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Mariah fan Marc saw Jessica Simpson live in concert last night in Charlotte, North Carolina. During a question-and-answer session, which Jessica does at each of her shows, one girl asked, "Who is your favorite singer?" Jessica thought for a minute and then said, "I would have to say Mariah Carey!" and the crowd eruppted in appaluse.

Jessica added, "Actually part of the perks of being in this business is that I get to meet celebrities and I actually got to meet Mariah about two weeks ago when I was in New York". She continued saying, "You know I did not know really what to expect, because you never know if people are gonna be all 'diva' or whatever, but she was just the nicest person and she sat and talked to me for a few minutes. I could not believe I was meeting my idol. So yeah, Mariah is the best. I grew up listening to 'Vision of Love', 'Hero', 'Dreamlover', 'Fantasy' - and she was so nice!"

Jessica also mentioned that her husband Nick Lachey had worked with Mariah on the song "Thank God I Found You" when he was a member of 98 Degrees, and that she was signed to Columbia Records the same time Mariah was.

Successful producer/rapper Kanye West can now change serious dollars for his beats.

Rather than just working with popular artists these days, West says he�ll work with new artists. He believes this way people are more likely to notice his standout products.

New artist Talib Kweli�s semi-hit �Get By� may not have become as large as it did, had it gone to who it was originally intended � Mariah Carey. �It�s better that Kweli got it,� West says. �When you work with someone who�s already established as a major aritst, like Mariah, it�s like putting Legos together.�

West is currently working with Mariah on her new album, which is due out later this year.

The spinmeisters at Miramax Books are busily manufacturing buzz about "Bling," the first novel by 31-year-old Erica Kennedy, for which she got a reported seven-figure advance. (Of course, she had to give Miramax the film rights.) This voyeuristic close-up of the hip-hop industry has already made it into the New York Post's Page Six gossip column�not once, but twice. Music-biz playas are supposedly scrambling to get galleys to see if they can recognize themselves in any of the characters, and Naomi Campbell is supposedly bent out of shape over the novel's portrayal of a temperamental, fading supermodel. "I sent a copy to her," Kennedy coyly told NEWSWEEK. "I hope she likes it."

"Bling" centers on hip-hop mogul Lamont Jackson (Def Jam boss L. A. Reid�or not), whose motto is "If it don't make dollars, it don't make sense." In order to sell his Triple Large Entertainment label and succeed his aging mentor (Clive Davis�or not) at the major label Augusta Music, he must find a crossover artist, and he discovers Mimi Jean, a gorgeous young biracial singer (Mariah Carey�or not). And then there's that witchy supermodel Vanessa de la Cruz (well, she isn't Heidi Klum), hired to restyle Mimi into a ghetto-fabulous diva. Will Mimi sell herself out for worldly success? And will Miramax recoup its investment? We won't spoil the suspense.

Kennedy, a writer for such magazines as In Style and Vibe, grew up in the New York suburbs, graduated from Sarah Lawrence and went to Oxford for a while. "I wasn't living the thug life," she says. But in high school she did meet hip-hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons and became part of his clique. She either has a good memory, good notes�or just a good imagination. Kennedy says most of the book is fiction, and while all these roman a clef rumors may help sales, she believes "the talk diminishes my skills as a fiction writer." So she doesn't want us thinking this is real inside gossip? Like her heroine, she (and Miramax) should be careful what she wishes for.

Singer Mariah Carey has an appetite for Singapore food. Before she flew off to Indonesia after a brief appearance at the MTV Asia Awards 2004 show, she asked for local food for dinner.

Event producer Mishal Varma said: "She has been here before and remembers Singapore for its food. She said she'd rather have dinner here than on the plane."

It is not known what she ate, for the American superstar was chaperoned by a secretive, security-conscious entourage.

Earlier, Carey, 34, received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the show.

She had flown in from Busan, South Korea, with a group of nine on Saturday at about 3:30pm and was shuttled to the Fullerton Hotel. She stayed at its Far East Suite, a luxurious $5,000-a-night room.

She appeared at the show in a flowy pink dress with slits at the sides, but did not go into the press room. However, she did show up at the photo room with two burly bodyguards.

After a brief appearance at the awards at about 10pm, she was driven straight to Changi Airport where she left at about midnight for Jakarta. MTV Asia said she was scheduled to perform a show there last night as part of an Asian tour.

Mr. Varma said: "She's a fantastic person, very easy to work with."

Universal Music Publishing Group has signed superstar artist, songwriter Mariah Carey to an exclusive, worldwide publishing deal. The deal will bring her extensive catalog of hits into UMPG including such great songs as Whenever You Call, When You Believe (The Prince of Egypt), Dream Lover, Always Be My Baby, Emotions, and Someday.

Since she began her career, Mariah has become the best-selling female performer of all time, with an incredible 15 #1 singles and two Grammy Awards. Along the way she became the only artist to top the charts in each year of the 1990s, and, with �Heartbreaker,� she pushed ahead of the Beatles as the artist with the most cumulative weeks spent atop Billboard�s Hot 100 Singles chart.

Mariah Carey is planning to turn her life story into a series of children's books.

The troubled diva held talks with publishers about an autobiography late last year, but is reportedly now planning to fictionalise her struggles for young readers instead.

The proposed series would carry the same name as her forthcoming clothing line - Automatic Princess - and feature a mixed-race girl "navigating difficulties and misunderstandings [and] making the world a better place."

Carey, who is part-African American, Venezuelan and Irish, played a similar role in the flop semi-autobiographical movie "Glitter" as aspiring singer Billie Frank.

Children's books have become big business for celebrity writers - Madonna's third book, "Yakov and the Seven Thieves", will be published on June 21. Her previous efforts, "The English Roses" and "Mr. Peabody's Apples" have topped bestseller lists.

The proposed Automatic Princess titles are still in the planning stages, and no books are likely to be published until 2005 at the earliest.

Many people have been asking about what's going on with Mariah, the album, etc. So we have compiled what we know so far for you:

The New Album
Around August of 2003 Benny Medina and Mariah began talking about the plans for her new album. A few months later we start hearing various rumours of who is being recruited to work with Mariah on the album. In November, Lionel Cole stated that he had been writing with Mariah for the new album during the tour. In January MC is back working with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Although in February we heard the song Misty Moon from the Japanese commercial for the tea "Sokenbicha", no one has confirmed that a full version will be on her upcoming album, although it could be a possibility. However, the same month Damizza reveals that he was working with Mariah as well.
Mariah confirms in March that she is in the studio working on a new album and the album is not going to be called Lollypop. Mariah wrote many of the songs on the island of Anguilla and has been recording in New York City. Some of the artists and producers she has recorded with or is currently working with include: Kayne West, R. Kelly, Randy Jackson, Barry Danielian, Scram Jones, Jermaine Dupri, Trackmasterz, 9th Wonder, Mario Winans, James Poyer Mahogany, and Swiss Beatz. Of course, there is a lot of time before the fall when the album is scheduled for release, so we will be on the lookout for anymore information as to who will be appearing on the album.

The New Mariah
A lot of changes have been going on in Mariah's staff. So far, we know that L.A. Reid has taken over as President of Island Def Jam after Lyor Cohen left. How this will affect Mariah remains to be seen, although it hasn't seemed to change many things at the moment. Recently Mariah parted ways with her long-time publicist, Cindi Berger, and shortly thereafter ended her professional relations with her agents at William Morris Agency. Instead, Mariah has re-signed with Creative Artists Agency who she worked with in her earlier career. Time will tell if Mariah continues to reorganize and restructure her team before promotion of her new album begins.

The Buzz
Mariah has been talking about several projects that are currently in process. One of the biggest projects is the play she is set to perform in in the UK possibly early next year. There are also mentions of a possible television show of some sort, although there haven't been any confirmed details of what the show would consist of.
Just recently we have heard the song Mariah is featured on for Jadakiss' new album. The song is called "U Make Me Wanna" and is on the upcoming album "Kiss of Death" that will be released on June 22nd in the USA. Mariah's much talked about project Automatic Princess has been explained as a children's clothing line and is also set to possibly include a series of children's books about a biracial girl. We will keep you posted on any more details about Mariah's upcoming projects as soon as any information becomes available.

Possible Release Dates
There is wide speculation on this subject, Universal offices in Asia are giving information on a scheduled release for mid October to Early November. One thing is clear though that Japan will get the album up to a month before anyone else.
Nova Radio Group in Australia have widely reported the first single release. To quote: "The first single from Mariah's new album is scheduled for around October." If this is correct then Europe and Asia will either get a same date release or an earlier one.

Source - Mariah Connection

As soon as she graduated high school, Mariah had her bags packed and was prepared to begin a new life in New York City as a serious musician. But first she needed a place to stay; so she anylized her options and soon found herself sharing a one-bedroom apartment owned by fellow singer Clarissa Dane.

But life wasn�t so easy in those early days. Although Mariah was on her own, both money and food were scarce; and because the apartment she lived in was so small, she had to settle for sleeping on a mattress on the living room floor. Obviously things eventually picked up and Mariah turned her dreams of musicality into a wildly successful career.

But her roommate Clarissa Dane (whom Mariah says is full of "talent" and "integrity") turned out to be pretty successful as well. Clarissa has written and worked with major producers like Walter Afanasieff, Gary Cirimelli, and Ed Tuton; and in 1993 she signed a publishing deal with Sony Music. Since then, she did an alternative album and two videos for Epic Records and has continued to work as a songwriter and singer, collaborating with the likes of Amy Grant and Deborah Gibson.

Our affiliate, MariahDaily.com spoke with Clarissa about her personal friendship with Mariah and the times they faced together years ago as two struggling performers.

Mariah Daily: How did you first meet Mariah?
Clarissa Dane: I first met Mariah through her brother Morgan, who I met working at Studio 54. He told me his "little sister" was a singer and wanted to do some demos and could we work with her. I said sure! When I saw her, there was nothing little about her -- she was a strikingly beautiful, tall 16 year old (going on 25)! She was really sweet, quiet, and sort of shy at first; and then I got to know her -- very funny and very smart and very talented. Something we had in common was that she didn't really know her father growing up and I was given up for adoption. I found my biological mother 14 years ago. We were friends through all of that.

MD: What did you observe about Mariah and her talents? Did you ever think she would reach this level of stardom?
Clarissa: One thing we always had in common was the determination to "make it". When Mariah and I were roommates, we used to record fake interviews on cassette tapes all the time to rehearse for the "real thing". There were the pessimistic people that we tried to avoid or just ignore. She had such drive and a great work ethic that I knew there would be no stopping her. She had the talent, it was just a matter of the right record company getting behind her and selling it. As soon as I heard the first cuts from her first album, I knew she would be huge or I would have lost faith in the entire music industry. It was awesome, flawless. I was telling everyone, "You watch. She is going to be as big as Michael Jackson." But I think she exceeded everyone�s expectations.

MD: Do you remember what it was like for Mariah when she signed her record deal?
Clarissa: It was truly a dream come true and I think more of a fitting reality -- it was all she wanted. She was relieved and of course very happy. She was always very professional and a step by step kind of person. She knew how much work it would take, and though it seemed to the world an overnight success, it was really years in the making. Hard, hard work and long, long hours.

MD: What was life like sharing that apartment with Mariah and your other roommate Josefin? We hear at times it was pretty dramatic...complete with fires and floods.
Clarissa: It was nuts. It is always nuts in New York when you're young and following a dream. Before we were living with Josefin on 22nd street, it was bigger drama. We lived on 85th and Columbus Avenue and had like six roommates -- all in and out all the time. One had a rat that sat on her shoulder wherever she went. One sliced up our furniture and clothes. We got robbed -- wonder who did that -- you name it.

MD: Is it true that money was tight and food was almost an afterthought?
Clarissa: Money is tight for everyone starting off. You got food where you worked and that was usually one meal: dinner. But the thing is, you only work toward what you want. People do whatever it takes.

MD: Did you ever collaborate with Mariah on music?
Clarissa: Yes. We wrote a bunch of songs. (One was called "Fade Away".) We wrote it one night -- all night -- the whole thing. She came up with the first line and melody for "Just another lonely night..." and then we went off on that. It was more of a rock song. I did the music on my home studio and we both sang different verses and background vocals. I still love that song. I haven't heard it in years. We did a more final demo with producer Ed Tuton, before he was known, at his home studio but never did get to do a recorded version.

MD: Tell us about "As Long As I Can Sing."
Clarissa: David Freidman approached me with the idea to write a song for Mariah. I knew she wrote all her own stuff very well, and thought it wouldn't fly with her. To this day I don't know if she ever even heard it. David had a singer do the demo who really did a great job on it. It isn't quite a Mariah Carey song but perhaps someone out there will record it one day to radio.

MD: You attended Mariah�s wedding. Was the event as surreal as it looked on the outside?
Clarissa: That wedding was the most unreal thing for all of us. It was the first time we understood how famous Mariah was becoming. There were just tons of people chanting her name. It was wild. I was in the wedding and had to walk down the longest isle you ever saw. I was actually a brides maid. There were four of us all together. Mostly everyone who was invited to the wedding was a celebrity in their own right and to have all these faces you've seen all your life and admired for years watching you was totally surreal. A couple of ushers were huge celebrities. Super talented people. The reality of it is that we are all human. Everyone was very normal and nice and fun to talk to. It put it all into prospective. We all have to do our laundry.

MD: What do you consider to be your most memorable experience with Mariah?
Clarissa: The most memorable and fun experiences with Mariah were when it was just the two of us. It has been years since we just hung out without bodyguards and all of that. Let's see...staying up all night recording the "perfect" answering machine outgoing message, writing notes and getting in trouble at work, sneaking around looking for the guys we had a crush on, writing songs and singing, doing some crazy records together, running away from everyone for ice cream, lunch in Paris -- the simple things. (And also hanging out with Josefin. I love Josefin!).

MD: Do you still keep in touch with Mariah?
Clarissa: She sent my baby girl Cadance a beautiful dress, cashmere blanket, and silver rattle for her birth last year. We haven't spoken in a long time. We are leading very different lives and she is the busiest person I know. I barely have time to call my own mom, so I can only imagine what it is like for her to keep up with everyone. She's been through a lot and I think of her often. I know she has good people around her and that's all that matters. I'm always here and she knows that.

MD: Are you interested in Mariah�s music? You seem to have a different taste in music than she does.
Clarissa: We do different styles in music but we also both like all styles. She is one of the most versatile people I know -- which is something else not many people know. She can sing anything, any style. I have favorite songs of hers for sure. "Anytime You Need a Friend", "Hero", of course "Vision of Love"; and "Looking In" is one of my all time favorites of hers. She is as real as ever on that song. It is perfect.

MD: Do you think Mariah has changed as a person since the time you knew her?
Clarissa: If I have a bad day and happen to snap at a cab driver, it goes unnoticed like most of us. The thing about being in the public eye is, if it is "Mariah Carey" or any celebrity, they are pegged as such and it's in some paper the next day. We all have our moments of frustration, just most of us aren't recorded and penalized so harshly for it. It's funny. I don't see her very often and so I can easily be drawn into the "Mariah Carey" image that we all see and she seems like a distant stranger, but the minute I see her and hang out with her, it's right back to how it always was. Just like with any friend you see over time, there is no time. She is just Mariah. She is the same.

Clarissa Dane's song "Silent Lullaby" is available on "The Songs You Love", a compilation album promoting adoption. Her duet with Gary Cirimelli called "We Will Always Survive" is available on "Friends For Life", a compilation album featuring such artists as Aretha Franklin and Elton John for the benefit of breast and prostate cancer research.

Source - Mariah Daily

-- "They Call The Wind Mariah," the song from the "Paint Your Wagon" that Mariah was named after, is played during the end credits of the new Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler movie, "50 First Dates".

-- From The Age: American pop diva Mariah Carey stole the show at the annual MTV Asia Awards where she appeared to accept a Lifetime Achievement award in front of 7,000 fans. The 33-year-old star flew in from Busan, South Korea, to collect the award.

-- From Yahoo! News: A noted musician/producer, Randy Jackson previously was a major-label A&R executive (at MCA Records and Columbia Records) who has worked with many of the biggest names in music, including Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Celine Dion. Along with his "American Idol" gig, he manages up-and-coming singers Nikka Costa and Van Hunt.

So why does LeAnn Rimes seem intent on following in her footsteps, as she often did during her Wednesday performance at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center?

Rimes is blessed with natural pipes and they were on full display throughout her show, which benefited Special Olympics of Texas. But too often her voice was lost underneath her talented six-man band, which routinely overpowered her singing.

Let Rimes sing with an orchestra and it would most likely move grown men to tears. Put her with a pop band, their skill notwithstanding, and she's just another Mariah Carey.

BANGKOK:
The overwhelming success of Mariah Carey�s February concert has sparked huge demand for live performances by single female artists across Asia.

Next month pop diva Whitney Houston is due to perform, to be followed by sexy siren Britney Spears, who is committed to a Bangkok performance early next year.

�There are quite a lot of choices as many [performers] are lining up to come to Asia, largely due to the high demand in China where supply is easily absorbed,� said Boonperm Intanapasat, general manager of event organiser Matching Entertainment Co Ltd.

Unusually high demand from China has encouraged artists to make their presence felt in Asia. While China is the main market, other countries, particularly Japan and Thailand, are high priorities on Asian tour itineraries.

This gives Boonperm opportunity to quote reasonable prices to have the artists appear in Bangkok, which in turn allows Thai audiences to see more of their favourite stars. Whitney herself will come to Bangkok after three concerts in China.

�If Bangkok were the only destination [on Houston�s Asian tour itinerary], we would have been required to pay more,� he added.

Matching is spending some Bt40 million on the one-night concert on July 19, when Whitney will croon for some 11,000 fans at Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani. Tickets start at Bt6,000, covering about 2,000 seats.

As usual, ticket sales do not cover all the expenses. In most of Boomperm�s cases, 50 per cent of expenses are financed by sponsors � Advanced Info Service (AIS) and Boon Rawd Brewery will back the Whitney Houston gig � while the remainder comes from ticket sales.

The rising demand for live performances also affords corporations increased participation in music-related marketing activities.

AIS has earmarked about Bt100 million in this area for this year, including Bt6 million for Whitney�s concert.

�Through this, we can strengthen brand value and forge closer relationships with clients,� said Titipong Khiewpaisal, AIS assistant vice president for consumer marketing.

�It is difficult to fathom concrete results from this spending but long-term benefits are something we look for. At least we take part in activities that benefit our clients,� he said.

-- The Nation

Every quarter, Mariah Daily posts tips on how you can buy Mariah's latest fashions and duplicate her style for the current season. Even though the first day of summer doesn't officially commence until later this month, temperatures - along with hemlines and midriff exposure - have been steadily rising for the last few weeks across the northern hemisphere.
When Mariah visited Saint Petersburg, Russia last year - in October - she was sporting the ideal summertime getup. Her simple top and bottom are not only trendy and stylish, but also sexy and colorful. Whether it is walking along the beach, dancing it up in a club, or sitting down for dinner; this outfit is perfect for any summer festivity.
If you like this look, copying it is quite easy since this style is very popular. And even though Mariah's originals most likely didn't come from GAP, getting the look for less and looking just as good is only a few clicks away. Here are some suggestions:
For the top, try Liz Claiborne's ring halter in cornflower blue, available at lizclaiborne.com. The $39 item is also available in walnut brown and navy gray. For the bottom, shop at Fetish by Eve, where you'll find a slim fitting corduroy cargo miniskirt - originally priced for $65 and now on sale for $39.
If you're interested in flashing your Mariah style while tanning, be sure to check out aeropostale.com and pacsun.com, where you'll find bathing suits similar to the ones Mariah wore for her 2004 official calendar photo shoot.

You will recall that during the Band Intro segments on the Charmbracelet World Tour, Mariah would sing about Sherry Tatum's men problems and Sherry would sing what they called her theme song, R&B singer Nivea's "Don't Mess With My Man". This is what Nivea has to say about Mariah:
"That's my girl. I love her to death. I use to sing pretending to be her. When I got the chance to finally meet her, I was talking but nothing was coming out my mouth. I was in a daze to meet the person I loved so much, but she knows I'm her #1 fan."
Nivea's latest single is called "Gangsta Girl" and features R. Kelly.

Radio 2 ran a programme called "Vox Pop" last week in which they were debating the popularity of power ballads. Mariah came up in conversation and they weren't too kind. Without You was introduced as "the epitome of the radio friendly ballad" and then a comparison was made between Nilsson and Mariah's versions.
One of the contributors was Tim Rice who said: "It's so vital when you write a ballad that the first successful version of it can be interpreted by other people. Harry Nilsson's version turned it into a standard. Had Mariah Carey been the first person to have done that song, the way she did it, the song would've got lost. Her version was only a hit because people had heard the original, they knew what the tune was, they knew when she was going way off beam with it, they knew what she should've been singing."
A record industry person called Chris then talked about the fact that he knew one of the people who was in the studio with Nilsson when he recorded his version and made comparison between what the fact that Nilsson "believes it" when he sings the song while, "with respect to Mariah Carey, who's a great singer, when she sings it, there's more notes than the bank of England. I cannot believe it. When you hear a ballad, you think 'can I believe it' and that's what makes a great, great song work."
The presenter, Fi Glover then bitchily concluded, "The cover version, a record company dream. When in doubt dust down an old classic, re-jig a key change here and there and hey presto, re-heated ballad success. Or in Mariah Carey's case, pain."

(Mariah Connection)

Singer Mariah Carey is known for her extremely short skirts and incredibly small tops. Looks like she loves a little bikini too. The star was caught relaxing in Capri. Mariah's Dolce & Gabanna bikini cost about $350, the Manolo Blahnik sandals about $815, the Chanel towel $435 and the Vera Wang sunglasses $350. She also has a Louis Vuitton swim bag which is worth $7,200.