Yesterday, Gabourey Sidibe explained to us how she has always been awesome and we were all like, "Duh, girl! Wanna get some drinks later?" And that was that. Today, we learn about a diva whose life has seen its own fair share of ups and downs. A diva who may or may not has been known to shake her fist defiantly at the sky and cry, "Why is my life like an oversalted pork rind?" A diva, who has, post-Precious, found a wellspring of confidence, a new lust for life. Mariah Carey has discovered that for a boost of morale, she needs to put down her concealer and start getting real. With herself and with the world.

('’) She tells Contactmusic, "I think it was crucial to dress down [for Precious]. It was tough because making music videos is so different with the costumes, the angles, the lighting, stuff like that. In Precious, we sat in a fluorescent dentist's office and it was the worst-lit scene of the movie. The over-lighting emphasises the dark stuff under your eyes." Still doesn't explain that barely-there 'stache, though.

But at least her turn as a dogged-looking social worker makes her feel better about herself as a pop star: "I guess now I'll feel better about myself when I'm dressed normally at my house and walk past a mirror and see myself. I'll be like, well I've looked worse." Uncertain is the subtle dig at social workers everywhere subject to such harsh lights, lacking luxuries like L'Oreal under-eye creams.

The tenderest sticking point of how Carey identifies with the film and makes the heart-rending story of Precious all about herself: "The first relationship I was in, without realizing it at the time, was abusive emotionally. That is in the past, but that helped me get to a place where I could grow and use that stuff in my work." Ah, yes, so that's what your hit single, "H.A.T.E.U.", performed live on Letterman below, is about, isn't it?