Mariah happy to be an icon for outcasts

Mariah Carey has claimed that she is a role model for social outcasts.

The singer thought that she did not fit in anywhere when she was younger, and can easily empathise with fans who feel the same way.

"I felt very much like an outcast when I was younger. No matter where I went, there was always this sense of not really falling into place or into one category," Carey told Parade magazine. "I moved around a lot when I was growing up, so nobody knew me and I was never one thing or the other.

"Being biracial, I didn't really have somebody to look at and say, 'Okay, this person is exactly the same as me, and they're out there.'"

Mariah revealed that she refuses to forget about her old struggles because they provide her with an important connection to her fanbase.

She continued: "A lot of kids have said that to me, 'Until you put your first record out, I didn't feel like there was anybody that was the same as me.' People who don't feel like they fit in can identify with me.

"I promised myself when I was a little girl that I would never forget what it felt like to be a kid. I never wanted to grow up and be out of touch with what that feels like."