With her other worldly pipes, a lusty younger husband, and a record-shattering album, Mariah Carey is on the verge of all-encompassing world domination. But as Dan Crane quickly finds out, that doesn't mean she keeps regular office hours
"Do you hate me?" asks Mariah Carey, absorbing me into her well-toned figure with a firm hug. "I'm so sorry I'm late," she says, gazing into my eyes as she pulls away and flutters both hands in the air to illustrate what I can only assume is her rationale. "The nails are still drying!"
It's 12:37 A.M. I'm in the living room of a sprawling suite on a high floor of the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons in Los Angeles, and "Mimi" is, in fact, over two and a half hours late for our Friday night interview. It's classic diva: Make journalist cool heels down stairs in hotel bar while Mimi - what...? Has her nails done? Yes.
Why don't I mind? Unlike today's breed of talentless manufactured star churning out pop drivel, Mariah has been paying her dues for nearly 20 years - and the dividends continue to roll in. With the April release of her latest album, E=MC², and its tongue-in-cheek sing-along "Touch My Body," the seven-octave vocal acrobat topped Elvis' record for most No. 1 Billboard chart singles. Now, with 18 No. 1's, it's likely she'll soon bump the record-holding Beatles (who have 20) from their top spot, all - with the exception of just one track - with songs she's either written or cowritten. Her eponymous debut was released in 1990 and went platinum nine times; she's put out 10 more studio albums since and is the third-highest-selling female artist, behind Barbra Streisand and Madonna. She escaped a disastrous marriage to a former Sony record exec Tommy Mottola and survived an "emotional breakdown" in 2001. With 2005's The Emancipation of Mimi, the biggest-selling record of that year, she led a comeback coup, nearly erasing our memories of the critically and publicly eviscerated 2001 film and accompanying soundtrack train wreck known as Glitter.
And for me, at this late hour on a Friday night, it's no small compensation that at 38, her youthful face radiates an irresistible blend of beauty and charmed innocence. Poured into perfectly fitting Louis Vuitton jeans ("The new Lou-ees," she declares, in her self-mocking, outer-borough accent) topped with "an old sweatshirt from 1991" over a black Wolford bodysuit, she ensconces herself on one side of a love seat, legs extended. Her black patent Azzedine Alaia heels elegantly crossed one ankle over the other, she conjures a hip, fully clothed, modern-day version of Titan's Venus of Urbino.
Most of all, Venus Mimi seems happy - "festive", as she says. Why shouldn't she be? With another hit record under her belt and two new movies (Tennessee, which has already garnered her decent reviews on the festival circuit, and a cameo in the Adam Sandler vehicle You Don't Mess With the Zohan), and having just been named one of Time's 100 most influential people in the world - complete with gushing tribute penned by her hero, Stevie Wonder - Mariah has plenty of reasons to celebrate. Oh, and there's that recent little surprise marriage on the island of Eleuthera to 27-year-old actor-rapper Nick Cannon, who's slumbering in the next room, I'm told. The new Mister is certainly a sound sleeper ("Nothing can wake him up," Carey says), considering the loud barking that occasionally erupts from behind the bedroom door.
Though I've been warned of M.C.'s nocturnal reputation, I foolishly begin our conversation by asking the night owl if she's tired.
"Do I look good?" she responds in a silky voice. CONTINUE»
Madame Butterfly
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