Mariah Carey shares the stage with six-year-old namesake

MARIAH CAREY shared the spotlight with a six-year-old girl at one of her shows in Sydney, Australia this week (ends06Jan13) after learning the youngster was named in her honor.

The pop superstar is currently touring Down Under and on Thursday night (03Jan13), Carey brought special guest Mariah Cini onto the stage at the city's Allphones Arena.

Cini's father Chris met the singer on her 1998 Australian tour and subsequently named his daughter after her, and Carey repaid him by treating the little girl to a turn on stage and dedicating her song Close My Eyes to her.

Chris says, "Mariah Carey is truly a beautiful, genuine person. She's protective of her fans and she's not above herself at all. I knew when we were having a baby girl that she would be my Mariah Grace."

Mariah, six, adds, "I'm so excited because I finally get to meet my namesake. I've always liked her, from when I was born, basically... Dad always said if she came back (to Australia) we'd go to visit her and I couldn't believe it. I know I'm one of the luckiest fans in Australia."

Carey finished her three shows in Sydney on Friday night (04Jan13) and wraps up the tour in Melbourne on Saturday (05Jan13).