MONARC: Simplemente Mariah [Simply Mariah] Vogue (Spain)

Simplemente Mariah [Simply Mariah]
Vogue (Spain) - March 2000 Issue

Mariah Carey, one of the most successful singers of the world, makes us see that glory is a colorful subject and happiness is not on millions of records sold. With no need to hide her human fragility, the diva makes an honest revelation.

Mariah Carey is unhappy. She says so between her teeth, trying to keep the tears that involuntarily well up her black eyes. Eventhough the rest of humankind would pay to have just a tiny part of her fame or money, she doesn't enjoy those things. "Being famous is something strange, complicated. I feel the need to be thankful everyday for all I got, but I am still a vulnerable person, I've suffered a lot, I've worked a lot to be where I am, but..."

She didn't finish the sentence. She almost never does so. She looks to another side and tries to smile. She looks fragile. Maybe it's the flu she has since she started promoting her eighth album, Rainbow, one week ago. But something is for sure: being the female singer that sold most albums and singles during the 90's (120 million records in the whole world) "is not the secret to happiness."

She is sitting inside a restaurant in New York, waiting for her limousine to take her to the airport to travel to Europe. The happy face that shines in all the promotions of her album and these days cover all her home town have nothing to do with the young girl squatted and exhausted that speaks confusedly to Vogue about the meaning of life. "I am learning to know myself, to accept myself, to be myself. I think that is the key." During this interview, Mariah Carey, 29 years old, repeats constantly three things: "I've been misunderstood, I am a fighter that received nothing easily and that wants to be fre." To understand her words, you need to dive deep into her past. She was raised in New York as part of a poor and problematic family, divorced parents and conflicted brothers. Since three years old she started living with her mother, an opera singer who used to do from Aretha Franklin songs to famous arias. She became independent at fifteen, starting her work as a waitress while writing and recording her own songs. She wanted to be successful with music and one day the miracle came true: in 1988 she met Tommy Mottola, an executive of the recording company Sony who she married in 1993. After listening to a tape recorded by Mariah, Mottola decided to record an album. "That was my biggest desire, get out of poorness and… be a famous singer!", exclaims while looking at a glass of white wine.

With her first album, entitled Mariah Carey, she received two Grammy awards and sold more than 12 million copies worldwide. Nonetheless, eventhough the critics recognized the power of her voice (which covers six octaves), they attacked her because of the simplicity of the lyrics (classic stories of falling in and out of love) and the excessively sentimental side of the songs. But her ballads, which created hordes of fans around the world, were slowly giving place to other types of music, and Rainbow is the most evident proof. "I've grown in the streets of New York, hip-hop is part of my culture, so nobody should be surprised that I began to introduce it to my albums," she affirms. The first step was done with Butterfly, her sixth album, with the collaboration of famous rappers like Puff Daddy and Krazy Bone. It wasn't a coincidence that such work was her first after separating from Tommy Mottola in 1997. "He didn't let me do what I really wanted. Because of that, once I was free, I could express musically who I am," she underlines.

Since the beginning, Mariah talked constantly about before and after Tommy Mottola. Even though she always wrote her songs, "before" he/they (the recording company) were deciding what she could do or not, and "now" she makes her own decisions. "I don't blame them. I was young and inexperienced but I've learned." She even changed the way to talk about herself. Nobody can say she is "just" a singer because then she becomes mad. "I am a writer, a producer, a musician," she says in a cutting way.

The genesis of Rainbow coincides with her new romantic relationship: the Mexican singer Luis Miguel. "He is a secure man, accepts me as I am and doesn't interferes in my work." They even recorded a song together for the album but scrapped it because they didn't like the final result. "Our relationship doesn't need to be commercially explored," she clarifies rapidly.

Co-produced with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (famous producers), Rainbow features important rappers as Jay-Z, Da Brat, Missy Elliot and Snopp Dogg. And even tough it is undeniable that they contributed to the evolution of her music, she continued with the same formula for the lyrics and the excessively sentimental ballads that enrapture some and... keep annoying others? We dared to ask. "No! Rainbow is a fan with many musical influences. My music is changing because I am changing!" clearly offended by the insinuation.

Well, calm down. Let's change the subject. Her new passion: the movies. She just did a cameo in the movie Gary Sinyor's The Bachelor, and in spring she will start to film All That Glitters, a musical written by Kate Lanier. It's the story of a singer who achieved stardom during the 80's and that, by the way, is protagonized by Mariah. She is the producer of the movie and the writer of the soundtrack too. "I always wanted to act. I took almost two years of acting classes and now all my energy is concentrated on that. Being an actress is very important to me because it's teaching me how to show my emotions, to not feel ashamed of what I feel, it's... (silence and then smiles).

The absolute idol of Mariah Carey is Marilyn Monroe. Her admiration for the actress made her invest 106 million of pesetas to buy her grand piano in an auction. "I don't even know if I am going to keep it. I would like to donate it to a museum." But there isn't a museum dedicated to Marilyn, I tell her. "But we need to create one. She deserves it. Everything that was auctioned there should go to a museum. Marilyn's piano is a piece of American history. I wanted to save it from the plunder. It represents her childhood, her mother, all the problems she had as a little girl and that made her who she was. I grew up admirating her. She suffered a lot, was not comprehended, always playing the fool, but...was an intellectual of our century! Does Mariah identifies herself with Marilyn? "I feel a connection with her because I was a sad girl too that suffered a lot and started to desire to feel well, to do things that made her feel well, it was hard." Mariah's eyes are full of tears again. But there is her manager, ready to save her and take her to the airport. "You can finish the interview in the car," exclaims the singer-writer-producer-actress. While in the streets of New York, I want to know what Mariah thinks about politcs. "I am an artist, I don't have opinions about those things" (Dry). Before she gets bored again, it's better to change the subject. "Does Mariah sleep in airplanes?" "I've had insomnia for years. I spend many nights talking on the phone, listening to music, watching movies, writing songs…" And what do you read? "Guides" But no writer? "Stevie Wonder. He is the best. An inspiration in my life." No writer of books? "Ah!" exclaims, thinks about it and then shoots "Jimmy Angelo."

"Time is over. We are about to get there," warns her manager. And then, with the advice, it's time for the last question. What is Mariah Carey's goal? "Be a happy person and (doubts)... learn to act, do a good movie and that people remember me as a person who fought to achieve her dreams."