Mariah Carey has emancipated herself from most-but not all-of her clothing as the covergirl for Playboy’s March issue.

Leaked photos from the shoot made their way onto the Internet last week, showing a shapely (and undoubtedly airbrushed) Carey strutting her stuff in a skimpy flesh-colored bathing suit.

Rumors that the singer would be making an appearance in Playboy had been floating around for several weeks. On Friday, a Playboy spokesperson confirmed to E! News that Carey would indeed be featured on the cover of the magazine, which hits newsstands on Feb. 9.

Carey’s spread will accompany a feature on the “Sexiest Comeback,” for which she provided the answers to 20 “revealing” questions.

The “We Belong Together” singer’s decision to pose for the magazine comes on the heels of her legal battle to block adult-film actor Mary Carey from trademarking her name for video and audio recordings.

In court documents filed last month, the singing Carey expressed concern that her fans might confuse her with the Carey featured in oeuvres such as Lesbian Big Boob Bangeroo 2-a contention laughed off by the porn star,

“It seems humorous that a musician as popular as Mariah feels her millions of fans might purchase a Mary Carey adult DVD instead of a copy of The Emancipation of Mimi because they are confused by the name,” the other Carey told avn.com last month.

However, with her foray into not-quite-nude modeling, it’s possible that the Grammy-winning Carey could be upping the odds of being mistaken for her porn star nemesis. (A clever legal strategy, perhaps?)

Aside from taking a turn in Playboy, Carey is up for two awards at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards next month: Best R&B Song and Best R&B Female Vocal Performance for “Don’t Forget About Us.”

Carey is also rumored to be making a special guest appearance on American Idol at some point this season, though nothing has been confirmed by the talent competition.

Credit: E! Online