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I\u2019m dying to know, with a vocal register that goes so high it can probably reach heaven itself, 15 studio albums under her belt and another on the way, and an iconic Christmas song that fills Santa\u2019s bag up with cash every holiday season\u2026What is the best thing about being Mariah Carey?<\/p>\n
The music legend is reposing on the chair in her hotel room at the Four Seasons hotel in Los Angeles. Dressed in all black\u2014a long-sleeve blouse, belt, skirt, high heels\u2014she puts on dark sunglasses as our interview starts. She doesn\u2019t hesitate before providing her crystalline one-word answer to my question:<\/p>\n
\u201cDiamonds.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 56-year-old singer is about to release Here For It All, her first studio album in seven years, and despite her voice, discography, and, of course, the diamonds, she isn\u2019t sure about the I-word. Iconic. \u201cI don\u2019t think I am,\u201d says Carey, the only artist ever to rank number one on Billboard\u2019s Hot 100 in four distinct decades, while wearing sunglasses indoors. \u201cEverybody tells me that I am, but I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
One can understand why Carey might feel strange about the descriptor. The singer is balancing putting out brand-new music and being in the studio\u2014\u201cThat\u2019s my heart,\u201d she says of the experience\u2014while being recognized as one of the greatest musicians of this era. BET awarded her with the Ultimate Icon Award this summer. Earlier this month, Carey received MTV\u2019s Video Vanguard Award<\/a> in recognition for her decades-long career. Ariana Grande introduced<\/u><\/a> her, describing her as \u201cthe reason why so many of us here sing.\u201d<\/p>\n Carey, though, is still singing. She has spent the summer rolling out a pair of singles that prove she can do more than just career retrospectives. \u201cSugar Sweet\u201d pairs her with Kehlani and Shenseea on a dreamy pop hit that\u2019s as light as cotton candy, while \u201cType Dangerous\u201d shows us her sassier side: \u201cThey don\u2019t know the meaning of water nor soap\u201d she sings after spotting \u201cthree hatin\u2019-ass hoes.\u201d<\/p>\n Here For It All only came together because Carey kept landing on these single-worthy tracks. \u201cI started making some records and then I had three, and then I had four,\u201d she explains. \u201cI kept writing and kept just recording different songs. I decided now that we have five new singles, let\u2019s do \u2018em all.\u201d<\/p>\n Carey says \u201cType Dangerous\u201d is already one of her favorite songs to perform. Lately, her live shows represent the push and pull between being the legendary Mariah Carey and the Mariah Carey with new music to sing. While she\u2019s having fun with her single, I asked if she\u2019s feeling burnt out on any of the classics she\u2019s made since her debut in 1991. \u201cI am very thankful for \u2018Hero,\u2019 but I don\u2019t always want to perform it because we performed it quite a bit,\u201d she says. Sometimes, in the middle of singing it live, \u201cI\u2019ll get choked up,\u201d Carey adds. \u201cIt\u2019s one of those songs.\u201d<\/p>\n One type of performance Carey is desperate to do more of is anything involving her teenaged twins, Monroe and Moroccan (a.k.a. Rocky). Being no-ifs-and-or-buts-about-it iconic can only get you so far with your own 14-year-olds. At Carey\u2019s annual Christmas show last year, both Monroe and Rocky came on stage to dance and sing with her. The \u201cAll I Want for Christmas\u201d songstress is struggling to get a repeat performance out of them when the show stops in Las Vegas this November. \u201cThey\u2019re not doing it this year, I\u2019m so sad,\u201d she says. \u201cI should call my daughter and be like, \u2018I\u2019m here talking about you and you\u2019re not doing the show.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Which is how the singer and I end up FaceTiming Monroe from the Four Seasons. The teenager answers from their home gym. Carey enlists me as part of the chorus, pleading with her to perform in Vegas. \u201cI might do it,\u201d Monroe says. Then, she asks me: \u201cDo you know Olivia Rodrigo?\u201d Carey\u2019s daughter is even wearing the 22-year-old singer\u2019s merch as we chat. Of course, I point out that there would be no Rodrigo without Carey.<\/p>\n Rebecca Spencer<\/span><\/p>\n The current pop landscape, maybe more than ever in history, feels dominated by female singer-songwriters. Rodrigo, along with contemporaries like Sabrina Carpenter, Tate McRae, as well as Grande and Taylor Swift far outclass any of their male counterparts. \u201cSome of the newer girls,\u201d Carey says, choosing her words more carefully than at any other point in the interview, \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Oh, that’s interesting.\u2019 And some I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh\u2019\u201d\u2014suddenly you can hear the side-eye in her voice\u2014\u201c\u2018that\u2019s interesting.\u2019\u201d Still, regardless of her feelings about this new class of pop stars, this women-led era has the pitch-perfect conditions to receive Carey\u2019s new album. It\u2019s a world she herself helped create.<\/p>\n This is where being an icon, a Vanguard, a entertainer who goes to Vegas to perform Christmas megahits, and an avid songwriter comes into perfect harmony. For all the records she\u2019s broken\u20141995\u2019s \u201cFantasy\u201d made her the first female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100\u2014she insists she still loves making new music. \u201cThe vibe of the album is different,\u201d she says of Here For It All. \u201cThere are up-tempos, mid-tempos, and duets.\u201d Her favorite song on the album is the last one, the title track, which blends her signature ballads with gospel music.<\/p>\n Carey\u2019s made plenty of classics, but she\u2019s not done yet.<\/p>\n You Might Also Like<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/span><\/div>\n