Mariah an entertaining backstage diva
I'm told Mick Jagger was very amused by the goings-on in his first-class cabin concerning our very own Mariah Carey. Now, mind you, at Live 8 I had an extremely pleasant time with Carey in her dressing-room area, where she entertained fans seeking autographs, as well as Snoop Dogg and the legendary Charlie Wilson of the Gap Band. She also played hostess to Bob Geldof, who stopped in to thank her for coming such a long distance. (Carey had a July 4th gig in the U.S. that she couldn't miss, which meant an instant turnaround.)
Here's the thing about Mariah: She is a diva, and she doesn't even know it. While I sat with her, she sent back her spaghetti-and-meat-sauce dinner three times - because it had cheese on it. It's not like she's allergic to cheese, either. It's that she could smell that the grated parmesan came from a jar and wasn't fresh. ("It's a thing I've had since fourth grade," she said.) It was kind of hilarious.
On the other hand, Mariah's performance at Live 8 was, I thought, spectacular. And by the way, did you notice that Randy Jackson of "American Idol" fame, her longtime producer, was her bandleader for the night? On "Hero," Mariah went into what I would call a triple lutz, a complicated, fluttering note that sent goosebumps into the audience. The British fans loved her, no matter what their critics say. I was standing in the middle of a crowd, including Oscar-winning actress Faye Dunaway, that could not get enough of her.
But Mariah is Mariah. She was supposed to sing "Vision of Love", not "Hero", but changed her mind at the last minute. The reason? She told me she wanted to accommodate the African Children's Choir, and with "Hero" they could get more singing time. And Carey - unlike Madonna and many other stars - stuck around and participated in the big finale. She gets credit for that in abundance.
But I digress. Back on the flight, where Mick was furiously word-processing, Carey - my spies reveal - did not like the placement of her first-class seat. She felt on inspection that Jeff Kwatinetz, owner of the Hollywood management company The Firm, had the better set-up. So she politely asked if she could change with him. Kwatinetz was sitting with his colleague, Peter Katsis, who complied with Carey. That left the singer sitting with Kwatinetz for six hours, while her own manager - the incomparable Benny Medina - was left to his own devices.
Making Mariah's presence in the first-class section even more interesting was her personal entourage, who apparently did not leave her unattended for a minute of the six-hour flight. "Even Mick looked a little shocked that there was always a circle of people around Mariah," my spy observed. A circle - and a cloud of powder.
Mariah, meantime, gets the last laugh. She has the No. 1 album of the summer, two hit singles (and maybe two or three more to come) and can look forward to a passel of Grammy nominations and lots of other less reputable but highly publicize-able awards when the fall season kicks in.
She's off to the island of Capri for part of the summer, but not before Island/DefJam's L.A. Reid charters a yacht for her, Medina, their gang and his family to float around the Mediterranean and celebrate "The Emancipation of Mimi". I just hope Benny checks later to make the boat isn't charged against the album. And that Jeff Kwatinetz isn't one of the waiters. (Fox 411)
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