Monday, January 7, 2013
Mariah Carey Talks Twins: Monroe’s a Total Diva and Moroccan's My Pal
Looks like Mariah Carey has a little mini-me on her hands!
And Monroe is just like her mama.
“I call her Miss Monroe, and that kind of dictated her personality,” Mariah says of her daughter. “She’s a total diva. She’s into jewelry. She’s fascinated by jewelry.”
As for Moroccan, whose nickname is “Rock,” he’s a little more laid back.
“He’s my pal,” the "Triumphant" singer shares. “He’ll just watch movies with me. We’ve watched Shrek I don’t know how many times. We watch movies all the time together, relax. He’s more chill.”
It was because of her two babies (she also refers to them famously as “dem babies”) that Mariah felt it necessary to hire more security when she got into a heated argument with co-American Idol judge, Nicki Minaj, during an audition in North Carolina in October. Mariah claims others heard the hip-hop singer threaten to “shoot” her if she had a gun.
“I just felt it was the appropriate thing to do. Sitting there on the road with two babies, I’m not going to take any chances,” she says, adding, “It felt like an unsafe work environment. Anytime anybody’s reeling threats at somebody, you know, it’s not appropriate. I’m a professional. I’m not use to that type of environment.”
She continues, “For all the drama, I hope it helps the show. I think it’s a classic, classy show and it didn’t need this.”
And the drama is something she’s certainly not concentrating on.
“For me, ultimately, this is about the kids, the contestants,” Mariah says. “I’ve been blessed to live my dream more than half my life, so I want to help give that back to someone else.”
To see Mariah’s full interview with Barbara, tune in to Nightline tonight, Jan. 7, at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC — and make sure you watch the songstress when she debuts as a judge on the 12th season of American Idol, airing Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
(Life&Style)
LambzRus Exclusive: Inside the Australia Tour Book!
A very special thanks to Jag for sharing these! :)
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Tommy Mottola claims responsibility for Mariah's success
Even after their divorce, Carey spent years working through the trauma of what she called an emotionally and mentally abusive relationship. "For me, to really get out was difficult," she said. "It was not only a marriage, but a business thing where the person was in control of my life."
And as Mottola himself makes clear in his new memoir, "Hitmaker", out January 15 - just one day before Carey makes her debut as a judge on "American Idol" - he still claims ownership over his ex.
In October 1988, Carey was a struggling 18-year-old singer from Long Island, living in a one-bedroom in Manhattan with two roommates. She was tough, a result of her chaotic, complicated childhood. Carey was born in Huntington, LI; her mother, Patricia, was an Irish-American opera singer, and her father, Alfred, a black Venezuelan aeronautics engineer. Patricia was disowned by her family for marrying outside her race, and the couple was often the target of racially motivated attacks - their dogs poisoned, their house set on fire.
When Carey was three, her parents divorced. She and her older brother, Morgan, lived with their mother, while her older sister, Allison, moved in with their father. As a child, Carey moved around a lot; this, coupled with her multiracial identity, caused her great confusion. "I always felt different from everybody else," she has said. "If you look a certain way, everybody goes, 'White girl'. And I'd go, 'No. That's not what I am.' " She has said she does not consider herself black or white.
From a very early age, Carey was obsessed with music, and her mother became her informal vocal coach. At Harborfields HS in Greenlawn, LI, Carey was ditching class to work on songs with a couple of friends. She was absent so often that other kids called her "Mirage", and in her high-school yearbook she wrote that her interests were "sleeping late, Corvettes and gueidos [sic]".
Not much time elapsed between high school and her meeting Tommy Mottola, then the 39-year-old head of Sony Music. The official version, and the one that Mottola retells in his book, has him at an industry party when Brenda K. Starr, then a B-list singer for whom Carey had sung backup, passed him a copy of Carey's demo recording; he listened to it in the car on his way home.
"An unbelievable energy was running though me," he writes, "screaming, 'Turn the car around! That may be the best voice you've ever heard in your life!' " Three days later, Mottola called Carey in for a meeting. In truth, Carey had already been offered a $30,000 deal with Warner, but Mottola simply upped the figure by $50,000. He told her he would make her the biggest pop star in the world - bigger than Whitney, bigger than Madonna. She'd just have to get rid of her collaborator, who was also her boyfriend.
Mottola also felt that he and Carey had "great chemistry", as he puts it. So even though he was married with two children, Carey, "flirtatious from the moment I set eyes on her", caused him to act against his better judgment. And he acted like a teenager himself, going in to work and gossiping with fellow executives about the details of his nights with Carey.
It never occurs to him, all these years later, that the power imbalance was inherently toxic. Mottola's therapist, however, did, and repeatedly told him not to pursue his young protégée. "You don't understand!" he'd tell his shrink, according to the book. "Mariah is going to be the biggest star in the world. She's going to be as big as Michael Jackson."
Undeterred, his therapist kept telling Mottola that Carey was still just a teenage girl, one barely out of a rough upbringing, who was in no way his equal - chronologically, mentally, emotionally, professionally. What the shrink didn't understand was that Mottola wanted exactly that: an empty vessel, someone he could create and then unleash upon the world as the ultimate Tommy Mottola production.
After signing Carey, Mottola took control of everything: hiring Carey's producers, songwriters, arrangers. He spent $1.8 million on her debut record and when he saw the first cut of her debut video, for "Vision of Love", he demanded it be scrapped and spent another $500,000 on re-shoots. By the end of 1991, Carey's eponymous debut record had sold more than 15 million copies, making it the best-selling album of the year.
Carey was just 21 years old. She wanted to take a break, to have a minute to enjoy her success, to party and shop and travel, but Mottola felt she needed to keep working, and back in the studio she went. "My feeling was that there'd be plenty of time for Mariah to celebrate just a little ways down the road," he writes. "I'm not talking 10 years, just a few."
Mottola felt particularly vindicated when he escorted Carey to her first-ever Grammy ceremony, where she won two awards - and not because she was his biggest project, but because his shrink was probably watching. "I can only now wonder about the expression on my therapist's face when... she saw Mariah thank God for that first Grammy, and then Tommy Mottola for believing in her," he writes. "She could no longer call me delusional."
After arranging a quickie divorce from his first wife, Mottola married Carey in a ceremony so vulgar that one guest called it not so much a wedding as "a coronation". Carey, then 23, watched replays of Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding for inspiration, then ordered an even longer bridal train (27 feet to Di's 25) and more flower girls (50 to Di's 5 - all fans, Mottola says).
In the book, Mottola says he remembers little of the day itself, and that later, it was one photo that stood out to him: his 12-year-old daughter in tears, hugging her 13-year-old brother. It crushed him, Mottola says - not because he was so detached from their distress, but because clearly they understood this union would end badly. "They knew in their bones what I simply couldn't feel," he writes.
Carey would soon learn who she was married to: the more famous she became, the more Mottola constrained her. When she talked about wanting to record younger, more modern stuff - hip-hop and R&B-driven - Mottola shut her down, demanding she sing treacly power ballads such as "Hero", which she openly loathed. He made Carey do a Christmas album - Christmas, he writes, is his favorite holiday - and when she sardonically asked him if he was trying to turn her into Connie Francis, he nearly laughed in her face: "How the hell," he writes, "does she even know who Connie Francis is?"
To this day Mottola maintains that Carey must be grateful that he forced these decisions upon her. That Christmas album, he points out, has sold more than 20 million copies. "Helloooo!" he writes. As Carey kept agitating to work with artists who were young and actually relevant, Mottola's roster was aging and decaying: Billy Joel, Hall & Oates, Gloria Estefan, the rapidly unraveling Michael Jackson - these were his priorities in a landscape dominated by alternative rock and hip-hop.
When, in 1993, she released the single she fought so hard for - "Fantasy", a wild mash-up that sampled Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love" and featured a cameo interlude by Ol' Dirty Bastard - she was proven right. Mottola clamped down even harder. Carey was relegated to the Bedford, NY, mansion he had built, a 20,000-square-foot residence replete with gourmet kitchen, recording studio, indoor shooting range and surveillance cameras everywhere. Carey had two bodyguards assigned to her at all times, even when she went to the bathroom. She called the house "Sing Sing" - a morbid reference to her caged-bird status.
Mottola himself did nothing to soften his own image, and a 1996 Vanity Fair profile proved deadly, portraying him as an uneducated thug with questionable taste who had muscled his way to the top. The article noted that Mottola drove around in an armored limo, carried a 9mm Glock in his briefcase, and had such dubious connections that Sony Music asked the FBI to carry out a background check before hiring him. (The verdict: He was clean, his friends weren't.)
Carey was not available for comment at the time. "She won't be talking," Mottola told the reporter. "It's not good for her; it's not good for me; it's not good for the company." In many ways that profile was the best thing that could have happened to Carey: the world now knew, and within weeks she left. "A private hell" was how she later described their marriage.
In his book, Mottola offers a classic non-apology: "If it seemed like I was controlling," he writes, "I apologize. Was I obsessive? Yes. But that was also part of the reason for her success."
(New York Post)
Thursday, January 3, 2013
The Hollywood Reporter: Making Over Idol (Again)
Fox execs reveal details in their fight to reignite TV's most important show as the diva skirmish backstage simmers on slow boil.
"There's something a little more romantic about Mariah Carey shouting, 'You're going to Hollywood!,' than Nicki Minaj going, 'You made it to Northridge!' "
So cracks American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, yet here they are, on Dec. 12, deep in the suburban no-man's-land of the San Fernando Valley, about 20 miles from Grauman's Theatre, the Walk of Fame or any semblance of Hollywood glamour, except, of course, for the music giants taking their seats at the Valley Performing Arts Center: multiplatinum R&B hitmaker Carey, hip-hop artist Minaj and country star Keith Urban -- new additions for season 12 alongside the sole original judge, Randy Jackson, who also recently started co-managing Carey, with Irving Azoff. (Recounts Jackson: "We were talking about it one day, and she said, 'Dude, would you help me?' And I was like, 'I guess that might work.' ")Everybody knows that television is the land of make-believe, and thus, this is what's called "Hollywood Week," Idol's coveted and simultaneously dreaded six-day boot camp where 279 hopefuls are put through the vocal ringer, then paraded in front of the panel of judges. This year's slogan: "Others dream, Idol delivers."
"For the record," pauses Lythgoe, who came to the valley this time for a day of boys' group auditions, "we have taken the contestants around Hollywood." No doubt the cameras were rolling.
Perception is tantamount in the world of Idol, which notched an impressive 10 straight seasons as America's No. 1 show -- and Fox's crowning achievement -- but has seen ratings decline by as much as 25 percent in the past two years, even with such high-profile talent as Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler occupying the judges' chairs (at the hefty reported price of $15 million and $10 million, respectively). The Idol franchise still is worth an estimated $8 billion, while the U.S. version averaged 17.2 million viewers an episode with a 30-second ad commanding north of $340,000 in 2012, second only to NBC's Sunday Night Football, yet it can't seem to shake the nagging stigma that it's on the way out or, worse yet, already irrelevant.
Not helping matters: a weak programming slate for Fox, which will use Glee in the post-Idol slot Thursday nights, and the fact that a newcomer like NBC's The Voice, which averaged 12 million viewers during its most recent season, is treading ever more closely to Idol's numbers, especially among younger viewers. (The X Factor seems, for the most part, to be a nonstarter, drawing an audience of about 8.7 million an episode.) Indeed, Idol's decline in dominance has been worldwide, as all three formats are competing against one another in dozens of territories.
To combat that has-been appearance, the Idol producers are taking their biggest gamble yet and have recruited a group of judges that feels like a powder keg. Make that one that already has exploded, when the panel's two resident divas let grace go by the wayside back in October, launching into the sort of expletive-filled verbal catfight you'd expect to see on an episode of Real Housewives, not the most popular, most wholesome show in America.
You could point to any number of factors contributing to Idol's audience erosion. There's the oversaturation of the talent-show format: NBC has The Voice and America's Got Talent; Fox is home to Idol and X Factor; even ABC tried its hand with Duets, featuring original Idol Kelly Clarkson along with John Legend, Robin Thicke and Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles, as did The CW with its fledgling series The Next. On top of that, there's the natural aging of its audience (the average Idol viewer is 48) and its more than occasionally hokey theme weeks (for example: the perennial "Song From the Year You Were Born" night) and sappy scripts. Producers CORE Media (formerly CKX, which bought 19 Entertainment in 2005 for $210 million) and FremantleMedia -- along with creator Simon Fuller and fellow executive producers Lythgoe and Ken Warwick -- might even agree with all of these points, so long as you don't deny that the show has produced stars.
"It's the biggest and certainly the most meaningful of the shows," defends Mike Darnell, Fox's president of alternative programming and the executive who gave the first greenlight to American Idol, then an offshoot of the Fuller-created British Pop Idol, in 2002. "It's the one that started it all. It has an elegance and simplicity to it. But ultimately, the fact that people can still become stars proves that Idol is head and shoulders above the others. This show has engagement, and it's engagement that creates stars.
Indeed, in spite of several high-profile underperformers (among the more memorable blunders: season one's Justin Guarini and season nine's Lee DeWyze), Idol's track record is on par with that of a well-resourced major label. About one out of every 10 acts signed becomes a hit (to compare, neither The Voice nor X Factor has seen a single contestant's song enter the top 20 of Billboard's Hot 100, and its winners, which include Javier Colon and Jermaine Paul, have all but disappeared from the field; ditto for X Factor, which has seen only one album, an EP by third-placer Chris Rene, released by a finalist). To date, Idol alums have amassed 371 No. 1s on the Billboard charts. Idol's biggest successes: season-one victor Clarkson and season four's Carrie Underwood, who have combined sales of 22 million albums. Even some of the nonwinners have thrived: the oft-cited Jennifer Hudson, who came in seventh on season three but won an Oscar for Dreamgirls in 2007, Chris Daughtry, who has notched sales of 7 million albums, and season-five runner-up Katharine McPhee, who stars on NBC's Smash.
Idol's latest rags-to-riches fairy tale? Season 11 winner Phillip Phillips, whose single "Home," used as the U.S. women's gymnastics team's unofficial theme song during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, is now No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with sales of more than 2.8 million tracks, according to his label, Interscope. His debut album, The World From the Side of the Moon, released in November, has sold 377,073 copies.
Following a platinum-certified debut by season 10 winner and country crooner Scotty McCreery, Phillips' success is the product of a realignment on the music side that clearly is working, with Interscope Geffen A&M chairman and in-house mentor Jimmy Iovine providing the artist development as the series progresses. With Universal Music handling distribution and marketing, the show, more than ever, offers a legitimate launchpad to insta-success. "Idol changed drastically when Jimmy came on," says the show's longtime arranger and associate musical director Michael Orland. "In the old days, it was like musical jump rope where the contestants would do a different style every week. Inevitably, everybody had at least one horrible performance. Jimmy said, 'Let's get these people to sing who they are.' "
For years, the Idol brain trust of Darnell, Lythgoe, Warwick, Fuller and Fremantle's Cecile Frot-Coutaz (since promoted from running North American operations to CEO of Fremantle worldwide and succeeded in the U.S. by Trish Kinane, who readily admits, "There are a lot of voices in this show, but it works") had insisted that the show's real draw were the contestants, not the judges, who have minimal contact with the finalists and aren't given a vote past the audition rounds. Says Darnell: "If we have a bad year in talent, no matter how good the judges are, it won't work. So ultimately, the audience is coming and staying for the contestants."
But it seems that as the seasons have passed, so has the reliance on talent alone as a draw. At its launch, the show featured unknown judges save for a then career-stagnant Paula Abdul. Today, the focus is squarely on the high-powered panelists (season two's Clay Aiken recently said so, telling Billboard, "I don't even know if they remember there are contestants anymore"), who aren't critiquing scores of would-be pop stars solely out of the goodness of their hearts but looking to further their brands and promote their own projects in tandem. (Even Iovine jumped on the bandwagon with his high-end audio line Beats By Dr. Dre, whose headphones and speakers are featured prominently on the show.)
And the panel is being paid handsomely for it, with Carey, 43, earning a salary of $18 million, according to sources, Minaj pocketing $12 million, and less for Urban and Jackson. Somewhat shockingly, Darnell insists that despite the divas' extra handlers, glam-squad members and security detail, the show's production costs, which THR has estimated run in the vicinity of $2 million an episode, have not increased. Still, the hefty sums (which include host Ryan Seacrest's $15 million-a-year deal) don't always pay off. For every Christina Aguilera -- a bargain at $12 million a year for The Voice -- you have a one-term fail like Idol's Ellen DeGeneres, or a Lopez or X Factor's Britney Spears, the latter two who commanded $15 million but ultimately added little flavor or value to an already-stagnant TV formula. (Although it should be noted that Lopez helped stabilize ratings at first with an initial uptick: The show averaged 24.2 million viewers in January 2011, her first season as judge; compared with season nine's average -- 22.9 million -- season 10's numbers were flat.) In the case of pop star Spears, people didn't even tune in to watch the muted train wreck.
On the other hand, the exposure can do wonders for a career that's waning or an artist coming off of a long leave. Says Carey, who's finishing her 11th album with plans to launch it during Idol: "This show is such a massive, popular entity, it does help people promote their music, and at the end of the day, that's the most important thing... But this is a big departure for me because, for the most part, either I had nothing or I was my own boss."
All three newcomers say they had to be "convinced" to join Idol. New Zealand-born Urban, 45, a handsome, one-season judge on Australia's The Voice who's married to Academy Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman, had a been-there-done-that attitude toward the TV-judging shtick. But in the end, he decided he had wisdom left to share. "I like helping artists get rid of the cheesy crap around them that they haven't yet figured out they don't need," he says. "I wish I had more of that. I had to learn a lot of it myself."
Minaj also consulted those close to her. "I had a lot of talks with people -- my family, my best friends, my label, Lil Wayne, management and then the producers," she says. In the end, it was Darnell who helped sway her. Adds the 30-year-old: "He was so lovable and made me feel so comfortable and confident. He kept saying, 'I promise we're going to protect you; you're going to love it, we're a big family.' "
Among Minaj's concerns: her cred in the rap world, for one. As an artist signed to Cash Money Records -- home to her mentor Lil Wayne, Drake, Jay Sean and DJ Khaled and a label that has sold more than 78 million albums since its founding in 1991 -- she points to "a judgmental culture in hip-hop," where "sometimes you are afraid of being too famous because it's almost, like, is that even cool? Being that accessible, someone you see on TV every week? I never pictured myself as that type of person. I'm still surprised that I decided to do it."
Probably not as surprised as Idol's incoming diva Carey was to hear of Minaj's hiring in September. According to multiple sources, the singer -- who has sold 200 million albums worldwide since her 1990 debut and is mom to 20-month-old twins Monroe and Moroccan (they've yet to visit the Idol set because "they're a little big now; they run around, and it can be dangerous," she says) -- was promised top billing as Idol's queen bee, with a J.Lo-style focus on her pedigree as a vocalist, songwriter and producer. And deservedly so: Carey's songs are among the most-performed by Idol contestants, the vast majority of whom fall far short of her five-octave range.
If there was to be a fourth judge hired, an insider tells THR, Carey was "pretty much assured" it would not be another female. Enter Minaj, part Harajuku riot girl, part cartoon caricature, all curves and sizzle and a hitmaker in her own right who boasts endorsements by Pepsi, M.A.C Cosmetics and Adidas.
Looking back on the incident, which began as an impassioned disagreement over an audition, is not exactly a point of pride for any of the involved parties. When asked about the exchange, Carey says she has "yet to figure out" why the situation escalated as it did. "Sometimes things get heated for their own reasons," she evades, adding, "I don't think the panel has an issue." Minaj flat-out refuses to discuss it. (Worth noting: She also had a war of words with Tyler after he remarked that, as an Idol judge, Minaj "would have sent [Bob Dylan] to a cornfield"; the rapper interpreted the comment as racist and went on the offensive on Twitter, writing, "Why? black? rapper? what? go f-- yourself and worry about yourself babe. ... Lets [sic] make [Steven] a shirt that says 'No Coloreds Allowed' then escort him down 2 Barbara Walters so he can tell [her] how he was threatened w/guns.")
Warwick says he was "quite surprised" at the Minaj-Carey altercation "and how it took off the way it did." The TV veteran, a friend of Lythgoe's going back to their childhood in Liverpool during the 1960s, found the tussle "unnerving," telling THR: "I'm a family man with three kids. If they acted like that, it would be, 'Upstairs to bed!' Personally, I'm not over the moon that it happened. But if you asked me, as a professional, is it good for the show? The answer would probably be yes."
It's precisely that school of thought that prompts Idol fans, pundits and casual viewers alike to wonder whether the production itself is responsible for leaking the fight. To that, Lythgoe, who is seen in the one-minute clip trying to defuse the situation, has a laugh. "I don't think I would've done it so far away from the beginning of the season," he says. "Plus, it was about the judges and not the contestants, and I'm totally against that. So, no."
For good measure, Lythgoe assures that, unlike Australia's broadcast of American Idol, which is playing up the "War of the Divas" storyline (see sidebar) in a promo, he has no plans to use the footage in advance of or during the season.
Further, since everyone who works on Idol has to sign a confidentiality agreement that states in plain language that any video or audio of the show is proprietary material, an internal investigation was launched and, while the culprit never was identified, the producers came to the conclusion that it was shot from a monitor most likely by a local day hire in Charlotte, N.C. It's a problem that persists even at Hollywood Week, where a production assistant abruptly was fired and tossed from the premises Dec. 15 for snapping a photo from the side of the stage.
Darnell downplays the media ruckus. "People were talking about the way Simon Cowell and Paula feuded for years," he says. "Let's be honest, big shows get people talking, so any little thing that happens becomes controversial." Asked whether he would want Cowell back on the Idol panel, Darnell hesitates before answering: "I love Simon. I think he is an incredible judge, and that's an interesting question, but I like where he's at on X Factor."
But fight or no fight, the point persists: Idol is a family show with a strong Southern voting block that is notoriously conservative; will its audience embrace an envelope-pushing rapper with a larger-than-life persona? Even Minaj herself admits that when prodded, "I am scary and intimidating. I definitely demand respect. I'm also a sweet person. I'm a loving person. But I don't want to be f--ed with."
To that end, one needn't think back all that far -- to the 2012 Grammys, for instance, when Minaj presented an exorcism-themed performance of her song "Roman Holiday" after walking the red carpet wearing a fire-red cloak and accompanied by a pope lookalike, or to any of her videos -- to wonder: Would Minaj have to tone down her outre look to fit the Idol mold? "I could think of at least one other person that shows more cleavage and skin than me," jabs Minaj, clearly insulted by the insinuation and rolling her inchlong false lashes in the direction of the dressing room two doors down: Carey's.
"The perception of Nicki is unfair, really," defends Warwick. "Everyone thought she was just a daft, half-educated rapper. But she has got a heart, and it's starting to show, along with her intelligence, which threw some of us as well. And her eloquence and her grasp of what's going on. I think she'll surprise a lot of people." (But it must be said that, according to Idol staffers, Minaj has been late to the set every day.)
On the days this reporter visited Idol's "Hollywood" set, everyone was -- no surprise -- on their best behavior and looked to be getting along famously. Minaj, seated on the far left (in a new twist, the judges change position daily so that the panel "doesn't become staid," explains Darnell) and wearing an unexpected pair of bright red fuzzy slippers with pom-poms along with her form-fitting outfit that seemed to match her own description of herself as sweet, caring, nurturing, smart and sassy, surveyed the final picks -- one a Muslim contestant who could easily double for a post-conversion Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam and has been nicknamed (or "Nicki-named") "The Turbanator" (she refers to her favorites as "my darling"). In the final leg of a long journey that saw 100 contestants cut down to 40, she delivered a speech that was downright inspired.
As Warwick recalls: "Nicki said, 'You've seen the heartbreak of the kids who have been turned away today. … I've put it into perspective how much this meant to them. You are the lucky ones. You are the ones who are here. Don't throw it away. Don't treat it like it's not important. This is a rocket ship to stardom if you can ride the rocket.' She put it better than any script could have been written." (Asked whether he's seen Minaj and Carey interact at all, Warwick answers, "Not a great deal, no.")
For her part, Carey, alongside Jackson, seems to be relishing the role of seasoned industry player, while Urban is described by the producers as the voice of "sanity" on the panel. Indeed, his take on why it's worth the judges' time to lead these wide-eyed hopefuls into the murky waters of the music business when albums no longer sell like they used to and, thanks to rampant piracy, singles and streams have yet to make up the difference, is as pragmatic as it comes. "The business is changing right now," says Urban. "And the beauty of it is that the power is going back to the artist -- they have far more creative control, more ability to get their art out and find their audience on their terms."
(Ever the dogged optimist, Jackson, 56, name-checks the year's top sellers: "Mumford & Sons is making noise selling 600,000 records the first week, Taylor Swift did 1.2 million, Adele is going on 25 million worldwide and eight Grammys. Success still happens.")
Adds Urban: "Plus, the likelihood of actually making money, strangely enough, is greater today than back when artists got enslaved into record company deals. But ultimately, it shouldn't be about fame or money. It should be your calling. This is what you do. You don't have a choice."
Lofty words to live by, but you could say the same of American Idol, which remains the network's shining jewel by sheer power of its numbers. There's not a question of whether the show should continue, it simply does. The goal at this juncture -- after 11 years, some 150 finalists, 10 judges and hundreds of thousands of auditions, not to mention those other shows nipping at Idol's heel (both Lythgoe and Warwick insist they never watch their rivals, even for homework's sake) -- is very much the same as it was back in 2002: to up the game.
"Competition does make you pay attention more," says Seacrest. "Whether it be these performers who are competing against each other, or us looking within our genre of television, it does make you get better. You're forced to improve."
Adds Jackson: "I believe in the process. I think there's at least three or four of these kids that have huge careers ahead of them who will go on until they decide to stop. I think we're the only show of its kind that can say that."
(The Hollywood Reporter)
Handling a problem like Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey arrived in Sydney last night, hoping her long-awaited concert here will run more smoothly than her Gold Coast opener. Carey had sound system problems at Tuesday night's gig at the Gold Coast Convention Centre. Arriving on stage just after 10pm after what felt like an endless series of warm-up acts, the superstar appeared to struggle through the early phase of the show after opening with Can't Take That Away from her 1999 Rainbow album.
Sound problems provided the night's backdrop as Carey complained openly of not being able to hear through her earpiece, saying it was distorted. "There's like 200 of you, can one of you just fix the ear thing," she called to her crew, adding: "I hope I'm not asking for the moon and the stars ... there's a lot of sound problems going on here. I don't know if it's me or you, or something in the air, but can we fix it?"
And just when Confidential thought the night couldn't get more peculiar, Carey announced she was to welcome two "special visitors" as she and husband Nick Cannon brought their 18-month-old twins, Morroccan (whom she referred to as Rocky) and Monroe, on stage. While many of the 4500 fans cheered their cameo, some questioned if, at just before 11pm and in front of a boisterous crowd, such a gesture was appropriate.
Carey plays at Allphones Arena in Sydney tonight.
(The Daily Telegraph)
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Exclusive: Jermaine Dupri & Bryan-Michael Cox Have Ten Songs Recorded For New Mariah Carey Album
In an interview with producer Bryan-Michael Cox, who co-produced her lead single “Triumphant (Get ‘Em)”, YouKnowIGotSoul exclusively learned some details on the project.
“We did like ten songs. I don’t know how many songs are going to stick, but Mariah is like our sister. We love her and she calls. She always calls and a lot of artists don’t call. Mariah is one that consistently is like “If we’ve worked before, we can work again.” I love Mariah for that because she’s a true friend. We did a bunch of songs and I think four or five may stick. We’re excited about it.”
Hitmakers Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox, of course, have played a big role in Mariah Carey’s recent comeback producing hits such as “We Belong Together”, “Shake It Off” and “Don’t Forget About Us”. Although details about the album and its release date are unclear at this point, it is safe to assume that a new single should be on the way as the new season of American Idol is set to air January 16th.
(Youknowigotsoul)
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Mariah shines on the Gold Coast
Powerhouse performer Mariah Carey didn't disappoint her massive loyal fan base at her first Australian concert on Tuesday night at The Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre by opening her anticipated show with her theme song Can't Take That Away.
The diva, who is here for a series of three concerts, opened her performance in a figure hugging white spangly mini-dress and immediately set the tone with her multi-octave voice. "Happy New Year," she yelled to the adoring 4502 pumped concert goers - who she affectionately calls her "lambs".
She recalled an earlier visit to Australia before singing her hit song Butterfly on a white chaise lounge. "I had the best time in my life here the last time I was here, the dolphins even the Vegemite I had the best time it was like a freeing time in my life - I'm not just saying that."
With her trademark flamboyance she brought her two children Moroccan and Monroe (dressed in a matching tutu) onto the stage with husband Nick Cannon and made them say "hi" in the microphone. "It's bed time night night - I love you, kiss mummy," she said trying to deal with minor sound difficulties in the newly built theatre.
The audience, including local celebrities Sophie Monk and Ruby Rose, were lucky enough to secure tickets which had sold out in minutes upon release. "Everything that happened last year that wasn't exactly stellar - this year is going to be a long slow wonder!" she said. "What we need to do this year - for anything you don't want to remember from the last year - listen to these tracks to shake it off," she said as she broke into Shake It Off from her album The Emancipation of Mimi.
Here with her family, Carey arrived on The Gold Coast on Friday night on a private jet from Aspen, and has been staying in the penthouse suite of the filled-to -capacity Jupiters Hotel and Casino. Since arriving, the American Idol judge has been spotted enjoying Broadbeach with her family on one of Bruce Nicholl's yachts as well as partaking in a beachside workout with her husband and trainer.
"G'day Gold Coast! So excited to be back in Australia, I can't wait to see you all at the shows," she tweeted on arrival. On Saturday night the couple tucked their twins in bed and enjoyed a dinner at the Sea Temple's Seaduction Restaurant in Broadbeach with Fellow American Idol judge and her manager Randy Jackson, where she is reported to have dined on grade nine Wagyu beef prepared by executive chef Steve Szabo.
The singer is reported to have taken such a shine to the glittery strip on The Gold Coast, where she also plans on taking a swim with the dolphins at Sea World, that she is leaving Roe and Roc as they are affectionately called here with minders while she performs her Sydney concert on January 3rd and Melbourne date on the 5th.
Her world famous reputation appears in her backstage rider which stipulates two dozen white roses and vanilla-scented aromatherapy candles as well as a room temperature of exactly 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The list of demands is also reported to include Cristal champagne, a box of bendy straws and one special attendant to dispose of used chewing gum, tea service for eight people and two air purifier - and to make sure she only sees herself in the best light, no harsh lighting.Mind you, Jupiters have it easy - if rumours of a reported London concert demand list are to be believed. Apparently Carey demanded a Rolls Royce Phantom, a pink carpet, a pink podium, confetti shaped as butterflies and 80 security guards several years ago. At the same concert she also asked for 20 white kittens and 100 doves - the request was turned down.
But there were no such antics this week with the singer and her entourage nothing short of "lovely" according to insiders and staff dealing with the superstar. The happy family have been out and about relaxed and posing with fans, although the singer did not make time for local media as planned ahead of her first gig, opting so stay in her suite. Her dancers were, however, been spotted out and about enjoying the pool side facilities and local fauna.
The singer has had a controversial year being embroiled in a battle with her fellow Idol judge Nicky Minaj but showed no tensions on Tuesday night. The opening acts for the show was husband Cannon and Australian singer, Anthony Callea, who has now performed with the holy triumvirate of divas - having opened for both Celine Dion and the late Whitney Houston.
"It's the diva trifecta" he said ahead of his performance on Tuesday - when he flew up with partner Tim Campbell. "I met Whitney, I met Celine - to meet Mariah? Oh my God, I will be hoping and praying and everything in between."
(The Age)
Pure Gold Carey Wows The Coast
The “songbird supreme” delivered the goods – from costume changes to dancers, purring, old-pro banter and circus-feat high notes- at the long sold-out show presented by Jupiters at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Unfortunately sound problems saw the show get a less-than-perfect start.
“There’s a lot of difficult sound problems going on here,” Carey said.
“I don’t know if it’s just me or if it’s just you, or if it’s something in the air, but can we fix it,” she said.
It is a shame she wasn’t playing Jupiters Theatre.
A capacity crowd of more than 4500 went nuts the moment the sultry American diva, resplendent in killer heels and a figure-hugging silver embroidered mini-dress, backed by a four-piece band, three vocalists and six male dancers, opened with Can’t Take That Away, also known as Mariah’s Theme, from her seventh studio album, 1999′s Rainbow.
Half an hour into the set, husband Nick Cannon brought Carey’s 18-month-old twins Monroe and Moroccan on stage to meet the crowd.
The “lambs” – Carey’s term for her loyal fanbase, just as Lady Gaga calls her followers “little monsters” – had been waiting since 1998′s Butterfly world tour to see the singer on Aussie soil.
Carey, 42, mixed things up with old-school hits such as My All, Always Be My Baby, Hero and Make It Happen alongside more recent showstoppers such as 2009′s Obsessed (said to be about Eminem) and the track that saw her pass Elvis as the singer with the most No. 1s in US history, 2008 hit Touch My Body (complete with finger snaps).
The singer’s singer was in her element on the revealing Close My Eyes, a song she rates as one of her favourites.
After 22 years in the spotlight – and with album sales of more than 200 million and five Grammys, 17 World Music Awards and 31 Billboard Awards to her credit – the mother of toddler twins Monroe and Moroccan is a consumate pro in the tradition of the world’s greatest performers.
Other gems in last night’s set included We Belong Together and the standout Shake It Off, from 2005′s The Emancipation of Mimi album, written after Carey split with first husband Tommy Mottola.
The show climaxed with the Carey-penned festive megahit All I Want For Christmas.
Make a note, all fans want this year is Mariah
Mariah Carey fans hyperventilated, cried and were left speechless when they found out the pop singer was coming to the Gold Coast.
Fans, many who have followed the 42-year old since her debut hit Vision of Love 22 years ago, sported handmade outfits proclaiming their love for Carey and could barely contain their excitement as they flooded into the venue. Fanatical fans Karlie Ilsley, Brooke Harris and Eliza Blackburn travelled from the Sunshine Coast and spent their New Year’s Eve making “I Love MC” t-shirts.
“She’s been our idol since childhood,” Ms. Harris said.
“I hyperventilated when I heard she was touring here and then we drank champagne to calm down because we didn’t think we’d get a ticket.
We didn’t do anything for New Year’s Eve – this is our big event.”
Megan Heymer, 26, drove six hours from Gladstone to meet her Brisbane-based sister Nicole Hides, 28, before they took a limo to the Coast for the show.
They remember growing up singing in front of the mirror with a fan blowing while doing Carey’s famous hand movements and then spending every festive season singing along to her famous Christmas album.
“My husband told me she was touring here and I cried then rang my sister and told her to come down – she was speechless,” Hides said.
MC Down Under!!!
Mariah's first show last night had an amazing setlist.
SETLIST:
01. Can't Take That Away - Dance Mix
02. Touch My Body
03. Shake It Off
04. My All
05. Always Be My Baby
06. I'll Be There
--. Trey Lorenz: Rock With You
07. Obsessed
08. Don't Forget About Us
09. Close My Eyes
10. Hero
11. We Belong Together
Encore:
12. All I Want For Christmas Is You
13. Auld Lang Syne
Roc & Roe made and appearance, Roe said Hello to the Audience.
The tour program and lanyard were not for sale, they were handed at the door. The only merchandise sold was t-shirts
Monday, December 31, 2012
Time-travelling Mariah Carey keeps ahead of the pack
Mariah, who just enjoyed a winter break in Aspen, tweeted a snap of herself with husband Nick Cannon, who had a glass of champagne in hand, with the accompanying tweet: "Happy New Year from Australia!" The American Idol judge was clad in a red dress with a silver headband as she partied away.
Carey is believed to have celebrated in Queensland, where she was spotted just days before with Nick and their 20-month-old twins Moroccan and Monroe. The foursome enjoyed a trip around the Great Barrier Reef, with Mariah spotted tottering around in high heels as she walked the plank to the yacht.
Other celebs tweeting from Down Under included Keith Urban, who celebrated 2013 an hour earlier in Sydney, New South Wales, which is an hour ahead of Queensland. Keith was there with wife Nicole Kidman while former Spice Girl also enjoyed partying with her family in Oz, sharing a snap from Sydney. She wrote the accompanying messsage: "Happy new year yippee Sydney fireworks da bomb. Love our family and goodbye 2012 hello 2013."
Carey's family flew by private jet from their winter vacation getaway in Aspen, Colorado to sunny Queensland on Friday. They plan on remaining at this wondrous spot through the New Year before Mariah performs the first show of the Australia leg of her tour at the Gold Coast on January 1.
They will then head to Sydney for a concert on January 3 before wrapping things up in Melbourne on January 5. Nick will have something to do besides minding the children, as he will be performing DJ sets before each of Mariah's performances.
(Mail Online)
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Saturday, December 29, 2012
All I Want For Christmas Is You
(Billboard News)
Mariah Carey touches down in Australia's Gold Coast
Earlier this week, Mariah was generous with the family photos she posted to her Twitter page from their Yule Tide celebrations. Carey tweeted, "Merry Christmas from the Carey-Cannons. Pictures from our most festive Christmas yet." In January Mariah will return to the "American Idol" set, and she's announced a new album that's slated to drop in March.
(GossipCenter)
Monday, December 24, 2012
Mariah Carey hints at a gift for fans around the holidays
"I actually have some Christmas gifts for the lambs that we made for you. Details soon," tweeted Mariah Carey from her official Twitter account on Sunday. The artist has people sparring back and forth online trying to decide what Mariah could be giving the fans.
Most fans feel Mariah Carey will be sharing a link to new music. Others fans think that an announcement is coming for a tour Mariah might be scheduling. With so much time spent on American Idol for the upcoming season, it might be tour to anticipate what the star has in store for her fans. Of course being it is Christmas, there isn't too much of a hurry either.
(Examiner)
Sunday, December 23, 2012
"Mariah is Christmas" Twitter Trend... Take 2!
Last week, lambs worldwide participated in the massively successful "Mariah is Christmas" campaign, where the phrase trended on Twitter for over four hours.
By popular demand, on Sunday, December 23, at 7:30pm ET, the lambs all over the world will trend "Mariah is Christmas" with their local link of "All I Want For Christmas Is You" straight to their iTunes store: http://smarturl.it/MariahChristmas
The phrase "Mariah is Christmas" was chosen as a reference to Mariah's unparalleled contributions to the music world with her original Christmas songs.
To see what time the trend will start in your locale, visit this site to convert from Eastern/New York time to your local time zone.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
AIWFCIY
 |
| "All I Want For Christmas Is You" moves up 4 spots to #25 on the Hot 100!!! Lambs need to continues streaming and purchasing if you want to make it Mariah's 19th number one! |
Monday, December 17, 2012
Mariah Songs Cleared for American Idol Season 12
Below is the list of Mariah Carey songs that have been cleared for contestants to sing during American Idol season 12.
All I've Ever Wanted
All In Your Mind
Alone In Love
Always Be My Baby
Anytime You Need A Friend
Bye Bye
Can't Let Go
Can't Take That Away
Circles
Don't Forget About Us
Dreamlover
Emotions
Fantasy
Hero
I Don't Wanna Cry
I Still Believe
Just To Hold You Once Again
Love Takes Time
Make It Happen (Original Version)
Mine Again
My All
Obsessed
Prisoner
Shake It Off
Someday
Vanishing
Vision of Love
We Belong Together
One Sweet Day - Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men
When You Believe - Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston/ Celtic Women
Heartbreaker - Mariah Carey feat. Jay-Z
Thank God I Found You - Mariah Carey feat. Joe & 98 Degrees
Crybaby - Mariah Carey feat. Snoop Dogg
(TJP)
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas' Re-Enters, Finally Hits Top 40 On Hot 100
With airplay and sales for holiday hits increasing, the track, from Carey's 1994 album "Merry Christmas," re-enters the chart at No. 29, a new peak position. "Christmas" had logged one prior frame on the chart, reaching No. 83 the week of Jan. 8, 2000. It didn't reach the Hot 100 upon its original release, as it was not available as a commercial single in 1994; per chart rules at the time, such tracks were not eligible to appear on the Hot 100. The carol did, however, rise to No. 12 on the Radio Songs chart the week of Jan. 7, 1995 (the highest rank for a holiday song in the chart's 22-year history).
How does an 18-year-old song show on the Hot 100 alongside current hits (including those by Justin Bieber**, who was not yet a year-old in late 1994)? Per current rules, any title, regardless of age, is eligible for the chart if it ranks in the top 50. Hot 100 rules changed at the beginning of the 2012 chart year to include titles of any era should they place in the list's top half; tracks by Whitney Houston benefited from the revision following her February passing, with, most noticeably, her 1992-93 Hot 100 No. 1 "I Will Always Love You" returning and soaring to No. 3 in March.
Two other versions of Carey's modern-day Christmas classic charted on the Hot 100 before the original's return this week, both last year. Bieber's take (subtitled "Superfestive!"), with Carey, ranked at No. 86 the week of Nov. 19, 2011, and Michael Buble's** ballad interpretation made a cameo at No. 99 six weeks later (amid a five-week reign on the Adult Contemporary chart).
Holiday Charts: Songs** | ALBUMS | AIRPLAY
Carey's original "Christmas" returns to the Hot 100 with digital sales of 69,000 (up 79%), according to Nielsen SoundScan. It bounds 37-19 on Digital Songs and leads Holiday Digital Songs for a fourth consecutive week. (The song has sold 2.3 million download to date). On Holiday Airplay, "Christmas" receives Greatest Gainer honors, lifting 7-5 with 26 million in audience (up 17%), according to Nielsen BDS. It re-enters Radio Songs at No. 48. "Christmas" tops the Holiday Songs chart, which measures sales, airplay and streaming, for a third week in a row.
Aiding the song's momentum, Carey appeared on NBC's "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" on Dec. 4, performing a merry version of the song with Fallon and the show's house band the Roots on miniature instruments (including xylophone, bongos and wood blocks). A chorus of children added background vocals. The clip has racked 7 million YouTube views since its posting.
CLICK HERE TO PLAY THE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE.
Upon her return, Carey claims her 34th top 40 hit on the Hot 100 (and first since "Obsessed" climbed to No. 7 in 2009). She breaks a tie with Connie Francis and Rihanna** (each with 33) for the fourth-most top 40 Hot 100 entries among women. Madonna** leads all female soloists with 49 top 40 hits, followed by Aretha Franklin** (43) and Taylor Swift** (39). Elvis Presley** leads all acts with 80 top 40 Hot 100 entries (not counting his numerous hits that predate the chart's Aug. 4, 1958, launch).
Billboard.com's entire menu of charts, including the Hot 100, Digital Songs, Radio Songs and Holiday Songs, will refresh tomorrow (Dec. 13).
(Billboard)
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Nick Cannon Updates!!!
Nick is hosting the Disney Christmas parade with Mario Lopez and Maria Menounos December 25th 10:am (Eastern) on ABC.
Drumline 2 is in production, also Real Husbands of Hollywood series Premiere January 15th (MC will be making an appearance)
(NickCannon)
"All I Want For Christmas Is You" in ABC Family Musical
AIRDATES: Thu, Dec 13 5:00 PM / Tue, Dec 18 12:00 AM / Thu, Dec 20 3:00 PM
(ABCFamily)
Mariah Carey smiles as she goes Christmas shopping
"Getting ready for some Christmas shopping! Christmas time is in the air," tweeted Mariah Carey from her official Twitter account on Sunday. While Mariah Carey definitely doesn't have the worries of finding a parking spot at the mall or even dealing with the crowds as she arrives to pick out her favorite gifts, she still has plenty to do.
Readying for the holidays, even for the stars, takes a while to make sure the holiday experience is perfect. No doubt Mariah Carey will be smiling all holiday season as she always has shared with her fans how much she loves the holiday season.
(Examiner)
Sunday, December 9, 2012
LambzRus Exclusive Single: All I Want For Christmas Is You (Extremely Festive Edition)
12 Days of Christmas with Mariah!!!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Holiday Chart Update!
Holiday Albums Charts (USA)
#8 Mariah Carey - Merry Christmas
#52 Mariah Carey - Merry Christmas II You
Mariah Holiday Songs Charts (USA)
#1 All I Want for Christmas Is You (Original Version)
#30 Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
#32 Justin Bieber & Mariah Carey - All I Want for Christmas Is You (SuperFestive!)
#77 O Holy Night
#116. Oh Santa!
#126 Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
#210 Joy to the World
#300 Hark! the Herald Angels Sing / Gloria (In Excelsis Deo)
#326 Jesus Oh What a Wonderful Child
#345 Silent Night
#359 Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)
#609 Jesus Born On This Day
#727 Mariah Carey & John Legend - When Christmas Comes
#869 Auld Lang Syne (The New Year's Anthem)
#934 O Holy Night (Live from WPC In South Central Los Angeles)
#1065 Charlie Brown Christmas
Monday, December 3, 2012
Barbara Walters Names 10 Most Fascinating People
No confirmation yet but it looks like Mariah's interview recorded over the weekend with Barbra Walters may be for her "10 Most Fascinating People" special.
According to ABC News, which announced the selections last Tuesday, Walters has so far named actor Ben Affleck, British boy band sensation One Direction, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Olympic gymnast and gold medalist Gabby Douglas, “Family Guy” creator and 2013 Oscars host Seth MacFarlane and EL James, author of Fifty Shades of Grey.
The eclectic mix, and three more as-yet-unnamed selections, will be interviewed as part of Walters‘ 20th annual special
“Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of the Year.” The 90-minute ABC program will air on Wednesday, December 12 at 9:30 p.m.
The number one most fascinating person of the year will be announced on the program.
Walters has chosen a wide range of personalities for the honor over the last 20 years. Last year she chose late tech guru and former Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Other standouts from years past include, Hamptons heiress Paris Hilton, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, Camilla Park Bowles, Laura Bush, General Tommy Franks, Colin Powell, Hamptons visitor and former president Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela and Dan Rattiner.
(LambzRus)
Mariah Carey-led Holiday Songs chart returns
Mariah Carey's 1994 classic "All I Want for Christmas Is You" tops the inaugural chart this season. (The carol led the list for four of the five weeks in which the tally was tabulated a year ago.) "Christmas" logged 20 million in radio audience in the current chart's tracking week, ranking at No. 6 on the Holiday Airplay ranking. It rules the Holiday Digital Songs chart with 27,000 downloads sold (up 112%).
While the overall chart points for "Christmas" leave it shy of the Hot 100's top 50 this week, should the song accrue enough points in upcoming weeks to rank in the Hot 100's upper half, it, or any holiday title regardless of age that reaches such a points level, would be eligible to rank on the Hot 100. Hot 100 rules were adjusted at the beginning of the 2012 chart year to include all titles regardless of age should they rank in the top 50; tracks by Whitney Houston benefitted from the adjustment following her February passing, with, most noticeably, her 1992-93 Hot 100 No. 1 "I Will Always Love You" returning and soaring to No. 3 in March.
Given their many years of serving as soundtracks to holiday cheer, several decades-old favorites populate the latest Holiday Songs top 10. Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" decorates the list at No. 2, followed by Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" (No. 3), Bobby Helms' "Jingle Bell Rock" (No. 4) and Burl Ives' "A Holly Jolly Christmas" (No. 5). Ives' chestnut tops Holiday Airplay with 23 million in listenership.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra's relatively newer "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)", released in 1996, places at No. 6 on Holiday Songs, trailed by Andy Williams' "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (No. 7), Jose Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad" (No. 8), Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" (No. 9) and Wham!'s "Last Christmas" (No. 10).
A sprinkling of songs released in the 2000s appear on Holiday Songs, led by Michael Buble's "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" at No. 11. Holiday Songs, along with all charts, will update each Thursday on Billboard.com throughout the holiday season.
(Billboard's Chart Beat)
Mariah's Glitter co-star Padma Lakshmi became a big fan
And it turned Lakshmi into a huge Mariah Carey fan. She explains, "Nobody can sing the way she does. Watching her close up is like swimming alongside (Olympian) Michael Phelps at the Olympics. Girl's got some lungs."
(Contactmusic)
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