Mariah Carey has has announced that her secret name is Mimi.

The 34-year-old singer says it is the nickname known only to "those closest to me", but now feels ready to let her "guard down" and reveal it publicly.

In a message to her HoneyBFly fan club, she addressed her fans as "Dear Lambs" and informed them:

It read: "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."

She continued: "I now feel I can honestly say 'this is me, the real me, take it or leave it.'"

Carey's new single - "Say Something" featuring Snoop Dogg - will start spinning on radio in December.

The Emancipation of Mimi, Carey's 10th studio album, is her first since 2002's Charmbracelet.