Mariah Carey's hot GMA concert in Times Square
Mariah Carey kicked off "Good Morning America's" Summer Concert Series with three songs from her latest album, "E=MC2". You don't have to be Albert Einstein to like the album's hit formula. "E=MC2" is already No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200. A veteran of the music scene, her 11th studio CD was released April 15. Also No. 1 is the DVD of her last concert tour, "The Adventures of Mimi", re-released and now at the top of the Billboard Top Music Video chart.
No stranger to Times Square, Carey stopped traffic three years ago when she preformed from her last album, "The Emancipation of Mimi". Carey has been on a worldwide tour to promote her new CD, traveling to London, Paris, Germany, Los Angeles and Chicago. Now in New York, Carey will debut her new film "Tennessee" at the Tribeca Film Festival. She plays a spirited woman running from her abusive husband who meets two brothers as they travel to meet their estranged father.
Carey didn't just perform for audiences in New York. Her concert was broadcast in Boston and Atlanta, where fans gathered to watch live simulcasts. In mid-May, Carey will jet off to the Middle East, performing a "private concert" in Dubai. Her loyal fans have been breathlessly awaiting the follow-up to her 2005 album, "The Emancipation of Mimi". That album spent 18 months on the charts, sold 10 million copies worldwide and won three Grammy awards.
Her album's first single, "Touch My Body", hit No. 1 on the Billboard chart and is now No. 5, putting Carey's total No. 1 hits at 18. With her latest single topping the chart, Carey has dethroned the King himself, beating Elvis Presley's long-standing record of 17 No. 1 hits. The Beatles still claim the most No. 1 hit songs, 20 of them in all. Carey is now the only active recording artist with a realistic chance of breaking that all-time record of No. 1 hits.
Carey also preformed "I'm That Chick", a song she co-wrote and co-produced. The lyrics are, in part, "I'm gonna be that chick you like." Carey, 38, was born on Long Island, N.Y., and began singing at the age of 4. Immediately after graduating from high school, Carey moved to New York City to pursue her music career. She was discovered by then-Sony Music Entertainment chief Tommy Mottola. The two wed in an elaborate ceremony, including a $25,000 wedding dress. While Carey and Mottola divorced in 1997, she didn't leave the label until 2000.
The last song that Carey preformed was perhaps her most personal one on "E=MC2". "Bye Bye" is a final farewell, written after she lost her father to cancer in 2003. Carey was 3 when her parents divorced. She and her mother often moved during her childhood, making Carey reluctant to have children anytime soon. She told the U.K .version of OK! Magazine that having her own children would make her feel "violated". Carey added, "I know that's a kind of weird thing to say, but that's how I am."
Despite her glam appearance, Carey confessed to lacking self-confidence in Allure magazine. "I've always had really low self-esteem, and I still do," she said. "What's weird about that is being onstage, and the love that you get, and the adoration that you feel from your real fans. It's hard for a partner to compete - just imagine." Carey slimmed down in preparation for this album's release.
To celebrate her CD release, NYC's Empire State Building will be lit up pink, lavender and white, the color motif of "E=MC2". According to Allure magazine, Carey can see the famous landmark from her apartment in downtown NYC.
Five-time Grammy winner Carey is ready to keep on promoting her new album, taking good care of her five-octave voice. Carey spends hours in a steam room and refuses to speak before a live performance, according to the U.K.'s Daily Mail. All for the sake of those hit songs. (ABC News)
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