After more than three decades at the top of the music industry, Mariah Carey could be forgiven for resting on her past glories and enjoying the fruits of her labour.
With 220m records sold worldwide and the most No 1 singles by a solo artist in the US, the singer-songwriter has racked up six Grammys, 10 American Music Awards and 19 World Music Awards, as well as several Las Vegas residencies and tours.
Last week she was awarded the Video Vanguard Award, in recognition of her successful career, at the MTV VMAs. Ariana Grande praised her talents, saying Mariah had “left an irrevocable impact on music history with her tone, technique and sound.”
Now she is back with a 16th studio album — her first in seven years — and is as passionate as ever about her music and the bond she shares with her fans.
“I just love it all,” she says of the album, Here For It All. “It feels so brand new and exciting. I have been playing tracks live and the response has been amazing. I hope all the fans love it as much as I do.”
She has 14-year-old twins, Moroccan and Monroe, from her relationship with her second husband, Nick Cannon, the US comedian. Being a mother is a role that takes centre stage in her life and she tries to bring her son and daughter on tour.
“I always want them with me, but it's not always possible,” she says. “They come with me a lot, which is great, but I do find it really hard being away from home for too long if they can't be with me.
“They are teenagers now. They have their own things going on, but they are still my babies. I'm just Mum to them which is how I like it. But they understand what I do, and I think they are proud of me. I'm proud of them.”
While Mariah's famous five-octave vocal range can be traced back to her opera singer mother Patricia, her own children aren't showing any signs of following her into the music industry yet. “They both love music, but I don't know,” she says. “If there's a song they like they will sing it, but that's as far as it goes right now.”
Despite a reputation as a diva with a penchant for figure-hugging dresses and oversized diamonds, Mariah, 56, keeps it real during downtime with her children and often manages to go unrecognised when they are out and about.
“We love amusement parks,” she reveals. “We love to go to the parks, like Disney. I just tone it down and go. I can go to the store just fine once I tone it down and I have my regular clothes on.”
The youngest of three children born to Patricia, an opera singer of Irish descent and Alfred Carey, an aeronautical engineer with African-American and Venezuelan heritage, young Mariah dreamt of stardom and signed her first record deal in 1988.
She released her eponymous first album two years later — which went on to sell 15 million copies — and established herself as one of the world's biggest recording stars, with hits including “Dreamlover” and “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which remains part of the soundtrack of the festive season.
Her first single from the new album is called “Type Dangerous.” Could this be a reference to her romantic life?
“The song and the video are really me playing a character but there is obviously some of me in there. Am I attracted to the dangerous type? Maybe a little. I like the rollercoaster kind of danger maybe,” she says.
Despite her success and experience, she admits that the process of creating new material isn't straightforward. “I was writing and recording songs all that time, but we never quite had something right for the album until now,” she explains. “It took a while but I'm excited that the album is done. I'm really proud of it.
“When I started out, I didn't have the creative freedom I do now so in many ways releasing an album feels even more special now. To have my own creative freedom and to work with a great team of people that I love is just such a joy. I never take that for granted.”
