Mariah Carey’s come a long way since Glitter. The powerhouse, who stunk up the box office with the critically-panned bomb in 1998, is set to be recognized for her outstanding performance as dowdy social in the Oscar-bound Precious: Based on the Novel Push By Sapphire.

The five-time Grammy-award winner is set to receive the Breakthrough Performance Award at the 21st Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala next year.

The event, hosted by Entertainment Tonight correspondent Mary Hart, will be held at the Palm Springs Convention Center on Jan. 5.

“We’re delighted to be able to present the Breakthrough Performance Award to the extraordinary, very beautiful and versatile Mariah Carey, who, in a critically acclaimed role, completely transformed herself from a glamorous music icon to a forthright social worker for the role of Ms. Weiss in ‘Precious,’” festival chairman Harold Matzner said Monday.