Justin Bieber comparisons. Touring with Taylor Swift. Screaming Mahomies. Those are pretty big deals, right? But to Austin Mahone, there are two specific incidents that let him know he was a star.

"I was in Chicago leaving a radio show and I got in the car and I hopped in and I heard my voice," he told The Huffington Post. "I was like, 'Hey, what's up, it's Austin Mahone. You're listening to B96.' And it was so weird, I didn’t know what to do. It was strange."

So when did Mahone really realize he made it? He humble-bragged, "Probably when I was at the Billboard Awards hanging out with Taylor and all those guys, and sitting next to Akon and just presenting with Kelly Rowland. I was like, 'Man, this is just insane.'"

"Taylor and all those guys"? He means, obviously, Swift, with whom he's been on the Red tour. And he loves it. "It's been amazing," he gushed. "She's so talented and getting to go to these amazing cities and perform in front of 55,000 people -- the energy's just insane."

Though it can occasionally sound like Mahone's getting a bit of an ego, don't worry -- T. Swizzle won't let that happen on her watch, and Mahone said it himself: "She's told me to keep a good circle of people around me -- keep my friends close and always stay the kid that I was when I started."

What about that other teen pop star Mahone has been compared to? That guy who was discovered on YouTube in Canada and actually dated Selena Gomez (instead of just having rumors spread that he did)? Mahone takes the Bieber comparisons in stride, but tries not to let them overshadow his own sound. "You know, it's cool," he said. "I want people to give me a chance to show that I'm different. I'm not trying to copy him or take anything from him. I'm a person. My music is different and I'm just trying to do my own thing."

One thing he shares with Bieber? A sometimes overly obsessive fan base on par with Bieber's Beliebers (granted, there aren't quite as many Mahomies -- yet.) "I've had a girl hop in my car with me one time," he revealed when asked what his craziest fan memory was. "I was leaving a show and the doors were open and she got under my security and hopped in the car and we almost drove off with her inside the car. So that was pretty crazy." Ladies! Don't do that!

Mahomie's gearing up to promote his debut album, and he dished some details on it... but still left plenty to the imagination. "We don't have a name for it yet," he admitted. "It's coming out sometime in the fall -- I can't tell you exactly when, but really, really soon. Basically, my album is going to have a lot of songs on there like 'What About Love' -- like that kind of dance-feel -- and also some really good slow ballads. I'm really excited to put it out and I think my fans are really going to enjoy it."

We bet they will -- we just hope they don't try carjacking him again because of it!

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