Mariah: remixes, reunions and Russia

John Norris: Although this record is to an extent just a contractual thing, you say it's still something you're excited about.

Mariah: I'm excited about it because it was out in Japan first and I got it and I listened to it and it's a really good album. All the hip-hop remixes are there, and then you have the club mixes, so it's a totally unique kind of album. It is a contractual thing, and in a way I'm just like [sighs] "OK, this should've been out four years ago," but I think it's definitely like a collector's item. 'Cause a lot of the remixes you couldn't get in stores, you couldn't buy them.

Norris: Do you have a favorite track on either disc?

Mariah: Well, there's always "Heartbreaker", and we have the So So Def version of "Honey", which is a real favorite of mine. I like the "Fantasy" remix by David Morales 'cause I like how it starts out in one place and takes you to a totally different place.

Norris: Another version of "Fantasy" - the one that pairs you with Ol' Dirty Bastard - has become your all-time classic remix. How do you explain the song's enduring popularity?

Mariah: I think it's the simplicity of the track. It was the first time I worked with Puffy. And he really broke the track down to the basics of that Tom Tom Club loop [from "Genius of Love"]. And I think that there's just a magic to ODB's rhyme - like, there's something about it, and there's something about his voice mixed with my voice that was just so unexpected. And when we do it now onstage and I hear it and we perform it, it still makes me happy. It's still one of those songs that I love.

Norris: When it comes to marrying pop and hip-hop, you were way ahead of the game. As disc two illustrates, years before Ashanti met Ja Rule or Beyoncé got "Crazy in Love" with Jay-Z, you were in the studio with the likes of Mase, Da Brat, and Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz.

Mariah: I just love hip-hop, and I love combining what I can do with what a rapper can bring to a track. Because you can have a track that's really good and that's a hot record and the vocal is nice, but when you put a really good rapper on top of it, it takes it to another level.

Norris: Do you like hearing your songs in completely different, reworked ways?

Mariah: Yeah, 'cause I'm one of the architects reworking it. If I was just someone that just sat back and said, "Go ahead, speed up the vocals. Do what you want. Put 'em in there and do a remix" then that would be one thing. But I have memories of making those records and re-singing every vocal.

Norris: And that's something that just wasn't done a decade ago. You pioneered the practice of going into the studio to re-record vocals for remixes, often resulting in songs that were altogether different than the original.

Mariah: It was something that I wanted to do. It wasn't even something that the label said, "Hey, we need you to go in and do a remix." I was like, "When are we doing the remix?"

Norris: Some of the club mixes go back six, eight years. Do you think some sound more dated than others?

Mariah: I think maybe the club versions do because the style has changed so much and that's less of where my heart lies than with the [hip-hop mixes]. But the cool thing about the club CD ... is its very aerobics moments. [laughs] I do these pool water aerobics and it's like you can put that CD in and don't change it at all 'cause it's perfect for working out.

Norris: And finally, this album winds up with your most recent hit, "I Know What You Want" with Busta, a song that really caught fire a few months ago.

Mariah: You know, sometimes a really simplistic track like that with a melody that's so simple catches on. ... I just love how he sounded, and I think people responded 'cause it was basic and kinda sexy and feel-good.

Mariah Carey is on tour in Europe through November 7.

(MTV.com)