, until she became a Bieber protege.

Carly Rae Jepsen Pop Queen at Last

He pushed the singer relentlessly, signing her to his record label and adding her as an opening act to give her exposure. The effort paid off when Jepsen, 27, won best new artist this year at the American Music Awards.

Needless to say, she’s eternally thankful. “I never get tired of being asked about him,” she tells Cosmo. “I’m forever indebted to him for the lovely boost that he’s given me.”

But make no mistake, Jepsen has paid her dues, including a stint on the Canadian version of music talent show “American Idol.” She finished third. “Once I got my little feet in the water,” she says, “I thought, ‘I’m capable of doing Plan B, but I want Plan A. So let’s just take the scary step and delete Plan B so that there’s no other option.'”

These days making it means hearing 300,000 people at a Bieber concert in Mexico City sing back every word of “Call Me, Maybe.” “I was in a bit of a shock, and by the second verse, I lost my breath for a second… They knew every word,” she says.

All of this happened pretty fast, right? Like, less than a year? “Yeah,” says Carly “This is what I’ve been chasing since I was 7.”

Now she says, “If people think I look younger, then that’s great; I’m stoked. But I turned 27 in November, and when I look in the mirror, I see all the years attached to that face, and I’m content with me.”

Cosmopolitan hits newsstands Dec. 4. Check out the video from her photo shoot below and click here to follow TheImproper on Twitter for the latest music updates.