Mariah Carey: I Look 'Rancid' in Precious

Precious star talks self-confidence, and her hatred of yoga

(NEWSER) - Now that Precious has catapulted Gabourey Sidibe to fame, the former psychology major from Harlem finds herself wearing fancy dresses, attending premieres and parties, and doing photo shoots—and she loves it all. Highlights from her Harper’s Bazaar interview:

• On photo shoots: “I feel like a model. It justifies everyone in my life who told me I wouldn't be anything until I lost weight. It justifies that little girl who cried because she didn't think she could be in front of the camera.”
• On self-esteem: “People always ask me, 'You have so much confidence. Where did that come from?' It came from me. One day I decided that I was beautiful, and so I carried out my life as if I was a beautiful girl.”

Take your pick: Bear, Moroccan, or Zuzu

(NEWSER) - Celebrities tend to choose some very, er, interesting names for their offspring, but this year two names stood out: Bear Blu Jarecki, born to Alicia Silverstone, and Moroccan Cannon, born to Mariah Carey. Those two tied for the worst celebrity baby boy names of 2011 on a new BabyNames.com poll, ABC News reports. The worst baby girl name "award" went to Zuzu Audrey Peterson, daughter of a former Top Chef Just Desserts contestant. Poll respondents also didn't like the name Mirabella Bunny, daughter to Bryan Adams, or Kevin James' choice for his son, Kannon. More»

New music video not exactly well-received

(NEWSER) - Justin Bieber teamed up with Mariah Carey for a new version of her '90s holiday classic, "All I Want for Christmas Is You," and the results are just about as bad as you'd expect. A sampling of the reactions:

• "Why has the Bieb launched a campaign to traumatize everyone who's old enough to remember the '90s?" moans Margaret Hartmann on Jezebel . His Boyz II Men video was bad enough, but "now he's released a Macy's commercial disguised as a Mariah Carey duet—though we used that term loosely because it sounds like Bieber is just wailing over the old recording of the song."

So Carey Never Got Naked in Front of Husband

(NEWSER) - Most of us would use the word "rancid" to describe long-expired milk. Mariah Carey used it to describe ... her pregnant body. The singer was so disgusted by her pregnant form that she wouldn’t let husband Nick Cannon see her unless she was covered up. “I had a towel on in the tub,” she tells People . “You think I would let Nick see me looking rancid like that?” She adds that she didn’t look at the scale while pregnant because she didn’t “want to feel that bad. I had, like, no bones for a while. It's important to me to feel my bones!” More»

Plus: Jessica Simpson's weird pregnancy craving

(NEWSER) - Mariah Carey is down a whopping 70 pounds since giving birth to twins Moroccan and Monroe six months ago, she told Rosie O’Donnell yesterday. After first shedding 40 pounds of "water weight", she went on Jenny Craig (which is now, apparently, known as just “Jenny”) to lose the remaining 30. Perhaps the oddest detail from People ’s story: Carey was lowered onto The Rosie Show stage atop a crescent moon. Us has a picture of Carey’s post-baby bod. More»