Canadian pop star Justin Bieber definitely underwent a "stupid phase" when he got involved in drugs, booze, and women, and now the young singer is taking the opportunity to thank his mother Pattie Mallette for not giving up on him during that painful stage of his life and for shaping him up to be the person he is today.

On his Instagram account (@justinbieber), Bieber shared a smiling close-up photo of his mother and wrote a heartfelt message of appreciation in honour of Mother's Day.

"This little 4'9 woman may not look like a mom but she is, and she's the best at it! This woman taught me everything I know - how to love, how to be compassionate, how to be strong when the only thing you wanna be is weak, how to stand when all you want to do is fall," he wrote. "If it wasn't for this woman lets just say I would have had a way LONGER stupid phase. I love you and thank you for not giving up on me!"

Bieber earlier revealed that his relationship with Mallette took a nosedive when he went through that "stupid phase," but it was something he had to go through in order to learn.

"We lost our relationship for a while. She couldn't really tell me anything; she would try, but I wasn't listening to anybody and that sort of sucked. But our relationship is getting better now; we're getting it back," he told USA Today.

Now, he is really trying his best to turn his life around. Bieber also said that he left a lot of negative people behind who "were not on the same journey I was on," and he has now surrounded himself with people who have a positive influence on his life.