On her difficult childhood:

“I felt really bizarre as a kid. Mostly because I come from an interracial family [Carey’s mother is Irish and her father is African-American and Venezuelan], and because we didn’t have a lot of money and we moved around a lot. Living in the suburbs is a place that’s all about fitting in. I remember after one particularly bad incident, one of my mother’s friends said in front of me, ‘If this kid makes it, it will be a miracle.’”

On wishing she was a genie:

“Wouldn’t it be really hot if I could just blink and change my outfit right now? How amazing would that be?”

On what she wears during downtime:

“…whenever I’m outside, I want to be in a hot tub. I’m a water person. I would jump in the hot tub in the middle of our interview if it weren’t so freakin’ cold out! But usually when I’m just hanging around, I wear boxers and a tank.”

On adolescence:

“Mariah at 12 was a wreck. I accidentally dyed my hair orange. I shaved my eyebrows. Wore blue eyeliner. Disgusting!”

On whether she believes in love:

“With a human being I don’t know, but definitely with a pet. [Laughs.] I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a relationship of the caliber I write about in my love songs.”