Rihanna has named Mariah Carey as her biggest musical inspiration.

The Bajan superstar, who this week announced details of her 777 tour, told The Ellen Show that she always looked up to the American Idol judge when she was growing up:

"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.”

But the 24-year-old, who recently premiered the video for her new single, 'Diamonds,' also added that she now has a much wider range of influences:

"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 '80s, the '70s.

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