Mariah Carey's time as an 'American Idol' judge was not always easy, and that was due to her ongoing rivalry with fellow judge Nicki Minaj.

The 43 year-old, who once described working for 'Idol' as "in hell with Satan," joined the judging panel for its 12th season in 2012 and didn't return for the following series.

Carey feels she would have served better as a mentor than a judge, and reveals that the millions people who watched the show never saw the real Mariah.

In an interview with New York radio station Z100, the 'Touch My Body' singer insists, "I should've been a mentor on the show and that's it. I should've been the Jimmy Iovine."

Interscope Records' boss, Iovine, would critique each artist and give them feedback on how to improve their performances, he served as a mentor for 2011 until 2013.

Carey went on to offer her own criticism of Iovine's role as she states, "There needed to be that person that was brutally honest, but the brutality didn't have to be so visceral."

Adding, "We didn't need to be brutal to people just to make ourselves feel bigger."

Mariah then continued to blast the show for all the unnecessary drama that occurred, mainly between her and Minaj.

"I felt that going into the direction of making it a 'reality show' isn't what I signed up for," she said. "The real Mariah was so not there."

During her interview with the New York based radio station Carey also debuted her new track 'You're Mine (Eternal)' from her forthcoming album 'The Art of Letting Go' which is due out on May 6th 2014.

Watch Mariah Carey's interview below