AceShowbiz - Mariah Carey will follow pop peer Jennifer Lopez's lead when she gives birth for the first time later this year - she's expecting boy and girl twins. Lopez gave birth to her babies Max and Emme two years ago and now Carey has told U.S. publication Life & Style she is expecting mixed-sex twins.

The pop superstar tells the publication, "Even before we announced it was twins, I was trying to keep everything gender-neutral because I didn't want to impose an identity on them too soon. There were fan contests on Twitter about what gender they are and rumors about them being two boys or two girls - but nobody guessed this!"

Carey's husband Nick Cannon revealed the couple was expecting twins in December 2010. The babies are due in April this year.

The first person to learn Mariah Carey was expecting twins was U.S. leader Barack Obama. Carey convinced her husband Nick Cannon to keep it a secret until the couple had met the President and his wife Michelle at an official function last year.

The dad-to-be tells Access Hollywood, "She was the one that was like, 'Wouldn't that be a great story to be able to share with our children that the first people to know that they were going to be people was the President and the First Lady'."

But Obama seemed to know, as he opened the conversation with the Cannons with the question, "Is it true you're expecting twins?" Cannon adds, "He has this weird... He's the President; he knows these things."