She’s back MARIAH CAREY – THE RARITIES CRAIG SILVEY
THE SINGER REVISITS HER CAREER WITH A COMPILATION ALBUM THE AUTHOR OF JASPER JONES DISCUSSES HIS ANTICIPATED NEW NOVEL
It’s been 30 years since Mariah Carey burst onto the scene with her first hit single, ‘Vision Of Love’. And to celebrate, the pop superstar, 50, is releasing a new album.
The Rarities is a career-spanning compilation of previously unreleased Carey recordings from 1990 to 2020. It features hidden gems the singer found in her personal archive while researching for her soon to be released memoir, The Meaning of Mariah.
Carey insists she had only one person in mind when she was putting the album together – her fans. “This one is for you, my fans. It’s to celebrate us and to thank you for the years of pure love and support. I am so grateful to you,” she said when she announced the upcoming release on Instagram last month.
Among the 15 new treasures included on the album is a previously unreleased track from her debut record called ‘Here We Go Around Again’ and ‘Mesmerised’, a song from The Paperboy soundtrack.
A second bonus disc contains 17 tracks from her first full live concert on March 7, 1996, at the Tokyo Dome during her Daydream World Tour.
The relevance and meaning behind many of the new songs are also discussed in the new memoir. “I started writing this years ago,” she said of the joint project. “And the message rings true now more than ever. We’re all in this together.” Since the release of her debut self-titled album in 1990, the superstar has gone on to sell over 200 million records worldwide, making her the bestselling female artist of all time.
(The Rarities is out Oct. 2)
When asked why it’s taken him 11 years to deliver his third novel after his wildly successful 2009 book, Jasper Jones, Australian author Craig Silvey quips, “I’m lazy! I’ve been sitting at home, resting on my laurels mostly.”
He’s joking, of course, but adds that an “aborted” novel, as well as writing film scripts (including Jasper Jones’ adaptation) has kept him busy.
“I was tethered to Jasper Jones’ remarkable trajectory for a few years, and that was an amazing experience,” Silvey, 38, tells WHO. “But I’m also very excited and relieved that Honeybee is ready for the world now, too.” Set in Western Australia, the novel explores 14-year-old Sam Watson’s bond with veteran Vic when a chance encounter forges their bond.
How did the idea for Honeybee come to you?
The idea stemmed from a real event. My brother picked his partner up from the airport one night and as they were crossing a highway overpass, my brother saw a young person on the other side of the railings. He immediately called the police while his partner, Sam, approached the person to talk to them until help arrived. They told her they were struggling with their gender identity, they were estranged from family and they were homeless. My brother texted me at the time to tell me what was happening and I immediately felt very connected to a real person and a real event. The police came and the person went off in an ambulance. We all made attempts to follow up with this person, but they had a very common name so we have no idea what the outcome was. That sparked the idea for Honeybee’s opening scenes and the character of Sam.
Honeybee’s Sam is transgender. What work did you do to ensure you got that aspect right?
It was very important to get that right. I’m acutely aware that Sam’s journey is not my lived experience so that required me to approach the character’s story with respect and sensitivity. I read countless online testimonies from people who’ve had that experience. I connected with support networks and I met with a range of gender diverse people who very generously shared their stories with me.
What other challenges did you face while you were writing this book?
Writing a novel, for me at least, is an exercise in obsession. When you’re really enmeshed in the story, it can be hard to let go because it’s not a nine-to-five job. A book kind of inhabits you, it emerges from you and it doesn’t quite leave you – ever. The most challenging thing for me in this book was some of the emotional terrain I had to tread. I have so much affection for the characters in this book. I feel very close to them, so writing certain scenes just devastated me.
How do you decompress from that?
I cook, I play golf and exercise. I’m also obsessed with Succession and a reality TV show called Alone.
Are their any plans yet to adapt Honeybee into a script for the screen?
Trying to shape a book around the eventuality of an adaptation rarely works well. But I do feel a bit like the prettiest boy at the ball at the moment, as a few film producers have been in touch about doing something with Honeybee. It’s something I’ll consider – once I know what happens with the book. Watch this space! (Honeybee is out now)