Mariah Carey Dazzles at the Palm Springs International Film Festival

Last night's star-studded Palm Springs International Film Festival kicked off with a gala to end all galas as the show honoring Carey was led entirely by the always entertaining superstar herself, Mariah Carey.

Carey looked fabulous as she made her way down the red carpet in a Herve Leger bandage dress. By now you've heard that the singer gave a spirited acceptance speech last night and whether it was simple nerves, excitement or the bubbly, Ms. Carey was enjoying her time to shine as she descended on the Southern California desert event to claim her award for Breakthrough Actress for her outstanding performance in the critically acclaimed film Precious.

The multi-Grammy winning songbird stopped and chatted with Tonic about how acting has long been a passion (more than singing!).

"Well," she told me on the red carpet, "there were certain people who told me, 'You can't do that, you won't do that, you're not allowed to do that' and then turning around and saying 'You just sing.' And look, singing is great, it's just great for me. I love it, I will always love it, it's been very good to me. But I always wanted to act since I was a little girl ... and this performance just worked. Everyone keeps asking but it was regardless of the look and the make-up.”

I also got a chance to ask her why it's within her to give back to those less fortunate. Like just a few weeks ago, when she gave underprivileged children of Denver a Christmas they never expected.

“That meant a lot for me to see them so happy.” she said of the special event she hosted for 35 Denver kids during Christmas. “We had Santa there, the kids were great and amazing. My husband was there, it was so special. A lot of those kids had been abused and molested and difficult things that goes along with my movie. It was touching just to see them smile.”

“I feel compelled to give back," she said. "Especially with children ... especially, to help as much as I can, and people might think, 'Oh, Denver doesn't have any children who need help. It's everywhere. Just because I was in Aspen, I'm not a diva. What they are living through is real. Denver let us use a wonderful center and they were able to play, swim and do a lot of stuff in a safe environment. It was my pleasure really.”

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