Mariah Carey - Mariah: 'Call Me Mimi'

MARIAH CAREY has become the latest singer to adopt a new name - and she's chosen to call herself MIMI.

With JENNIFER LOPEZ dubbing herself J.LO, JANET JACKSON taking on the moniker of DAMITA JO and MADONNA asking to be referred to as ESTHER, Carey will now be using her private nickname in the title of her upcoming album, THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI.

In a letter posted on her website on Thursday (18NOV04) Carey writes, "My album title has leaked out way before I intended. Knowing that the title was very different for me and might cause some confusion, I had a whole explanation to go along with the press release which was supposed to come out in February, but basically that got foiled.

"So here it is... Mimi is a very personal nickname only used by those closest to me... just one of those little things that I've kept for myself in an attempt to have some delineation between a public persona and a private life.

"By naming the album The Emancipation of Mimi I am letting my guard down and inviting my fans to be that much closer to me.

"Most importantly, I am celebrating the fact that I've grown into a person and artist who no longer feels imprisoned by my insecurities or compelled to try and live up to someone else's vision of 'Mariah Carey'.

"For the first time in my life, I feel free and unashamed to be who I really am. And that's what the music of this album and it's title reflect."

The album is due to hit stores on 22 March (05).