Wednesday 22 December 1999

Mariah on fire!! Hittin' the streets with our fave honey

Notoriously cool New Yorkers, characteristically bustling from one place to another, might have been too preoccupied to notice. This urban populace, most known for their cosmopolitan attitude, usually have no time to stare and gawk. As promotional vehicles hawking the latest, hottest music releases have become a regular sight, driving up and down some of the city's major avenues with larger-than-life images of music stars, few bothered to look beyond a casual glance at the bright pink-colored vehicle emblazoned with a sexy photo of superstar Mariah Carey on the hood. Though her "Heartbreaker" single had grown inescapable, due to the large amount of radio time it was logging, as well as video station saturation and online previews (the single was initially heard by those who'd downloaded Microsoft's Windows Media Player), sidewalk folks just weren't fazed. That is, until Mariah herself stepped out of the vehicle at a couple of Manhattan destinations. That was when the too-cool, Big Apple multitude lost their cool!

The big metropolis' hometown girl figuratively "painted the Big Apple pink," as she embarked on a few personal / promotional appearances in support of her impending release, Rainbow. Just as many fans have been impressed with her work ethic, often putting out two releases for every one release put out by many of her peers. The biggest-selling female recording artist of the '90s kicked off her full-days worth of hitting the streets at the Tri-State area's rhythm pop / dance station WKTU in Jersey City (just blocks from our editor's crib), where she plugged her anxiously-awaited LP. Just a twenty-minute ride away, MC and crew then jetted up to Secausus, New Jersey, the headquarters for popular mainstream station Z-100. Though that was your run-of-the-mill promotional task most recording artists get into, Mariah's day wasn't even officially "off and running" yet.

Preparing to gag some of her biggest fans in a confrontational way, Mariah made a stop in midtown Manhattan-located Manhattan Mall (in the Herald Square shopping district), where folks just could't believe their eyes. Amongst the many discount and department stores, Mariah actually walked amongst some of her most ardent supporters, as if she were simply shopping. And, just like shopping creates quite the appetite for most of us, Mariah took a lunch break - not at the 5-star restaurant she could have gotten her grub on at, but at McDonald's, where the cashiers went into shock. A gal's gotta watch her waist-line nowadays more than ever, so Mariah didn't throw down, opting to munch on their popular fries before jetting to one of the places where the business of her music career really goes down - popular record chain HMV. Not just there for the average in-store CD signing, Carey hit a couple of fans with her autograph, but spent just as much time scooping up CDs by her own personal favorites.

Oh, and then there was her excursion down into the subway, where she brought rush hour to a near halt, when she got on line to buy a Metrocard (the fare card used by commuters). "Now what does she need a Metrocard for?," asked a few curious by-standers. Though her representative, at first, hesitated to answer, supposedly for "security reasons," she would later give an equally vague response, "Let's just say that Mariah is more of a true New Yorker than people think." Nonchalant, on-the-go Manhattanites had better be more aware of their surroundings if that's a fact. Mariah just might behind you on line at KFC, buying vegetables at Union Square's farmer's market, on the dancefloor next to you at Ohm or Life, strolling down 8th Street (in Greenwich Village), or window shopping down Fifth Avenue, if that's the case.

Capping off her full day's work of public activity, Mariah and her peeps headed up to Harlem - 144th Street, to be exact - to pay a visit to some of her youngest fans at the Countee Cullen School. Students nearly lost it when jean-clad Carey casually walked in as if she were the day's substitute teacher. Imagine the view when this hottie turns around to write on the black board!

Only diehard fans know how much it means for Mariah to somehow connect with her fans. More than most celebrities of today, she has made it a point to involve them in various aspects of her red-hot career. After all, where would she be without them? Fans have been invited to TV special tapings, record release parties and many other Carey-associated events.

So it's no surprise that, just a week later, "Heartbreaker" remarkably became her 14th # 1 single, bringing in her biggest first week sales ever. Only legendary acts like the Beatles (with 20) and Elvis (logging in at 18) have more # 1 singles. Yet she has more than any active recording artist, and certainly more than any female act (the Supremes have 12, Madonna just behind at 11). Her handlers haven't exactly been hunble about the fact that Mariah is the only artist to have had a # 1 single for every year of the '90s. But when you work as hard as this multi-talented diva, props are given. Perhaps that's why she's amassed sales of more than 115 million records worldwide, and has racked up 84 gold, platinum and multi-platinum certifications for her singles, LPs and videos.

Not one to underestimate the amount of work it takes to sustain such an in-demand, high-profile career like hers, Mariah fed into the multi-media blitz coinciding with the impending release of Rainbow. While "Heartbreaker" continued working the upper regions of national charts, Columbia's system went into overdrive, readying the release of the sing-along-fashioned pop / R&B ballad "Thank God I Found You," on which she is teamed with R&B crooner Joe and pop sensations 98º. Those who snagged a copy of Rainbow would soon learn that she's also joined by popular peers like Usher ("How Much"), Missy & Da Brat ("Heartbreaker" remix), Snoop Dogg ("Crybaby"), as well as a down-low appearance by Master P, who also snags a production credit.

On her "to-do" list just after this flurry of activity included a trip through Europe, where she would similarly connect with ardent followers in that territory, as well as coming back home to the states to film a television special. As Donna Summer once wailed on a hit from yesteryear, "She works hard for the money." Though MC's taken care of where "mad cheddar" is concerned, the first part of that statement refers to our fave honey.

(Black Beat)



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