The 37-year-old singer is desperate to find a husband so she can settle down and start a family, and isn't prepared to have a baby out of wedlock.

She said: "If I were to have a child, I would want to be married with a stable family environment. Not to say that's how everyone has to do it but it's the way I want to do things.

"My parents divorced when I was young and I'm not saying it was unstable but it's not ideal either."

When asked about her current romantic status, Mariah - who was previously married to former Sony Records boss Tommy Mottola - replied: "I don't know how to answer that."

The 'We Belong Together' singer has also advised troubled stars such as Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan to turn to religion to overcome their problems.

She added to US TV show 'The View': "If you're not spiritually centred you're kind of back and forth. But you know, not everybody is at that point, and maybe some people have to reel themselves in to get to that point.

"Prayer is what works for me. Reading the Bible works for me because knowledge is power."

Mariah is due to release a new album in the next few months, although she has yet to decide on a title.

She said: "It's hard for me to sit here and talk about it without sounding like I'm bragging, but I'm in love with this album.

"We haven't got a title yet but it's a really fun record."