Mariah Carey thinks James Packer is "spectacular".

Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey

The 'Hero' hitmaker is smitten with her Australian billionaire boyfriend - who she has been dating since the summer - and can't "say enough" good things about him.

Admitting she doesn't normally talk about him much because he is a "private person", she gushed: "He's a great person.

"He's just an incredible guy. He really is a good person, and that's hard to find.

"I think anybody that's a friend of his would say the same thing, if not more, so I can't say enough nice things about him. He's just a spectacular guy."

The 45-year old singer was recently thrilled to receive a diamond necklace from her beau.

She said of the gift: "It was a surprise.

"He's given me one before, so this was like surprise number two."

Meanwhile, Mariah's children, four-year-old Moroccan and Monroe - who she has with ex-husband Nick Cannon - are slowly becoming aware of her superstar status, much to her astonishment.

She told 'Access Hollywood': "My son has started saying, 'You're Mariah Carey.'

"It's like, 'Oh my gosh, I can't handle it.' I don't even know who taught him that. It definitely wasn't me!"