Miss Carey finally has her own show

THE first person to directly address the camera in Mariah Carey’s new reality show isn’t Mariah Carey. Not exactly, anyway.

It’s Bianca Storm, the brunette alter ego Carey introduced (and fought with) in the music video for her 1999 single Heartbreaker.

Fol l owing an introductory montage, Carey appears as Bianca, lounging on a chaise and holding a glass of champagne.

“I’m here to introduce a documentary about Mariah Carey,” Bianca says, slightly mispronouncing the singer’s name in her posh, notquite-British accent.

Mariah’s World, which premiered on Sunday night on E!, isn’t a reality show – because documentary sounds more grand.

Carey’s fans (she calls them lambs) know that the singer likes things to be grand. The opposite, in Mimi parlance, is bleak. Carey’s quirks – Bianca, spontaneous accents, a glam wardrobe and a shameless ban on fluorescent lighting – are on full display in Mariah’s World, but the strangest thing about the eight-episode docuseries (as E! has

billed it)

might be that we’ve had to wait so long for it. Mariah Carey has always been reality-TV gold.

And call it what you will, but Mariah’s World has all the trappings of a reality show.

E! goes behind the scenes as Carey prepares to go on a world tour, following the most recent leg of her Las Vegas residency.

It takes a lot of people to stage a tour, and each one brings potential drama. Stella Bulochnikov, Carey’s straight-talking manager, is cast as the villain who won’t hesitate to fire anyone.

There’s also Carey’s newly promoted creative director, plus a slew of backup dancers, singers and other staffers, including the nanny to Carey’s 5-yearold twins with her ex-husband, Nick Cannon.

As with the Kardashians, whose personal stories often play out in gossip headlines before making it into the family’s own E! show, Carey has had plenty of recent drama to stoke interest in Mariah’s World. Hoda Kotb asked Carey if she had considered pulling the plug on Mariah’s World after ending her engagement to Australian billionaire James Packer.

“Oh, I can’t give somebody that much power,” Carey said.

Her response hints at one good reason to do this show now – she’s finally in control of her image.

It makes for great (reality) television. - The Washington Post