Mariah Carey is 49 years old and on the cover of Cosmopolitan, wearing a tiara and a t-shirt with her own airbrushed face. It’s all very MARIAH. In all honesty though, I feel like Mariah is very happy these days. She went through a rough patch after her divorce from Nick Cannon, and I don’t think that failed engagement from James Packer helped her in any way. Now she’s got something happening with a backup dancer, and she’s still making music and having fun on online and she just seems to be… in a good mood. She’s back to being playful and light. So I enjoyed this fluff piece from Cosmo – some highlights:

On the difference between her and the new breed of superstars: “They have no idea what I went through as a child to even get to be an 18-year-old girl with a record deal. This was before you could just go on YouTube and sing.”

On growing up on Long Island as a mixed African-American, Venezuelan, and Irish girl with divorced parents and financial challenges: “People didn’t understand who I was, what I was, my ethnicity, the fact that we didn’t have money.”

On how her rocky childhood shaped her love of Christmas: “As a kid, I always hoped for great Christmases, and we didn’t have them. My brother and sister would come back to wherever I was with my mom, and they’d be fighting and ruining the holiday. I would still be like You know what? I just want to have the best time.”

On industry artists writing their own music: “A lot of artists say they write, but they don’t really write. No offense to anybody, that’s just what I’ve seen.”

On her apparent preference for younger men: “I haven’t had that many, but there has been a variety pack. I’ve only been with five people in my life, so I’m kind of a prude, honestly, compared to most others in the field.”

On the best birthday present she’s ever gotten: “I don’t have birthdays.”

On her advice for taking a good selfie: “Let someone else take the picture. Unpurse your lips!!! Ugh.

[From Cosmo]

I love her. I’m not a Mariah stan usually, but all of her quotes cracked me up. She’s so mad that the youths get recording contracts after simply putting up YouTube videos. She’s so mad that people claim to be songwriters and they definitely aren’t. And the Christmas quote broke me heart a little bit and made me understand her – she’s all about Christmas because of her own sh-tty childhood. All she wanted for Christmas was a nice, happy Christmas. And she never got that when she was a kid, so now she tries to give some Christmas magic to herself and other people. I would imagine her kids have PERFECT Christmases, don’t you?

Oh, and she’s only been with five people? I believe it. I just can’t believe she told her number to Cosmo!

Photos courtesy of Cosmopolitan, photos sent from promotional Cosmo email.