Mariah... she's back

You look great. Come on, what's your secret?

I'm taking care of myself.

You obviously learned a lot from your ill health last year.

Oh yeah. I'm a lot healthier.

So much has been said about your exhaustion, the breakdown, the hospitalization. What was really going on?

Well, it was less of a breakdown and more of a physical situation. If I didn't allow you to sleep, and you worked 20-hour days for two months, you'd suffer - I don't care who you are. You physically cannot do it. And then, when there are paparazzi chasing you, hiding in the bushes, it's tough. Literally, I was passed out.

Why did you push yourself so hard?

I've been kind of self-parenting myself since I was little. My parents divorced when I was three: people do not really know about that. Kids who go through that don't take care of themselves as well as they should. So that was my thing. I was more on a work spiral, a tangent that should have been more organized. I also own my own management company. I have my own stuff - I control my own career and I produce and write all my songs. It's tough.

And you're all over the tabloids.

Yes, of course. The tabloid stuff, that's our society. We sell papers through shock. We love shock TV. We love reality TV shows, which are really reality-enhanced. We love that. We love trash talk shows. And we love to talk about celebrities...

But you love all that, too, right?

It's interesting. I find myself listening, going: "Who did what?" I go, "Wait a minute, what publication was this in?" I've learned that even the most respected newspapers in the world sometimes don't fact-check. Sometimes they'll misquote you, sometimes they'll just write things.

So, how do you get away from that?

You just do. I did my new album on a little island in the middle of the Mediterranean, right off of Italy, and I slept in the apartment above the studio. It was like this one little building on top of a hill and there is like no pollution, because you can't drive around there. It was really nice, because it was just a fun environment. You can work hard, but in a stress-free way. I was working around the clock, but sleeping when I felt like it. It's so gorgeous there. The ocean is just so amazing, and just these different little caves that have been there since the Roman Empire. It's great.

Where was this paradise?

I can't tell you because then it won't be my place.

Why are you calling the new CD Charmbracelet?

Charm bracelets are sort of sentimental objects that represent a person. My grandmother had one. It's something that has a lot of sentimental value to me. So it's like giving a gift to my fans in a way. It's like each song has it's own charm. It represents part of my life.

We've seen two distinctly different sides of your music lately - the uptempo hip-hop songs and the ballads. Which do you prefer?

I like both. I have a lot of different influences. I grew up mostly on R&B music. My mother is an opera singer. I've done a lot of different collaborations, like with Pavarotti. He sang Hero in Italian, and I sang it in English for his charity event that he has every year. I don't want to limit myself to one thing; I've always liked working with all different types of artists.

The first CD came out in 1990 and instantly made you a star. How has 12 years of life as a celebrity affected you?

I feel like I grew up in the public eye. I'm sort of eternally 12 in my mind. I don't know, I didn't really feel famous. It's like I just started out, and it was about the music and the singing and all that stuff. The fame thing is just, I don't know. I feel like the same person. And it's a weird thing. I feel it when it's invasive, when people are hiding in bushes and taking your pictures and you are in tabloids. But other than that, I don't know. I feel close to the people that I meet who have grown up listening to those records. That's how I chronicle my life. Someone would say, "Well, when did we do this?" and I'll be like, "OK, what album did I have out?" It's either what grade was I in, or what album did I have out?

When you're in the public eye, there's a lot of pressure to look good. How do you stay in shape?

I go up and down. But when I get a chance to exercise, it's not like it takes me that long. I don't have one of those regims that some of those other people have. I do have a nutritionist that I'm talking to. For the most part, I go on the stationary bike and watch movies. It passes the time (laughs). I either have to be on the phone or watch movies. If I watch a two-hour movie, I get two hours of cardio, which is great.

If we're to believe the tabloids, your love life is quite complicated. What does it take for a guy to get a date with Mariah Carey?

People sometimes think they have to say things in a certain way to be cool or to look unimpressed. That's nice, but I'm unimpressed. Who wants to be approached with some drab remark? I'm just like anybody else. It's not like that big of a deal. I don't have a big book of requirements.

One final thing, what are you most excited about right now - apart from your new record?

I have this artist I'm working with, and I'm really excited about her. She is 13 and she is really beautiful and has a really good voice. I'm looking forward to putting a CD out. She's like my little sister, my secret little sister.

(Vista)

Many thanks to Mariah Mania.