Mariah bounces back
Mariah Carey may have emancipated Mimi, but she still ain't very free and easy where the conversation is concerned. Carey, who brings her multi-octave R&B majesty to MTS Centre this Tuesday, hasn't done much in the way of advance press for her Canadian tour, which comes in the wake of a massive career comeback bolstered by a multi-platinum album and a slew of Grammy awards.
Which of course means we didn't get a chance to grill her on some of the bizarre career missteps she's made since crashing onto the scene with the hit single Vision of Love back in 1990. Lucky for you guys, we've been taking notes, so we're only too happy to regale you with a highlight reel of some of the more dubious milestones in Miss Mimi's storied career.
June 1993: Carey marries Tommy Mottola, head of Sony Music and Columbia Records, and the man who basically launched her career after a demo made its way to him following a party. The couple separate in 1996 and finalize their divorce two years later, with Carey claiming she felt trapped by the relationship, and describing Mottola as controlling and emotionally abusive. "I longed for someone to come kidnap me back then," she tells Allure magazine. "I used to fantasize about that a lot. I'd have my pocketbook with me at all times in case I had to make an escape."
September 1991 to 2000: A period marked not so much by inconsistent behaviour, as by a series of album-related highs and lows that would come to typify Carey's relationship with critics. Her sophomore release, the Motown-inspired Emotions, is shrugged off by many as more of the same, though the MTV Unplugged EP lays to rest any notions that Mariah's vocal histrionics are the result of studio trickery. The follow-up Music Box became her most successful worldwide, and a subsequent Christmas album produced one of her most requested radio hits. Both Daydream and Butterfly are received warmly by fans and critic alike, and in 1998 Carey records a duet with Whitney Houston, who of course knows a thing or two about crazy, diva-esque antics.
July 2001: Carey is hospitalized for exhaustion, though it's widely reported she's suffered a complete mental and physical breakdown. In the weeks before she was admitted, she'd left messages with her record label complaining of being overworked, made rambling, near-incoherent statements to the press, and appeared on MTV's Total Request Live dressed in what looked like only a T-shirt, which she proceeded to hike up during an impromptu striptease before going back to handing out Popsicles to passers-by. Her publicist later announces she'll be taking a break from public appearances. 'Ya think?
September 2001: Glitter - Carey's long-delayed, semi-autobiographical movie - is roundly trounced by critics, who are as put off with the film's cliched rags-to-riches story as they are with Carey's apparent lack of acting abilities. To quote the Village Voice: "When (Carey) tries for an emotion - any emotion - she looks as if she's lost her car keys." Carey's performance earns her a Razzie nomination, and to add insult to injury, the Glitter soundtrack also bombs, though Carey later redeems herself with movie buffs by turning in a well-received supporting role in the 2002 flick WiseGirls.
June 2005: Carey is quoted blaming terrorists for the failure of the Glitter soundtrack, telling a Swiss newspaper, "I released it around 9/11. I became a punching bag. I was so successful that they tore me down because my album was No. 2 instead of No. 1. The media was laughing at me and attacked me ... Glitter was ahead of its time." Uh, yeah. That's totally what happened.
July 2005: Carey is nearly done in by a Janet Jackson-esque wardrobe malfunction after her costume gives way during a concert in Germany, briefly exposing her breasts to the crowd. She yells at stagehands to do something, and within seconds, the stage is plunged into darkness, though the audience can still hear her joking, "Someone bring me a jacket or the show's off. We all know how quickly these images can spread around the world."
February 2006: Carey gets grumpy after it's revealed Madonna will open the 2006 Grammy Awards by performing with De La Soul and cartoon electro-clash group Gorillaz, while Carey will have to settle for a mid-show medley accompanied by (yawn) a gospel choir. But don't cry for Mimi, Argentina. Carey still manages to score Grammys for best female R&B vocal, best R&B song, and best contemporary R&B album. Madge, meanwhile, looks even more computer-generated than the kooky holograms of her duet partners. (The Winnipeg Sun)
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