Mariah Carey has admitted that she envies the free spirit of soul singer Joss Stone.

"Joss is just so sweet, talented, pretty - and most of all, so free," Mariah told The Mirror.

"I was in a very controlling marriage to Tommy Mottola when I was her age, so I couldn't express myself the way she does. But I think she's just fabulous."

The pair met each other for the first time when performing for Live 8 last weekend.

"She does come across as a bit of an idiot on TV, but she's actually quite nice," Joss explained earlier this week. "She's all smiley and really lovely".

Carey is expected to hit the number one spot with her latest single, We Belong Together, in this week's charts.