Va-va-Mariah!
As we go to press, the blogosphere is abuzz with Mariah's confirmation of her "secret" Bahamas wedding to the dreamy Nick Cannon - matching tattoos and all. Her latest smoking-hot album E=MC2 remains at the top of the charts, and she's never looked better (have you seen MC in a bikini lately?!) Yes, lambs, it's looking pretty fabulous to be Miss (Mrs.?) Mariah Carey these days.
Our own Editor-at-Large Jasmine Dotiwala caught up with her best friend – our cover girl – before the latest media storm, to bring you inside the marvelous world of Mariah Carey. Read on...
Tell us about E=MC˛
This album, it's so much about fun and freedom and just the continuation of me feeling emancipated. It's sort of like emancipation equals Mariah Carey times two. This is me, 100%...having fun, just being real. People ask me all the time: "How do you stay relevant, how do you stay current, how do you make music that people continue to respond to?" You just keep being real, keep being you. Stay true to who you are from the beginning.
How was working on this project different from your last album?
It's really interesting because I didn't know what was going to happen with The Emancipation of Mimi. I was, of course, hoping for success, but the fact that it was such a massive worldwide phenomenon - I was so grateful and thankful to God for that gift and that blessing, that getting back in the studio was really, you know I really prayed to have something that I could be proud of and that I could be really inspired to go in there every day and sing or write a new song.
If Mimi was dinner, this is dessert?
Me and my friends have a joke about "treat it as dessert"- that's kind of it's own little thing that we say. It's a long story, it's an inside joke I can't really say but, yes, if Mimi was dinner, treat this as dessert. Meaning it's the best part coming up.
Did you try anything new this time around?
It's hard to be really specific about it because music is, it's in the air, it's divine inspiration but I think what I did is just try to express myself from my soul. I tried to express myself from, like, having a sense of humour...and just really being myself. I think that's the most important thing that for a long time I wasn't able to do. When you can listen to your own music and put inside jokes in there, and put things that have been a part of my behind-the-scenes life in to a song...fans are getting a glimpse of me the person as well as the artist. So I think it's something very new for me.
Would you describe it as more hip-hop or R&B?
It's so funny because ever since I did my first remix with ODB people have been saying "wow, you're doing this new hip-hop thing." And I'm like: it's not new, its what I've always loved, I'm just allowed to do it now. And a lot of people didn't know some of those hip-hop collaborations because they didn't listen to hip-hop radio or buy remixes - I just put the remix record out a few years ago, so some people never got to hear that 'till then. So now yes there's a lot of hip hop flavour but there are definitely very powerfully sung, emotionally rich ballads.
Some of these record are so powerful in terms of where they're coming from lyrically, the way that I just sang them: one time and that was it. Reminiscent of some times a long time ago when I would sing a song one time and just leave it and that was it because the emotion was there. And I think that's what's different about this record to maybe the past few albums.
Where did you record the album?
I recorded in a lot of place... Let's say I'm working with a big producer, I'm working on a track, I'll go to where they are usually, where they are inspired, and then I'll take the track and go sing someplace like Capri or maybe Florida. I spent a lot of time in St. Martin, all different places this time on this record.
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