Mariah Carey's love life has taken almost as many hits as she's had in the charts - but the pop star refuses to give up on true love. The 48-year-old was headed to the altar for a third time in 2016, to wed Australian billionaire James Packer. They split later that year, and the singer found herself starting all over again - but Mariah says she still believes in the "one".
Now smitten with toy boy dancer Bryan Tanaka, Mimi told Guilty Pleasures: "I do still believe in the one and true love." Happy to admit she's a hopeless romantic, she continued: "I'm just that type of a romantic person."
Getting the heartache out of her system on the airwaves is what makes her relatable, she says. "You have to channel that to write love songs people can relate to. That is one of the reasons why All I Want For Christmas Is You has lasted so long."
With hits such as Hero, Dreamlover and I Still Believe under her belt, Mariah says new album Caution, out on Friday, will tell fans not to put up with any rubbish from their lovers. "The funny thing is I didn't call it Caution because I'm, like, 'Ooh, I am being cautious.' It's just because of a song called Proceed With Caution. It's more of a wary love song," said Mariah, who was wed to record boss Tommy Mottola for five years in the '90s, then Nick Cannon for seven years, whom she divorced in 2016.
She added the song is about "telling someone to make sure they treat you right". However, it's not all so serious, she said, adding: "We used Caution tape to reveal the album cover on Twitter. I have my seven-year-old twins and we'll be driving down the street and they'll see some Caution tape and Rocky will be like, 'Mummy, look - Caution!'"
As well as paying a visit to her British fans, Mariah is cracking her neck for Santa to come - so she can spend time with Tanaka, 35, and her children Monroe and Moroccan. Referring to her classic Christmas hit, she said: "It's about sharing that time of year with someone you want to be with. I love the holidays and spending it with people that I love."
She famously "doesn't do stairs", but Mariah insists that she is in on the jokes about her diva-licious ways. The Touch My Body singer proudly declared "it's my shtick", and swears her antics are nothing compared with those of her opera singer mum Patricia.
In fact, Mimi says she is a "go with the flow" kinda girl, adding: "The whole diva thing is something that I play up on. As much as it is part of my persona and personality, it's really not who I am. I am not a difficult person. I go with the flow in terms of working with and getting to know people. So I think being difficult is not an accurate description of who I am."
Happy to wear that hat though, she continued: "But if they want to call me a diva, fine. My mother was an opera singer. I've been hearing about being a diva my whole life. It is what it is."
Behind closed doors, Mariah keeps life low-key - except for the occasional blow out at Harrods. "It's cool now with the kids, because I get to show them London and places they haven't been," she said. "They love it. Just going shopping can be fun. Doing something unexpected... going to Harrods. Hopefully, Harrods is still there!"
Beatles fan Mariah admits she is gunning for the Fab Four's epic record of most No.1 singles in US chart history. Mimi, who has 18 chart-topping hits, trails the Liverpudlian legends by two and is "definitely" aware she could make it into history books. "These are accomplishments I have put so much hard work into," the Fantasy singer said. "When I first started, it wasn't as easy as being in touch with fans on social media. You had to go to the different countries... promote yourself. That became part of who I am, so I am very proud of those statistics. They don't mean everything but definitely mean a lot, because I spent so much time working toward these goals."
She is the queen of Christmas radio and he was the king. And All I Want For Christmas Is You singer Mariah has revealed she was planning the ultimate festive collaboration with her pal George Michael, who penned Wham! hit Last Christmas. Tragically, George died on Christmas Day in 2016, aged 53.
Branding the Fast Love singer one of her heroes, Mimi said: "I would have loved to have been able to work with George. We had some great conversations and I was a huge fan of his. I loved the Faith album. I love Last Christmas." Sharing their goal to hatch the ultimate Christmas jingle she said: "We talked about it but we weren't able to put it together in time. It would have been nice to have done something together."
Chuffed with the longevity of her own festive song, Mariah said: ‘I'm just happy people like my music. I love making all types of music but especially Christmas music. It just feels good to have seen it so lasting in terms of people still enjoying the music."
(Metro)
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