Mariah Carey: "Music is always where my heart is"

Already a fan.

I had read the book by Sapphire a few times and it really changed my life. It's very strong and powerful. And I communicated that to Lee Daniels, the director, when he was considering me for the role after Helen Mirren dropped out. So it was just serendipitous that I ended up being a part of the movie since I cared about it so much.

The power that lingers.

I guess the button that the story pushed in me would be just empathy. I mean your heart has to go out to Precious because she is going through so much. It touched me as a woman. It touched me just as a person. It's like you think, "Maybe I've walked past someone who is a girl like this and not really focused on them or just totally ignored them." You know what I mean? And it's also one of those things where you relate something in yourself, your own feelings of doubt and negativity. And while you haven't suffered nearly as much, you know what you've gone through is similar.

Leaving Mariah Carey in the make-up trailer.

They totally changed me. I didn't want to look in the mirror. It was beyond dressing down because Lee Daniels loved to torture me. He really wanted me to not just look plain, he wanted me to look homely. That was his goal. He wanted a mustache and an under the eye thing and the bad hair. Now I see why he wanted it because people didn't recognize me and he didn't want me to take people out of the movie because they were seeing Mariah Carey.

As for her husband Nick Cannon.

I actually did the film before Nick and I were married so he didn't know exactly what to expect. But when he saw me on the screen he actually loved it. He was totally into the movie.

Reaching out to the "Precious" girls of the world.

There are a lot of girls that I see at my shows that may fit the description of what people might think a "Precious" girl is. When I sing certain songs, you really see that it brings out emotions in them. I see tears of gratitude or joy because they relate to the message. So that's why I continue to do songs that I feel will be uplifting.

What lifted up her own life.

I dreamed huge dreams growing up. My mother was an opera singer and she also sang jazz and different kinds of music. My mother used to say, "Don't say if I make it, Say when I make it." She knew I wanted to do this for a living. A lot of my teachers were like, "You'll never make it. It's one in a million. You've got to do your math homework," which I still can't do. My mother said, "Don't say if, say when." I believed her. She was just always telling everyone, "Mariah is going to be a star."

Growing up early.

I joined that club when I was like five-years-old. My mother used to say I was five going on 20. She was just like, "Mariah's already an adult." I used to sit around the table with all the grown-ups and they'd be smoking and drinking and I would just hang out and pretend I was smoking and drinking, all of those things that I shouldn't have been doing.

Feeling good about her new album.

I am really a perfectionist when it comes to music. I've always been the type of person that would hear a thousand good things and one negative thing and focus on that negative thing. But this album I'm loving because I took chances. I did a lot of different interludes. I did a lot of things that are different for me. And in terms of just living with an album, when I listen to it now, this is one of those ones where everyday I notice something different. I really love this album.

And also acting.

I used to study acting as a little girl. I was in a lot of different theater workshops and things. Now I'm trying to do my best to be the best actress and the best artist I can be. I'm pursuing things that I want to do a little bit more. I guess the main thing is that acting is going to be a creative outlet that allows me to express myself in another way aside from my music because I'm loving it. But the music is always where my heart is.

What keeps her on track.

I have always been a firm believer in the fact that if you don't believe in yourself, no one else is going to believe in you. No matter what happens, no matter who tries to keep you down, you just have to keep on going.

(Parade)