The mad world of Mariah
She won’t move without 15 lackeys, won’t sleep without 20 humidifiers and (despite a new toyboy) won’t give back her ex-fiance’s £8m ring. A new reality show bares all about...
HER erratic behaviour and extraordinary demands, not to mention a major dollop of actual talent, have ensured that Mariah Carey is one of the most outrageously pampered divas the showbusiness world has ever known.
For years, she has largely kept her outlandish requirements safely inside her own self-indulgent bubble. Tonight though, the singing superstar launches a fly-on-the-wall documentary that she hopes will rival Keeping Up With The Kardashians as the biggest reality series of all time.
The Mail on Sunday has had a sneak preview of Mariah’s World, in which cameras for US network E! follow her through her whirlwind life of private jets, stretch limos and a fawning entourage – and chronicle her break-up from billionaire fiance James Packer.
Mariah, aged 46 or 47 depending on who you believe, once said: ‘I guess I am a diva in many ways, I can be difficult and a bit rigid about what I want.’
And that, for once in her life, is an understatement – as our exclusive A to Z of the Mariahsphere makes shockingly clear…
Ais for Apple TV: Mariah insists the digital media player is installed in every hotel she stays in on her European tour, so she can listen while she sleeps. Viewers on her show will see her assistant cry as she explains if Mariah can’t listen to it, she can’t sleep; if she can’t sleep she can’t perform. If she can’t perform, EVERYTHING falls to pieces. Obviously.
Bis for Billionaire: She’s partial to a rich man and hit the jackpot last year when she began dating Australian billionaire James Packer. He soon proposed but they split in October, with Packer unnerved by his fiancee’s lavish ways. She has reportedly demanded £35million from him as compensation. He also allegedly did ‘something really bad’ but we’re yet to know what.
Cis for Chaises Longue: Her new show sees her lounging on a giant green chaise longue in her New York apartment to tell us all about her life. She even likes to ‘recline’, Roman-style, while eating. They feature in all of Mariah’s concerts. C is also for Candles: While staying at London’s Baglioni hotel in 2005, she refused to enter until a red carpet was rolled out for her, along with flickering white candles.
Dis for Dancers: Mariah’s show features her looking very pleased with herself as she surrounds herself with buff, scantily clad backing dancers. One in particular appears to have taken her fancy… Step forward Bryan Tanaka, the singer’s new 33-year-old toyboy who has put a smile on her face following her split from Packer. Last week they took a trip to Hawaii, above, together. Just them and the paparazzi.
Eis for Entourage: Mariah won’t go anywhere without at least 15 fawning lackeys, ensuring that she doesn’t have to lift one of her perfectly manicured fingers. Her show has a rolling cast of personal assistants, nannies, managers, someone to push her in a wheelchair and a maid to make her bed anywhere in the world. Mariah also has a member of staff to hold her drink while she sips it out of a straw, and 11 security guards to surround her if she’s eating in a restaurant to make sure she isn’t seen.
Fis for Flowers: Mariah likes flowers, in particular white roses. Red ones are fine, and pale pink, too, as long as there are lots of them. Two dozen are to be placed in her dressing room while touring, held in expensive vases. On a trip to London in 2008, Mariah insisted she was surrounded by roses while doing a book signing at Selfridges. At the same time she demanded a £1,000 throne and a £5,000 antique table, covered in silk.
Gis for Glasses: She insists on wearing outsize designer shades, right, inside – particularly where there is fluorescent lighting. Mariah’s favourites are by US designer Tom Ford which sell for anywhere between £200 and £400.
In 2008 she installed a £10,000 gym next to her penthouse suite at London’s exclusive Claridge’s hotel.
His for Humidifiers: Mariah sleeps with 20 in her bedroom, so that it feels like a steam room. This apparently ensures her vocal cords remain in tip-top condition. Her bedroom ceiling is steeply pitched so conden-
sation runs off rather than dripping on to her head. Mariah’s maid has responsibility for humidifying – as viewers see on the show.
Iis for Insects: Mariah is very particular about these. She only likes butterflies, which she loves so much she named her second album after them and has swarms of them at home. She has even been known to insist on having pink butterfly confetti in her dressing room. She has a butterfly tattooed on her back. It’s lucky she can’t see it – ex-husband Nick Cannon’s name is written through it.
Jis for Jewels: Life is all about diamonds for Mariah. Earlier this year she was given her most expensive one to date – an £8million engagement ring, above right, from Packer. Just in case you haven’t seen it, tune into her show where you’ll see her flashing it at any given opportunity. The jewel is at the centre of a custody battle, with Mariah refusing to return it.
Kis for Kardashians and Kittens: Until now Kim and Co have worn the diamante crown as the queens of reality TV. But not for much longer if Mariah has anything to do with it. There’s little love lost between them, either. In 2014, Mariah’s ex, Nick Cannon revealed she doesn’t even know who the Kardashians are.
Mariah also has a thing for baby cats. In 2009, when turning the Christmas lights on at Westfield shopping centre in London, she asked for 20 white kittens to surround her as she flicked the switch. She also wanted 100 white doves and 100 security guards.
Lis for Lipo: It has long been alleged that Mariah has undergone a long list of cosmetic surgeries, Botox, nose jobs, boob jobs, cheek implants and tummy tucks. Last Christmas, after she unveiled a new, slimline figure on Instagram, rumours that the 45lb of weight loss was courtesy of liposuction were emblazoned across American gossip magazines.
Mis for Mimi: Mariah expects her staff, friends, family and even fans to call her Mimi. She has a thing for names beginning with M. Her five-year-old twins are called Moroccan and Monroe. They appear in the TV show – telling her off for jumping into the sea fully clothed.
Nis for Nanny: It’s not an easy life being Mariah’s Mary Poppins. Simonette Da Costa sued Mariah after she was sacked for apparently showing the twins too much affection. She also claimed she worked 100-hour weeks, was on call 24 hours a day and was never paid overtime.
Ois for Outfits: Mariah makes no secret of the fact she simply loves clothes, particularly jewelencrusted floor-length numbers that show off her ample cleavage. When on tour though, one isn’t enough, nor two, or three. Oh no, Mariah likes to have a minimum of six changes per gig. She loads her dresses into a staggering 27 suitcases.
Pis for Prenup and Private jets: Rumours that she was ordered by Packer to sign a prenuptial agreement are confirmed on Mariah’s World. It wasn’t such a bad deal though. The star was being offered £4.75 million for every year of marriage, capped at £25million.
Mariah is seen hopping on and off her private jet – her preferred way to travel. When filming her movie Tennessee in 2007, she was so appalled at having to fly economy that she bought up every seat in the cabin.
Qis for Queen: Mariah likes to describe herself as the Queen of R&B. In fact, she likes to think she is the Queen of absolutely everything. And it goes without saying her diamond collection gives Queen Elizabeth II a run for her money.
Ris for Royalties: Her bank balance sits at around £410 million, but it’s due for a top-up any time now. Her festive tune, All I Want For Christmas, nets her a whopping £376,000 in royalties every December and has generated about £30 million worldwide since its release in 1994.
Sis for Stilettos: Mariah takes 100 pairs of high heels on tour. When she struggles to fasten them up, as she does on her show, she calls on four poor souls to do it for her. Unfortunately, sky-scraping shoes don’t like her with the same enthusiasm. Last May she fell on a red carpet in New York while attempting to walk in a towering pair of Louboutins. But that will never stop her from wearing them. She insists: ‘I can’t wear flat shoes, my feet repel them.’ Just in case, she has a member of staff to CARRY her when her toes hurt.
Tis for Timekeeping and Temper: Viewers of Mariah’s World will be treated to a bit of both. Tardiness is one of Mariah’s middle names – she left her backing dancers waiting for three hours on the eve of her European tour in Glasgow. Mariah also has a temper and throws a diamond at a wall at the beginning of the series’ first episode.
Uis for Underwear: The racier and lacier the better for Mariah. As much as she loves a frock, she is also happy to leave them at home and venture out purely in her smalls. Earlier this year she DJ’d at Las Vegas nightclub in black lingerie – stockings, suspenders and all. And she loves to show off her curves by posing in her favourite undies and posting the pictures on Instagram, above left.
Vis for Voice and Vitamin water: Without her extraordinary five-octave range, Mariah’s world would be a great deal more humdrum. So it is hardly surprising she has insured her voice for a staggering £28million. She refuses to speak to anyone for two days before a concert.
As for vitamin water, she is said to wash her dog Fred’s hair with it.
Wis for Walk-In-Wardrobe: It’s every woman’s dream to own one of these. Mariah has one just for lingerie, another for shoes, and four huge mobile ones to take on tour. At home in New York, her wardrobes are climate controlled and arranged by colour and material.
Xis for Exes: It’s not only Mariah who has plenty of ex-boyfriends, her staff do too. Viewers will be stunned when Mariah insists that her new assistant, Molly, dumps her man. Boyfriends, Mariah tells her, are to be ‘non-existent’. Molly’s ex is in good company, as Mariah has a few of her own, including Flavio Briatore, Eminem and another former husband, Tommy Mottola.
Yis for Yacht: A few weeks before their split, Mariah and Packer jet away for a short break off the coast of Capri. However, as seen in the show, they don’t share a yacht, but have a his and hers pair. While his is bigger than hers, Mariah’s, below, is every inch as luxurious as you’d expect – with a designer bathroom, hot tub, and of course, a walk-in-wardrobe. At 192ft long, it can house her
entire entourage.
Zis for Zzzzzzz’s: Viewers will be left wondering if Mariah’s assistant managed to install that Apple TV, the key to her sleep. In fact, she did, and the humidifiers next to her bed worked, so we can reveal that Mariah did indeed get some zzzzz’s during her tour. This is a good thing because, according to the star herself, she is ‘not a morning person’.