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As she prepares to release her next album E=MC2, the sultry singer reveals to Shereen Low why she's still in the music business.

Dressed casually in a lilac low-cut top and skinny jeans, Mariah Carey arranges herself into a comfortable position in a New York recording studio. Despite it being 2am, four hours later than our scheduled meeting, she is still lively and energised.

The self-confessed night owl explains that she's used to the late hours, and is often known to work right through until seven or eight o'clock in the morning.

The New York native has been trying to complete her latest record, her 11th studio album, for the past year, and is thrilled with the results.

"This album, E=MC2, is a fun record," Mariah says, flicking her hair.

"There are a lot of cute, up-tempo songs which really make me happy, and also, some nice ballads which really touch your heart. I put a lot of myself into this.

"I worked on E=MC2 for over eight, almost nine months, so it's a new baby and I'm ready to put it out there for the fans."

"Hopefully, fans around the world will love it as much as I do."

Smiling, she adds: "This album is twice as potent as The Emancipation Of Mimi in a lot of ways for me, so I'm just very excited about the new songs."

First taster from E=MC2 is single Touch My Body, released next week.

It may have a terrible Cheeky Girls-style title, but Mariah is proud of the track.

"That's a fun song," says the 38-year-old. "It's exciting for me because people are really responding to it quickly. I think it's my biggest hit since I'll Be There - there hasn't been a song I've sung which has been such a fast hit here in America. So it's really, really, really exciting."

With a less than favourable reputation as a self-obsessed diva, Mariah is keen to show the world another side to her personality, so teamed up with director Brett Ratner of Rush Hour fame to create a comedy video to accompany the track.

"I love working with Brett because he gets me," says the star. "He knows I make jokes and like to have fun. He really likes the comedic side of me and because he's great at comedy, he sees the comedienne in me. I think that's why he really likes to let other people understand I don't take myself too seriously.

"We enjoyed making the video so much. It was fun, and Jack McBrayer from the show 30 Rock, who's in it, is hilarious."

Co-written by Mariah, the album features collaborations with T Pain and Damian Junior Gong' Marley, with songs about relationships and love and just having fun with girlfriends.

"I put everything of myself into the music."

"I put everything of myself into the music, whether it's a love song, a happy having-a-good-time song, a club record and whatever collaboration. It's all about making the best music I can," she says.

"People can interpret my songs in any way. As a songwriter, I try to make things anybody can apply to their own lives, because music is a universal thing, and something that everybody can feel in their heart."

Since her debut in 1990 with Vision Of Love, Mariah and her multi-octave voice have consistently conquered the charts with hits such as We Belong Together and Without You, despite professional and personal struggles a few years ago - when her film debut Glitter and its accompanying disco album were universally panned and she is believed to have suffered a breakdown.

Now, after 18 years in the industry, the five-time Grammy winner insists she hasn't changed from the girl who grew up on Long Island, New York.

"Honestly, I feel like the same person I was when I was starting out. I just feel I have more experience and now, at this point in my life, I have been able to say what I really like and what I don't like. And I'm fortunate to work with people who are very experienced and really smart and help me be the best me that I can be."

"Honestly, I feel like the same person I was when I was starting out. I just feel I have more experience."

Despite this, Mariah admits she is still not above a spot of pre-concert jitters.

"Sometimes when I first step on stage, it's just a little bit intimidating, but once I see one fan who's really with me and singing the songs right there, it's like none of that matters any more. I'm then just in the moment and enjoying being there out on stage with my fans."

With so many hits in her portfolio, she finds it difficult to pin down her personal favourites.

"You know, it's really difficult because these songs are from me - songs I wrote from my experiences, so I would say that my favourite songs of mine are the most personal songs," Mariah says.

"I really don't have a favourite song to perform live. I think this new album is definitely going to give me new favourites to perform along with the songs I've written that I've been singing now for a while, like Hero and Vision Of Love.

"I have songs from this album I think are going to touch the same type of emotional place that those songs touched," she adds.

"Sometimes when I first step on stage, it's just a little bit intimidating, but once I see one fan who's really with me and singing the songs right there, it's like none of that matters any more."

The singer, who was formerly married to her mentor, music boss Tommy Mottola, gets quite emotional when the subject turns to her mum, Patricia, also one her closest friends. The former opera singer divorced from Mariah's father when the star-to-be was three years old.

"She inspired me to do what I do, so I'm very thankful to God I'm here and doing this," she says. "And I'm just very grateful to my mother for always supporting me and being a really great inspiration. She just called me the other day and said she liked the new video and thought it was really funny, and that was great."

As my time with Mariah comes to an end, it's almost half past two in the morning.

"Everything keeps me up at night. That's why I have insomnia," she admits. "But the good thing is I ultimately go to sleep, wake up the next day and keep making music - and that's the main thing. This business is very difficult, but it's very rewarding. It's what I love to do."

Mariah's new album E=MC2 is released on April 14.

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