Rihanna Names Mariah Carey Her Biggest Musical Inspiration: "I Identified With Her"

15 November 2012, 09:03 | Updated: 15 November 2012, 09:47

The 'Diamonds' singer also says she now draws inspiration from "the weirdest things".

Rihanna has named Mariah Carey as one of her biggest musical inspirations while growing up and says she now tries to draw her own inspiration from "everything" around her.

The 'Where Have You Been' singer named 'My All' star Mariah as one of her idols as a youngster because of how much she identified with the pop star, and has opened up on now being inspired by "the weirdest things".

"I remember looking up to people like Mariah Carey," Rihanna revealed on The Ellen Show this week. "I identified with her in so many ways.

"She was bi-racial, she was also young and I remember just hearing her story and really being connected to it," the 'We Found Love' star recalled. "Now, I moved to America and I started listening to pop music and rock music and all these other bands [and] artists that I never knew about from the eighties, the seventies.

"I draw inspiration from everything, even if it's weird, there's always something you can find," Rihanna explained. "The weirdest things are sometimes the coolest."

Rihanna performed at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show earlier this month, as seen below (Credit: PA):

Rihanna is currently preparing to launch her seventh studio album next week, a record called 'Unapologetic', which boasts collaborations with the likes of Eminem, David Guetta and even her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown.

This week Rihanna announced plans to embark on the UK leg of her 'Diamonds' world tour in June 2013 with a five-date tour, and will release 'Unapologetic' on 19th November.