Celebrity Mound

Mariah Carey is known for her five-octave range, and she says her voice has gotten stronger, thanks to pregnancy.

The 42-year-old gave birth to fraternal twins in April via C-section. She recently lost 30 pounds by following the Jenny Craig diet, and says the process has enhanced her vocals.

“Right now I feel like pregnancy actually helped me vocally,” Carey said in an interview Wednesday. “At this moment my voice is in great shape.”

The Grammy winner is also working on new music, which she said is partly inspired by her pregnancy.

Carey made the comments as she was announced as the new brand ambassador for Jenny Craig, which is now called Jenny. The singer said after giving birth she was “approached by a lot of different companies,” but that the folks at Jenny “understood me.”

During her pregnancy Carey dealt with gestational diabetes and toxemia. She says “you couldn’t make me go through that again.

“I knew I was going to gain weight during the pregnancy, but I didn’t think about the pain the weight would cause,” she said. “I didn’t know if I was going to be able to walk again … I couldn’t get up out of my chair alone.”

Carey said in addition to eating right, she worked out a lot, though husband Nick Cannon wasn’t her partner in that sense.

“He’s in great shape and he can eat anything he wants (and) I’m jealous of that,” she said. “But sometimes I’m glad `cause he has candy by the bed, and I’ll sneak one of his little candies.”

Carey says her involvement with Jenny – which supports the American Heart Association’s “My Heart. My Life.” initiative – stretches beyond just helping women bounce back from weight gain during pregnancy.

“We just lost Heavy D,” she said of the rapper who collapsed and died Tuesday. “I considered him my friend and … he was (in his) early 40s, so it’s serious. It’s really serious.”

Mariah Carey made her first public appearance at a New York club less than three months after giving birth to twins — and seemed back to her divatastic ways, being fanned by a minion and ordering champagne to be delivered to her in the bathroom.

The svelte-looking singer, who had her twins Moroccan Scott and Monroe on April 30, partied at Chelsea hot spot Juliet Supperclub until 2:30 a.m. yesterday morning with two female friends and without hubby Nick Cannon.

Spies said that a glowing Mariah “looked fantastic” in a light brown strapless dress, sipped from a $1,600 bottle of Angel champagne, and happily chatted and posed for photos for fans, but still seemed to have retained a few of her famous diva ways.

One witness said: “Mariah came into the crowded club with a small entourage and was surrounded by people taking photographs. She was smiling, friendly with everyone and seemed relaxed. It seems motherhood is suiting her.

“But her diva ways are definitely still there — it was very hot, and she had a young man fanning her throughout the night with a big red fan.

“She spent a lot of the night dancing, and was nice to anyone who approached her. But the club was very crowded, so she asked if she could have ‘a minute’ of quiet time in the bathroom. The ladies’ was cleared out, and Mariah ordered a $450 bottle of Perrier Jouet, and had a few glasses in the privacy of the bathroom before coming back out to join the masses.”

Mariah, 41, arrived at the club with her personal security, but was also assigned some of the club security staff because the place was so packed. She and her pals were seated at a table next to Black Eyed Peas star apl.de.ap, who was surrounded by women.

A rep for Mariah said: “She was out celebrating with friends and family.” As for her new appearance, “She’s been working out and taking care of her beautiful babies and is just so happy.”

Check out the video clip below: