Since Mariah Carey came on the scene in 1990, she has sold 60 million records worldwide. A third of that was sold in just the last 24 months. As I put this article to bed, her latest album, Daydream, which includes her improbable duet with rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard, had sold 10 million worldwide in only one month's time. That's a whole bunch of success.
She has a six octave vocal range. Her Irish mother is a gifted opera singer and her father is a smart part Venezuelan, part African American engineer. She identifies strongly with the African American part of her mixed genealogy, calling herself an R&B singer despite her pop success.
In a storybook wedding, Mariah married Tommy Mottola, the head honcho of Sony Music, her gigantic record label. Not only did she make Sony Music — and about 8 million other folks — fall in love with her with that magnificent voice of hers, she snatched Tommy, too.
I caught up with Mariah while I was in New York visiting the Sony Music offices. She was in her car going from one meeting to the next. The phone kept dying on us until finally she just had the driver pull over to the side so we could finish our chat.
Our conversation was natural and unrehearsed. I hope you can listen in and get a true feeling of what Mariah is like. I've received letters from readers complaining about her, her lifestyle and her marriage. This is a good way to get to know her, her heart and her inside beauty.
Why do I have to come all the way up here to talk to you? I have to flu to New York to talk to Mariah. (Laugh)
Oh. I didn't know that. See, you have to make the arrangements through me, I won't put you through all the trouble.
I'm telling you. I said, “How come I'm talking to her on the phone?” “How come I wasn't invited to the wedding?” I want to see the house, I want to see everything. How are you doing, girl?
I'm okay. How are you? It's so busy these past few days.
I understand. Well Congratulations! Are you happy?
Yes, thank you. There's so much going on, it's been amazing, really. I can see how everything is just taking off. So, of course, I'm ecstatic about it.
Where are you, in the car going somewhere now?
Yes, I am. I'm sorry.
That's okay.
Am I coming in and out?
No, No, I'm just asking. I know you're running to something else. but we can do this.
Yeah, if I get disconnected, I'll call you right back and then I'll go to a spot and stop so that it won't keep happening.
Now let me ask you a couple of questions. Who took the lead deciding which producers you would work with on your latest album? Did you do that vourself?
Yes.
How did you decide on that?
Basically. I knew I wanted to work with Walter again [That's Walter Afanasieff, a producer who has always worked with Mariah.] I think that he and I have a very good relationship.
This time we're really stressed as far as the production side of things go. We were together working from scratch in the studio as opposed to our writing a song together and him going to San Francisco, doing the track and sending it back to me to put my vocals on. We were there from the beginning of each track. It was, whatever I wanted to end up on the record, ended up on the record. As opposed to it being too late to change anything and saying, “OK, this is fine.” It's more of an accurate representation of what I really wanted.
How long did you all work? How long was it from start to finish with the album?
I guess I started doing it January or February of 95.
You're kidding me! That fast?
Yeah.
What were you doing before, just writing?
Well actually, I did start before that because the summer before that I started working with Jermaine Dupri. We were writing some stuff. He basically lays down the tracks as he's writing. I did the lyrics and then he came back in and we finished the tracks together. Me and his friend Manuel Seal.
Singing with, “Ol' Dirty Bastard,” that was a Puffy thing wasn't it? [Puffy Combs is a brilliant, successful producer
That was Puffy. What happened was, I did the original “Fantasy” record with [producer] Dave Hall. Then when it came time to do the remix, I really wanted to work with Puffy.
He's fabulous isn't he?
He really is.
I am really excited about him. Now, with Ol' Dirty, I understand that you went with him to pick up his welfare check? (Laughs) Did this ever happen?
(Laughs) No, I didn't go with him, I did not go with him. (Laughs) I did see that on MTV, when he went in the limo to pick up the check.
Well, why do people say that you went with him?
They do?
Yeah, that's why I was saying, “Wait a minute, I just don't get that. Where did that come from?”
Why would I go? Like he needs someone to help him carry it out or something.
That's what I was saying. I don't know where that came from. I said, “I don't think so.” Even if Mariah was taken with his rap style, I don't think Tommy [Mottola] would have… I just don't think that would have worked.
No, I didn't make that trip with him.
Did you all actually go in the studio together, or did Puffy add that on [in the studio]?
No, when I first got together with Puffy and played him the record, I told him that I wanted to have ODB [Ol' Dirty Bastard] on it. I think he was a little bit surprised. He was, of course, very into the idea. So, we did what we had to do to put the whole thing together. I couldn't be there, because I was upstate when he wanted to do the record. But, I was on the phone with Corey Rooney, who was in there helping out. He helped to put the whole thing together as well.
Corev Roonev from Prince Markie D?
Yeah.
I love him!
I love him, too.
Tommy loves him. He came to my house and he talked about how he's so close to Tommy.
Yeah.
He's wonderful.
Yeah, he's one of my really close friends, so he helps me out from time to time. He went down there because he knew I couldn't be there. He knew that I had to be a fly on the wall. I was home, up in Bedford and I couldn't come because I was working on something else at that time. I couldn't leave my house. So, I had Corey on the phone and I was listening to the entire process from start to finish. It was crazy. It was like three o' clock in the morning and Tommy was trying to go to sleep. I wouldn't let him go to sleep because when he would fall asleep for a minute, I would call Corey back and be like, “Let me hear it, let me hear it.” Because, I was so excited about it. Then he just kept playing it to me over the phone when [ODB] was in there doing the rhyme. Because, he basically just came in and free-styled on top of the record because that was the first time he heard it.
Was he on the video shoot, or did they just cut him in? Were you there with him?
Yeah, I was there. He just came back to the show at the Garden and he came down, it was really funny.
Why did you choose ODB?
Because, I just love his style.
That kind of singing! Roar!
Yeah, exactly, exactly, I love his voice.
I have to say, that I saw your show when you performed last time in Philadelphia. It was such elegance — you don't show a whole lot of T&A. I was just really impressed with the way you came across. It was like, “You're going to love me for me and my work, and not because I'm fine!”
(Laughs.) I mean, it's fun to dress up more every now and then, whatever you're feeling at the moment. But for me, it's not like going out there and showing everything all the time. Not that I don't show things from time to time, but it's not the main thrust of who I am.
What's happening with mom, now? How is she adjusting to this lifestyle change?
Well, I just got her a house, actually.
What?!
Yeah, right up by me.
Oh, keep her close, huh?
Well, because she was still out on Long Island and it was hard for me to see her. So, actually, what I did was I surprised her. I had talked to her about it. I said, “I want to get a house for you, but right now there's nothing on the market.” So, I made up the whole big lie. It was almost a year ago. So, I said, “What we can do is take some of your stuff out of the house and put it in storage, because when you move, it'Il probably be Januarv or February and there won't be any time.” I said, “It'll be too much snow on the ground to get the piano and all that kind of stuff.” So she thought there was something going on, but then when I sent the people over there, I had them write out a slip and make it like it was going to storage. She had to sign it. So, when she saw that, she said, “Oh, I really didn't think anything was happening then.” So, two weeks later, I took basically a week and a half off and I just decorated the entire house from top to bottom. I got all her old pictures of herself when she was little and her family and stuff and I had them blown up. I did a whole wall with her and her family. Then I got her books and stuff and I put all her books there. I got… just things that would make it seem like she'd been living there her whole life.
You're kidding me! What?!
Yeah, it was crazy. I got all new furniture, but just picked out everything that I knew she'd like. I even got clothes. Even down to the toothbrush and toothpaste.
Ahhh! For real?
I even went so far as to… One of the guys that helped me work on my house, his wife is a really good person. He and his wife are really great. They went there that morning and I said, “Mom, I'm going to have Ronnie and Carol go with us to look at some houses to see if you like anything.”
Oh, my God!
I said, “Let's go pick them up right now and they'll help me, because I don't know anything about houses.” I said, “You know mom, I don't do anything right?” So she was like, “Okay.” So, we got there and I had them making coffee and biscuits and stuff so it would smell like someone's house — really nice when she walks in. So we pull up into the driveway. I knew the kind of house she wanted. She likes to be secluded and she likes very rustic things. So we pull up and she goes, “Oh, Ronnie, you have such a beautiful home.”
Oh my God!!
She said. “It's so beautiful. Carol. What a beautiful home.” Carol was standing in the door. She said, “Come on in, Pat.” And we walked in and she was looking around and saying, “Wow, this is gorgeous!” So all of sudden, I point up to the wall and I go, “Mom, look.” It was her pictures and everything and she just almost fainted.
Oh my God. Mariah!!!
(Laughs) It was the most incredible thing I've ever really been able to do. It just made me feel like everything.
Did she kiss her baby? Did she kiss you all up under the chin and all on the neck?
Yeah, it was like a dream for her, really.
That's great.
It wasn't just like. “Here's your house.” And there's nothing in it and whatever. It was like, it took her hours to walk around and really notice all the details. I even had on the refrigerator little magnets with cats and stuff on it.
That is very ingenious of you. I mean all of your creativity is not just on the album, huh? That is wonderful, I should have had a daughter like this. I've got all hardheads. They don't even remember Mothers' Day. Ronnie and Carol helped you with your home?
Well, Ronnie is a builder, so he just basically organized things with the whole building of the house. We built it from scratch, there was nothing there.
How many bedrooms was that?
People ask me this, and I know it sounds stupid, but I don't even know.
Go home and count, please. (Laughs)
I know, I have to do it. (Laughs)
Did you get any whippings when you were growing up? Were you a good baby?
I was pretty good. I was good.
No whippings?
Not really, maybe once or twice. I blocked it out, though.
Were you smart in school?
No. What they used to write on my report card was, “She's very smart, but she doesn't apply herself unless it's something she likes.” Which was like, creative writing. I was always in the classes with the smart kids. The Honors Creative Writing class. Then I would be in the worst remedial math. I hated math. And my father's an engineer, so he's completely mathematically whatever you call it. He's just amazing as far as that goes.
I didn't know that. Is he still working as an engineer?
Yeah.
Did you know that T-Boz from TLC, her father is a rocket scientist? He's the last one to check the rocket booster before it goes up.
No.
Very few people know that. Where's your father now? Is he in New York?
He's in Washington.
Oh, he's down there with me?
Yeah.
Is mommy working now?
She's still vocal coaching.
What was it like growing up in your neighborhood? Where did you grow up?
I grew up all over New York and Long Island, basically. I moved like ten times with my mom. I didn't have one neighborhood.
Why were you all moving so much?
I don't know. I'll have to ask her that one of these days. I think because she didn't own a house or anything and sometimes we didn't have a lot of money. We had to stay with friends a lot of times.
You slept on the floor at times, didn't you?
Yeah.
With Brenda [K. Starr], I know you all were sleeping on floors, struggling and everything else.
Yeah.
Okay, Let me ask you something. Do you have plans for children?
How come everybody asks me that?
Okay, I won't ask you that!
No, I'm just kidding. No, especially right now, I'm just doing my career thing. I'll do that when I can completely focus on it.
Well, you got dogs and horses now, right?
Oh yeah and I just got a new one. Tommy got me a new kitten. He's beautiful.
Do you have dogs?
Yes, I have four dogs.
What's the kitten's name?
The kitten's name is Puff. That was the name that the breeder gave him because he's like a little puff ball. So we called Puffy [Combs, the producer] and I said, “Hey, guess what? My cat's named after you.”
That's cute. Okay, did you like older men when you were coming up? Because you were always mature.
Yeah. I mean, I don't think I had any specifications you know. But, I think people know whenever it's the right person.
What kind of boyfriends did you have when you were younger? Did you have time for any?
I did, but really, music was my priority, always, so I never took it seriously like anything that was going to last.
Did you go out on dates?
I had boyfriends, but I didn't really go on dates.
What kind of movies do you like, and hobbies?
I just like anything that's entertaining, basically.
You like horror movies?
If they have a good plot, I like them.
You don't get scared?
Naw. The only movie I ever got really scared from was “Nightmare on Elm Street.” (Laughs.)
(Laughs.) Do you watch talk shows?
I do sometimes. I really don't have that much free time. Like, when I was in the studio, we would keep on the [O.J.] trial and all that.
Oh, Okay. When you go out on the road, who'll do the rap like Ol' Dirty Bastard?
I don't know. There's no substitute for him. I just did a show at the Garden [Madison Square Garden] and he came by. I met his family and everything and that was cool.
I ran into Trey Lorenz [he did a duet with Mariah] down in Atlanta at Jermaine Dupri's birthday party. Do you like to party?
I love to, but I rarely get a chance to go out. Actually, I'm getting ready to have a Halloween party soon, a costume party. That's my favorite thing that I do every year and everybody comes. A lot of different record company people and different friends of mine. But everybody has a great time because you become someone totally different and a lot of people, you can't even recognize them.
What were you last year?
Last year I was a cave women.
Really? You know what you're going to be this year, or you don't want to tell?
Well, by the time this comes out it'll be already over anyway, right?
Yep.
So, I'm being… Remember I just told you about the kitten I just got?
Yes.
I'm being a version of my kitten. I'm being Cat Woman.
Mariah, you play the piano right?
A little bit, yeah.
Any other instruments?
No, I really tried taking piano lessons this past year. That was one thing that was really important for me to do because I write so much. I just have a lot of melody ideas that come to me so often. They come to me so quickly. For me to sit down and figure out the chords that I'm hearing in my head takes so long. That's why I work with people who are really good at that. I felt like if I could just learn to be more well versed in that area, it would be a very big thing for me. I used to take piano when I was little and then I gave up because music came so easily. To me, it became like schoolwork and I didn't like it to be such a structured thing.
So what happened this past year? Couldn't you finish the lessons?
Yeah, because then I started recording. It takes all my energy to go into the studio because I'm not just going in singing. I'm writing and producing. It takes up a lot of time. But I did learn a little bit more, so that's a goal.
Do you sing into a tape or something?
Yeah, I sing into a tape recorder. Or, I call up my answering machine and sing into the answering machine.
You're kidding me!
No, so I don't forget it.
Okay, I know you have to go. We'll get together again, though.
Are you in Washington most of the time?
I'm in Washington, girl, and I'm just growing and growing. You know this is amazing because the magazine is seven years old. Do you ever see it?
Yeah, actually, I have a copy right here.
Tell me about Tommy. Dos Tommy overshadow you with his success? I mean, he is successful. (Laughs) Does his success overshadow yours?
I don't think so, I think we're about equal at this point.
How long have you been married now, two years?
Yeah, almost.
Do you like marriage?
Yes, of course.
Well, I love it. I've been married almost 27 years and I think it's just the most wonderful thing.
Wow!
How can you all keep the romance going with both of your busy schedules?
It's very difficult because of our schedules and because he gets up early in the morning and goes to work and I sleep as late as I can because I work so late. Like I told you about when I was on the phone at three o'clock in the morning listening to ODB in the studio and waking him up putting it on speaker phone.
When Corey talked about Tommy so much, that was the first time I had really heard anything about Tommy's character and it gave me some insight into him. Corey was telling me that he just loved him. He said, “I consider him one of my best friends.” I thought that was interesting because you know they live in two different worlds. Now, do you consider yourself in pop or R&B or just Mariah?
I consider myself R&B. I feel very fortunate that I had this success in both pop and R&B. That's what makes me really proud because there are so many boundaries and barriers in life and in music today. I don't know what is pop music today because it's so disjointed in a way. I really wanted to do much more of an R&B album because that's the music that I love.
Having this kind of success, especially at an early age and with the life that you had before, do relatives and friends pull on you? Has that been a tough adjustment? I know, I have grown away from the people that I knew from before. Not because I wanted to, but just because I'm traveling in other circles. How has that affected you? How have you dealt with it? Because people pull on you, saying “Well, you're not here with me anymore, you're not doing this with me, or you're changing.”
Well, it's been very difficult. Of course, there are people who have been with me before who are still with me now who I love and care about. And I think that they truly love and care about me. They don't care about me because of my career and that's the most important thing. But it's so hard to hang onto that because of what you said. That's why it's so precious to me to keep those real people around me and a part of my life. There have been people who have been fair weather friends and who have been very very jealous of me and who I didn't realize were having those negative feelings. I would do anything for someone who's a real friend. I'm that type of person. I'll bring you anywhere with me when I go do my thing. Because friendship is the most important thing, really. I was bringing this certain friend around with me and then I realized she was talking about me behind my back every step of the way. That was very hurtful and very upsetting, but what I did is just basically said, “Look, things could be worse. I should be happy and thankful for what I have and realize that it makes people who are real all the more precious to me.”
Yeah, don't let that get you down sweetie pie. These are your blessings and they're for you. What I tell people who see other people moving ahead or getting a start like you've gotten or Michael Jackson, or T-Boz, or Mary J. Blige, I say you cannot question the blessings that God has chosen to give that individual. You cannot question him, or her. I tell you this because that keeps the pain down for you. Because jealousy is a painful thing.
Right, and I'm sure it's hard for people to see you one way and then this big thing happens to you and they see everybody crowding around you all the time and treating you differently. And if you don't have the right type of character, it probably can make you feel jealous.
Right. I brought that up because I wanted to clear something up before because I knew there had been some problems with you and Brenda. But, I also heard that you had taken care of her child and all these nice things that you had done. But that did not really come out. That was your god-baby, right?
Well, yes. I think her sister is the godmother in the church. But you know. I really cared about Brenda and I wish her well. I saw that she's doing something now with a label.
Oh, great!
Yeah, I saw it run in a Billboard. She is a good person at heart, but like we said, things happen and people change, and success changes people around the person who is having the success. I was always there when she asked me for help and I feel good about that. I really do. I still think, to this day, even though I know that there have been things said that have been very hurtful to me, I have to look at it and say, “Whatever.”
Okay. Now listen sweetie, next time we do this at the house, because I want to see your house. Do you cook?
Tommy cooks.
One more thing, Mariah. The first time I met you, you ate down the joint. Your plate was so full. Do you still eat?
I eat when I can.
Okay, but do you eat fattening foods?
I've gotten a lot better with that, but I'm not going to deprive myself. If I feel like having something that I love, I'm just going to eat it and then I'll go jogging for a half hour the next day.
Oh, so you do jog?
I jog when I can, I don't kill myself to do it.
All right, love. Listen baby, next time we'll do this right and I appreciate it. All the best to you and I'll keep the magazines coming and let you know what we're doing.
Okay, I know you're really busy, but maybe if when I do my show in Washington this time if you happen to be in town and you want to come by, I would love to have you.
OK honey. bye
Bye, take care.