Mariah Carey goes topless for Paper mag after admitting she has 'always had low self-esteem'

Mariah Carey is bringing the glamour!

The 47-year-old has stripped down -- and added some major bling -- for Paper's Las Vegas issue. Sporting her trademark honey curls, fishnet stockings, and a gemstone tummy chain, the iconic singer looks every bit Sin City on the magazine's cover.

Mimi is one of the publication's four cover stars this month -- Backstreet Boys, Ricky Martin, and Jennifer Lopez also cover the mag -- in a similarly over-the-top fashion.

The mother-of-two just wrapped Mariah: #1 to Infinity -- her first-ever Las Vegas residency -- which saw her perform all 18 of her No. 1 hits at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

It's certainly a far cry from her early days as a "broke" aspiring singer, something she recently discussed with Page Six during an appearance at Madison Square Garden.

"I remember it not being easy getting a record deal," Mariah recalled. "Making demos in the middle of the night, sleeping on the floor in the studio, being broke with no food."

Despite her international stardom, she says that even now, confidence doesn't come easy.

"I just feel like I am a regular human being and I deserve the same respect as anybody else," she said. "I have always had low self-esteem, and people do not recognise that."

She also recalled how, as a child, struggling to feel like she belonged led her to music.

"Growing up different, being biracial, having the whole thing where I did not know if I fit in," she explained. "That is why music became such a big part of my life, because it helped me overcome those issues."

She added, "Sometimes it is hard to let your guard down."

Mariah called off her engagement to James Packer last October. She later broke her silence on the split telling Ellen DeGeneres, "Everything happens for a reason. Things are the way they are."