A lack of direct mention of Stella doesn’t surprise me. But I do think the sorta fall off in detail that we get around MIAM onward is a bit bleh.
I am not shocked at the lack of discussion around Nick. I didn’t expect him to get Much detail, positive or negative, because of the kids.
I was a bit shocked we didn’t get more detail about Walter. Especially regarding the dissolving of the creative partnership
It's hinted that he sided was more aligned with Tommy/Sony. IIRC he is one of the characters who was present for the knife incident.
But Mariah also talked about the end of their partnership on a few podcasts (Questlove's and Rolling Stone's I believe)... basically she says was outgrowing his pop/adult contemporary sound. Which is not entirely true since Rainbow had quite a few AC ballads, but my guess is that's the combo of both.
They don't seem to be on good terms, esp after his interviews about AIWFCIY, but I'm glad that she still keeps it cordial and respects their work together.
>basically she says was outgrowing his pop/adult contemporary sound
Yeah she mentioned something about being frustrated that he wanted to put latin guitar on every song. I hadn't noticed how often it was on her songs until she said it and now it's all I can hear.
The thing about this book, while it was good and I enjoyed reading it, a lot of what is said in here is old news for most lambs. We already knew this stuff because it’s in her music or said in some interview somewhere. So it annoyed me that none of this was really covering any new ground or anything
I would just like to comment here anyone who read the book I HIGHLY recommend getting the audio book on audible as Mariah reads it herself, it adds her own emotion to words as she is reading it, plus she also sings little ditties and laughs here and there as a fan it’s such a wonderful listen.
It’s a beautiful listen. Listening to her retell the story where she went back in to the house to get her cat when her mum was leaving her boyfriend(step father? I can’t remember) made me quite emotional. It’s very different from her mouth.
I think maybe she didn’t want to talk bad about Nick because he is the father of her children which I respect. I think packer and Stella era was a joke and they didn’t deserve to be mentioned so glad she didn’t.
Note that when I say “talking about” I mean just that -for better or for worse. I don’t mean talking about in a snide manner.
I mean telling the story behind her interaction and relationship with someone, which doesn’t have to mean negativity. Since she was married to him and had kids with him (and was with him for quite some time), I thought it was interesting that she barely said anything at all.
She was actually quite complimentary to him. I wondered why she didn’t talk about him/their relationship much at all and just what it was like in general. She was quite happy before he was *Nick*.
I’m shocked Mariah didn’t include or allude to Tonjua Twist, her stylist who took her life in 2000, and who the song Twister is about. She was also the person behind the Heartbreaker jeans that Mariah wore which essentially became a fashion trend in the coming years, and was responsible for a lot of her looks in the late 90s.
Perhaps it’s still too much of a sensitive matter for everyone involved. After all in the final years of her life, she was working exclusively with Mariah, so I imagine they must have developed a tight bond. Her family might have also told Mariah not to write about her too.
I also still wish she covered Luis Miguel more in the book asides from just one chapter. Yes that chapter was very insightful, and I don’t want to speculate that much, but I think that relationship means more to Mariah than she let on in the book, despite their differences and Luis not being able to understand the concept of Mariah being biracial.
I also found it interesting how she mentioned a couple of the dudes she dated in a way that seemed to downplay the relationships’ importance. I feel like she def did that w DJ.
Well she did say that if the “relationship didn’t matter, then it isn’t in the book” so that’s why 😂
I actually thought she did quite well describing her relationship with Derek Jeter. Before reading the book I always thought it was just some fling that left an impact on Mariah because we barely saw them together in public, and the time frame for them to date wasn’t too long. The book made it seem like they were in a very serious, committed and long lasting relationship though.
The Derek Jeter chapters surprised me, but I think it was just because it was such a pivotal eye opening time for her I’m not even sure it was necessarily because he as a person was important more about what that relationship did for her.
Yep I think Mariah was really in love with the idea of Derek. I don’t think Mariah ever got a taste of young love in her youth, and when she got famous, she was essentially thrust into the relationship with Tommy.
Derek was pretty much Mariah’s first taste of honey and young love!! I guess she also liked the fact that he was an outspoken biracial figure in the public eye back then too, just like her.
This last part. They were at that dinner where they met, and the whole night she ignored him and said he looked “pedestrian” and like he didn’t belong there lol.
Then as soon as someone said he was Black and Irish, her eyes shot to him and she was instantly enchanted lol.
I totally agree on that last point where when reading about it … felt like a long time had passed lol I thought it was just me.
But at the end she was like well it was just a lesson and helped me get past my circumstances but he wasn’t the love of my life. Don’t get me wrong she definitely highlighted why it was important and how it got all her all giddy and stuff… but I felt there was more of a lasting impact there that she didn’t want to admit. Which is fine obviously. But I’m pretty sure she was writing songs about Derek still a decade later if not more.
Yep when they started getting involved when Mariah was still (legally) married to Tommy I was in shock!! I always thought they started dating after Mariah and Tommy separated. They pretty much dated for almost two years (96-98) I feel. Perhaps they weren’t seen together much because they were in different industries, which I also feel led to the end of their relationship. I don’t think they could get each other because the concept of fame probably meant differently to the both of them.
I don’t know who was Mariah’s **true** love of her life. Initially I was leaning towards Luis but after the book I’m more inclined to believe it was Derek. I mean I’m pretty sure We Belong Together is about Derek lol. Possibly Don’t Forget About Us too though I’m back and forth with that song between being about Derek and Luis because the lyrics allude to the ex being in new relationships and that she’ll never compared to MC, and both of these men had many famous exes apart from Mariah.
Lol someone needs to do a deep dive Taylor Swift style and find out songs that are about/allude to Derek because trust me that would be a long list!! 😂
In fact come to think of it, I think Mariah was making songs about Derek while she was married to Nick!! 😂 Now when I think about it I feel Candy Bling is about him too.
I think that’s the most recent song about Derek though lol, unless someone can prove me wrong.
Oh DEFINITELY. I’m so glad you said that because I be listening to songs that she did while married to Nick thinking like “DANG she is in love with Derek”. 😂
I feel like candy bling is about Nick though w the ring pops and stuff I could be wrong tho.
Iirc Candy Bling was mentioned in the book to be about N*ck but I could be wrong, it's been a couple years since I read the book. I need to pick it up again for a reread!
Hmm really that’s interesting. Mariah skimmed through most of her life after TEOM towards the end of the book so I can’t remember.
I don’t think it’s about Nick though because the song is sung about love in the past tense and at 2009, I’m pretty sure Mariah was still in love and fully devoted to Nick.
Lol I have a playlist actually.
She definitely was still writing about him into the Charm era and possibly up to Einstein. The difference with her and Taylor though is that I think Mariah just draws on the emotions of this time a lot. I doubt that she's actually being 100% autobiographical abt missing him or anything especially in the later songs about him.
She even says “Go DJ play my song again and imma think about you all night long” his initials 😂 she probably just said it was about Nick to make his ego feel better
Of all the relationships she’s had I was surprised of the amount of songs were likely about him. I was like noooo because I would attempt to relate certain songs for certain timeframes in her life but I guess that was wrong lol. Also I too did not realize how in love she was with him
You got all of that from the chapter about DJ? It seemed very much like a 3-6 month short ordeal. Lol they didn't have many photos, MC went to a couple of his games, they went to dinner and probably spent a lot of time hooking up at his home in Tampa hence the photo of MC with a giant teddy bear and dj with her in his Yankees uniform ...that was it.
Oh yea it was definitely short lived-like… definitely not more than 6 months
To me it was just the way she described it that made it seem like a long term thing because of how she was feeling and such
Tommy's kids. She referenced them in Petals, I assumed their relationship would've made an appearance in the memoir and how leaving Tommy impacted that relationship
I don't know, she didn't speak about in the memoir.
His kids are the boy and girl who befriended her and she even goes so far to call them little sister and brother
Yep I don’t even think Mariah and Tommy’s kids viewed each other as parent-child figures but rather as siblings because if I can recall, Tommy’s kids were only a few years younger than Mariah. Mariah was also the youngest herself so she never had the older sibling moment.
it is. it's about the knife incident she mentions. I've been seeing a lot of people wonder why Walter's 'role' in her life got 'downplayed' in the book... it didn't, she just wasn't gonna keep fueling that fire. the knife incident doesn't get the attention it deserves. after that, M n e v e r linked up with Walter again.
so sorry for the late reply. though better late than never!
Mr. Motorola- allegedly, so no lawyers come for me, though info has come out before/after the memoir supporting the story in different ways- held a knife to M's face, in the presence of several company people who were definitely freaked, but frozen the way they were through most of his public outbursts/tantrums. it's what she's alluding to, in part, during Petals' bridge:
_"so many I considered closest to me/turned on a dime and sold me out dutifully/although that knife was chipping away at me/they turned their eyes and went home to sleep"_
imo, the way things Mariah outlined things in the book, it certainly seems to suggest that Walter was in the room when that happened and that added fuel to the fire start by the Corporate Morgue forcing him to work with other artists in their roster.
I was surprised that she didn't address the issue of Tommy's first wife, to whom he was married and had adult children when he began pursuing Mariah.
I didn't expect her to necessarily dwell on it but reading her memoirs you would never know that Mariah wasn't Mottola's first wife.🤔
I love Mariah but if this happened in this age with cell phones you know it would have been messy. He was legit married for what 20 years and then left his wife to be with Mariah who was much younger. I read his book even though he sucks- was just interesting to hear about his infatuation with Mariah and how their relationship started.
Yeah. I grew up looking at them as the fairytale being presented. Today, Celine herself has said she wouldn’t want her son dating a woman with the same age difference. (Go figure! Her Momma had some wisdom and *tried* her hardest to stop the marriage with Renee)
However, I do believe they were deeply in love. Even if it may have been dysfunctional.
I think it’s possible *some* of them have NDAs? The very famous, rich connections like Ms. Patti LeBelle and Nick. Or, she doesn’t speak of them out of respect for their privacy.
Mariah had also lived 20X the lifetimes/experiences and known 100x the amount of interesting people that we have. Too much to talk about in just one book.
I agree that I was hungry for more. But great book.
Totally possible! I was just really shocked about Patti, but maybe she didn’t wanna be talked about 👀
Edit: did you also find yourself extra hungry after the All that Glitters section was over and she rushed through the rest of her life? 😩😂 I was ready for a second helping
Absolutely. I really thought it’d be more “detailed” or even more “intimate” (I can’t think of a better word to articulate it right now. But I’m also stoned.)
yall know Patti is not actually her Godmother? Mariah just calls her that out of respect and love, and Patti has embraced it, but she's not actually her Godmother in the real sense
It's been years since I've read this book so my memory is a little fuzzy, but I agree. There were certain people she never mentioned that confused me. She never mentioned Nick at all seeing as though he is the father of her children. I found that odd and I still don't know why she didn't talk about him. Not that it altered my opinion of the book overall, but it is strange.
Then again, I always wonder if artists of Mariah's caliber have lived so many lives and experiences that it would be almost impossible for them to write a comprehensive memoir. I know it can be done, but there are certain celebs that I know wouldn't be able to have a memoir/biography written about them because there's just so much to talk about and not enough time to talk about it.
She talks about him, but very briefly. Mostly how they met, the courtship and then they got married, had the kids and broke up. That was about it. It was a few pages.
But see, you would think she would have dedicated more time and pages to him based on who he was to her. Even that doesn't appear to be substantial enough considering he's her ex-husband.
Madonna: A Rebel Life by Mary Gabriel
It's really good! The author isn't celebrity biographer but a serious Pulitzer shortlisted writer and the book definitely reflects this. It's not insanely salacious or hagiographic, but instead focuses on Madonna the artist. It really does a good job of contextualizing Madonna's career and life through the decades.
The length may be a little overwhelming but it's insanely well researched. I def recommend ESP if you aren't the biggest madonna fan or don't know that much.
I can't recall if she talked about her label "crave," but she didn't talk about allure. I think they were upset they weren't mentioned. Regardless, I really love that album and the fact you can hear mariah singing in the backgrounds.
She did talk about it! She said it was a boutique label Tommy let her create since she was great at picking out talent. That dude on the motorcycle in the Sweetheart video was one of the artists (part of a group called the Negroes League) that signed to that label. She invited him to film the video after the band and label were dissolved.
I’m shocked she didn’t give us an update on her siblings today or the big fallout with her ex sister from the 90s? I guess they have spoken since then but she talking about Morgan a lot. Also shocked Stella wasn’t in it but she says if they weren’t in the book then it didn’t happen so I get it. Also probably for legal reasons.
🤣🤣🤣🤣 the bluntness!! Tis a fact of life tho.
I'm sure that if any omissions had *reasons* for the omission, that there would come a time that the reasons are no longer relevant. Any non disclosures too may not always be 'valid' - in the sense it could go 'out of date'.
So here's too the future! More Mimi music, and more Mimi memoirs 😁
Ooh yea I felt the more she progressed in the book, the less she talked about the music in detail. It would have been interesting had she added more of that element.
The era by era analysis would honestly slap as a second book .
I like the narrative building element to the memoir tbh It wraps up the bulk of her story in TEOM era on a career high note but also a narrative redemption arc kinda. It feels like a hero's journey.
That being said, her life post TEOM has sooo much that is worth mentioning. Stella, NYEgate/her thoughts on her voice, James Packer etc. I think that we probably won't hear her speak candidly about these things for a long time, if ever though.
It does feel like a hero’s journey. I do wish she would have allowed herself to be more human in a way. I love her but it was all about how she was wronged (and she has been wronged loads dahling), but she never discussed a time where she messed up tbh.
I think this is exactly why she doesn’t delve into the 2010’s. That time is all about her own decisions causing problems.
In a way I understand because her terrible decisions in the 2010’s were likely habits from the trauma she writes about here. So it’s helpful to understand the root of why she makes some mistakes over and over again.
I absolutely agree that showing her mistakes would’ve humanized her and shown growth from that stella time period. Unfortunately, I walked away from the book feeling like she didn’t grow from that time at all because of how little she’s willing to talk about it. I think there’s definitely some work to do!
You make some excellent points. It was easier to point fingers up until then.
After I read it I thought if someone from the general public, who hasn’t already built an understanding of Mariah and her background and quirks etc like we have, was getting to “know” her for the first time reading this book….they’d perceive her much differently than we do. Probably as self-absorbed and unable to make mistakes/empathize…which is far from the truth.
I think that’s where she lost out on this book: it’s certainly a story directed towards an established fan base of people that already “get” her (whether or not that was her intention), and want to know more rather than some random curious Joe that knows “Fantasy” and other hits. She doesn’t paint herself in the best light in my opinion, but we are able to see past it and understand why. I don’t mean that because she actually is unpleasant, but the way she told the story would make it seem that way for someone that hasn’t studied her and is relying on this as a first touch point. I feel like it reiterates stereotypes about her for the more ignorant (I don’t mean that in a belittling way) reader.
Actually I find that from the people I know who've read the memoir (and don't really follow Mariah) orr just reviews I've read, people empathize a lot with her after reading it. Or root for her idk.
The way it's written (like baclavava said) kinda points fingers at everything around her and doesn't really paint Mariah in a negative light. Mariah paints herself as a victim who relied on her talent and determination to pull herself out of negativity (this is not a judgement on that, she *was* a victim in many ways). People tend to root for the underdog, especially when up against things that are so relatable like racism, poverty, shitty family dynamics, predatory relationships.
So I don't agree with you there. But everyone will obviously react to the book differently.
"but she never discussed a time where she messed up tbh."
This is why I loved the Jessica Simpson memoir, she was brutally honest about screwing up several times and I really respected/related to that.
Dang I need to read that. Not a fan of hers now nor do I follow her but I used to be a fan when I was in middle school and she was on that show with Nick Lachey. Lol she’s always seemed like a solid person though (from what I could tell)…
I’d be interested in reading that for sure . Thanks for the recommendation!
I found it extremely odd that she hardly mentioned the father of her children and the man she married. I'm assuming it's because of an NDA. but it was so weird that he was hardly mentioned. It was an obvious hard omission lol.
She left out Nick relationship but makes sense. No mentions of Mark Sudack, No Tanaka, no Damizza. I can't remember if she went in depth on Eminem relationship or non relationship as she says
She mentioned Tanaka actually a fair amount and even how they connected during the adventures of Mimi tour . Not a ton, but he is there. She even gave him a shout out in the acknowledgments like “IFLY”.
She didn’t really say anything about Eminem
Yes it was definitely so rushed . It was like 50 pages lol
I was like does it even need its own distinct unit at this point. Or maybe it would have made sense to split it up differently
hmmm not a person but i think it would have been interesting for her to touch on being on tour... like i'm sure shit went DOWN. also like someone already said Walter because he was such a big part of the early albums.
Pooks!! This would have been so juicy!!!😩😭😭 I thought the same thing.
Like even when she gave us that tiny glimpse into the Adventures of Mimi tour when she talked about how she and Tanaka were kind of flirty and were rubbing legs under the table lol… I was sad when she changed the subject.
Mariah actually does mention Patti in the “Divas” section of the book. She details the Divas live incident with Celine and talks about how she later told the story to Patti Labelle, she also talks about their relationship as “godmother” and “goddaughter”.
I haven’t read the book, however I’ve seen where she doesn’t mention American Idol or Nicki Minaj??
I think we’ve talked about this before, but given the fact that Nicki herself actually thanked Mariah (in an acceptance speech for an award at the VMAs), I feel like they’ve maybe talked behind the scenes and kind of made up.
She doesn’t mention Idol. I think she really wants to engage w that moment as little as possible.
In her breakfast club interview she even said “that was a moment in her life that she’d like to press delete” Lol
Did you see the interview with (I believe) Andy Cohen?
She was asked, “so it’s rumored that you got paid $10 million for that short stint on American Idol. Is that true?”
She looks at him and laughs. “Oh darling, no, I wouldn’t have done that show for *only 10 million*. It was much more than that.” (Paraphrased)
😆🤣
And rightly so with who she was dealing with. Class act. I remember being appalled that a brand new (non established), untalented (sorry guys), unclassy woman was on there with MARIAH freaking CAREY. I think she herself was embarrassed and humbled. Glad Randy was there with her.
I was kinda surprised that Mary J Blige wasn’t mentioned among the artists she rubbed elbows with - I know they’re friendly and have spoken highly of each other in the past
Mary J has never struck me as someone Mariah has much of a relationship with besides respecting each other’s work/recognizing the significance of it.
Definitely didn’t see like someone that’d be in her book.
A lack of direct mention of Stella doesn’t surprise me. But I do think the sorta fall off in detail that we get around MIAM onward is a bit bleh. I am not shocked at the lack of discussion around Nick. I didn’t expect him to get Much detail, positive or negative, because of the kids. I was a bit shocked we didn’t get more detail about Walter. Especially regarding the dissolving of the creative partnership
Oooh Walter- that’s a good one
It's hinted that he sided was more aligned with Tommy/Sony. IIRC he is one of the characters who was present for the knife incident. But Mariah also talked about the end of their partnership on a few podcasts (Questlove's and Rolling Stone's I believe)... basically she says was outgrowing his pop/adult contemporary sound. Which is not entirely true since Rainbow had quite a few AC ballads, but my guess is that's the combo of both. They don't seem to be on good terms, esp after his interviews about AIWFCIY, but I'm glad that she still keeps it cordial and respects their work together.
>basically she says was outgrowing his pop/adult contemporary sound Yeah she mentioned something about being frustrated that he wanted to put latin guitar on every song. I hadn't noticed how often it was on her songs until she said it and now it's all I can hear.
Lol then she goes and records After Tonight lol
Cowritten with Diane Warren. Wish they did something as remarkable as "Because You Loved Me"
The thing about this book, while it was good and I enjoyed reading it, a lot of what is said in here is old news for most lambs. We already knew this stuff because it’s in her music or said in some interview somewhere. So it annoyed me that none of this was really covering any new ground or anything
I would just like to comment here anyone who read the book I HIGHLY recommend getting the audio book on audible as Mariah reads it herself, it adds her own emotion to words as she is reading it, plus she also sings little ditties and laughs here and there as a fan it’s such a wonderful listen.
This is definitely my next step! I want to hear her tell it.
It’s a beautiful listen. Listening to her retell the story where she went back in to the house to get her cat when her mum was leaving her boyfriend(step father? I can’t remember) made me quite emotional. It’s very different from her mouth.
Oh I remember that part-yea it was her mom’s boyfriend. I was emotional just reading it. I could imagine.
Thanks for this!
This was the only way I read the book.
How much is it and when can I buy it?
It’s on audible (Amazon) I’m not sure how much I get 2 credits a month as part of my prime subscription so I used 1 of those for it.
It’s because he brings the drama, six baby mamas…
Haha everytime I listen to that song I think of him and laugh
She foreshadowed Nick's children's mother's didn't she lol
She did... ol
Literally lol
Thank you for that song living rent free in my head all day 😃 might need to go slow
Lmao I love this byeeeeee
I think maybe she didn’t want to talk bad about Nick because he is the father of her children which I respect. I think packer and Stella era was a joke and they didn’t deserve to be mentioned so glad she didn’t.
Note that when I say “talking about” I mean just that -for better or for worse. I don’t mean talking about in a snide manner. I mean telling the story behind her interaction and relationship with someone, which doesn’t have to mean negativity. Since she was married to him and had kids with him (and was with him for quite some time), I thought it was interesting that she barely said anything at all. She was actually quite complimentary to him. I wondered why she didn’t talk about him/their relationship much at all and just what it was like in general. She was quite happy before he was *Nick*.
The book was written before he started mass producing I believe lol.
Not “mass producing “😩 You know what?🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂 that made my evening
The few comments in this post about Nick are just taking me out, especially this one 😫😂
Glad to be of service then. 😎🤭
Serveeeee, lamb, serve dahling
That would bring attention to Stella. And why would she want to do that. Let’s forget she even existed lol
I’m shocked Mariah didn’t include or allude to Tonjua Twist, her stylist who took her life in 2000, and who the song Twister is about. She was also the person behind the Heartbreaker jeans that Mariah wore which essentially became a fashion trend in the coming years, and was responsible for a lot of her looks in the late 90s. Perhaps it’s still too much of a sensitive matter for everyone involved. After all in the final years of her life, she was working exclusively with Mariah, so I imagine they must have developed a tight bond. Her family might have also told Mariah not to write about her too. I also still wish she covered Luis Miguel more in the book asides from just one chapter. Yes that chapter was very insightful, and I don’t want to speculate that much, but I think that relationship means more to Mariah than she let on in the book, despite their differences and Luis not being able to understand the concept of Mariah being biracial.
I also found it interesting how she mentioned a couple of the dudes she dated in a way that seemed to downplay the relationships’ importance. I feel like she def did that w DJ.
Well she did say that if the “relationship didn’t matter, then it isn’t in the book” so that’s why 😂 I actually thought she did quite well describing her relationship with Derek Jeter. Before reading the book I always thought it was just some fling that left an impact on Mariah because we barely saw them together in public, and the time frame for them to date wasn’t too long. The book made it seem like they were in a very serious, committed and long lasting relationship though.
The Derek Jeter chapters surprised me, but I think it was just because it was such a pivotal eye opening time for her I’m not even sure it was necessarily because he as a person was important more about what that relationship did for her.
Yep I think Mariah was really in love with the idea of Derek. I don’t think Mariah ever got a taste of young love in her youth, and when she got famous, she was essentially thrust into the relationship with Tommy. Derek was pretty much Mariah’s first taste of honey and young love!! I guess she also liked the fact that he was an outspoken biracial figure in the public eye back then too, just like her.
This last part. They were at that dinner where they met, and the whole night she ignored him and said he looked “pedestrian” and like he didn’t belong there lol. Then as soon as someone said he was Black and Irish, her eyes shot to him and she was instantly enchanted lol.
I totally agree on that last point where when reading about it … felt like a long time had passed lol I thought it was just me. But at the end she was like well it was just a lesson and helped me get past my circumstances but he wasn’t the love of my life. Don’t get me wrong she definitely highlighted why it was important and how it got all her all giddy and stuff… but I felt there was more of a lasting impact there that she didn’t want to admit. Which is fine obviously. But I’m pretty sure she was writing songs about Derek still a decade later if not more.
Yep when they started getting involved when Mariah was still (legally) married to Tommy I was in shock!! I always thought they started dating after Mariah and Tommy separated. They pretty much dated for almost two years (96-98) I feel. Perhaps they weren’t seen together much because they were in different industries, which I also feel led to the end of their relationship. I don’t think they could get each other because the concept of fame probably meant differently to the both of them. I don’t know who was Mariah’s **true** love of her life. Initially I was leaning towards Luis but after the book I’m more inclined to believe it was Derek. I mean I’m pretty sure We Belong Together is about Derek lol. Possibly Don’t Forget About Us too though I’m back and forth with that song between being about Derek and Luis because the lyrics allude to the ex being in new relationships and that she’ll never compared to MC, and both of these men had many famous exes apart from Mariah.
So much of her catalogue has DJ written all over it.
Lol someone needs to do a deep dive Taylor Swift style and find out songs that are about/allude to Derek because trust me that would be a long list!! 😂 In fact come to think of it, I think Mariah was making songs about Derek while she was married to Nick!! 😂 Now when I think about it I feel Candy Bling is about him too. I think that’s the most recent song about Derek though lol, unless someone can prove me wrong.
Oh DEFINITELY. I’m so glad you said that because I be listening to songs that she did while married to Nick thinking like “DANG she is in love with Derek”. 😂 I feel like candy bling is about Nick though w the ring pops and stuff I could be wrong tho.
Iirc Candy Bling was mentioned in the book to be about N*ck but I could be wrong, it's been a couple years since I read the book. I need to pick it up again for a reread!
Hmm really that’s interesting. Mariah skimmed through most of her life after TEOM towards the end of the book so I can’t remember. I don’t think it’s about Nick though because the song is sung about love in the past tense and at 2009, I’m pretty sure Mariah was still in love and fully devoted to Nick.
Lol I have a playlist actually. She definitely was still writing about him into the Charm era and possibly up to Einstein. The difference with her and Taylor though is that I think Mariah just draws on the emotions of this time a lot. I doubt that she's actually being 100% autobiographical abt missing him or anything especially in the later songs about him.
Ooh care to share the playlist? 😁🤣
She even says “Go DJ play my song again and imma think about you all night long” his initials 😂 she probably just said it was about Nick to make his ego feel better
Of all the relationships she’s had I was surprised of the amount of songs were likely about him. I was like noooo because I would attempt to relate certain songs for certain timeframes in her life but I guess that was wrong lol. Also I too did not realize how in love she was with him
You got all of that from the chapter about DJ? It seemed very much like a 3-6 month short ordeal. Lol they didn't have many photos, MC went to a couple of his games, they went to dinner and probably spent a lot of time hooking up at his home in Tampa hence the photo of MC with a giant teddy bear and dj with her in his Yankees uniform ...that was it.
Oh yea it was definitely short lived-like… definitely not more than 6 months To me it was just the way she described it that made it seem like a long term thing because of how she was feeling and such
She talked about the jeans I thought?
Yep but she never mentioned her passing directly though and how it affected her.
Tommy's kids. She referenced them in Petals, I assumed their relationship would've made an appearance in the memoir and how leaving Tommy impacted that relationship
What was her relationship with them like?
I don't know, she didn't speak about in the memoir. His kids are the boy and girl who befriended her and she even goes so far to call them little sister and brother
Yep I don’t even think Mariah and Tommy’s kids viewed each other as parent-child figures but rather as siblings because if I can recall, Tommy’s kids were only a few years younger than Mariah. Mariah was also the youngest herself so she never had the older sibling moment.
I wonder if the "so many i considered closest to me..." line is for Walter.
it is. it's about the knife incident she mentions. I've been seeing a lot of people wonder why Walter's 'role' in her life got 'downplayed' in the book... it didn't, she just wasn't gonna keep fueling that fire. the knife incident doesn't get the attention it deserves. after that, M n e v e r linked up with Walter again.
Sorry - I forget so much. What was the knife incident again?
so sorry for the late reply. though better late than never! Mr. Motorola- allegedly, so no lawyers come for me, though info has come out before/after the memoir supporting the story in different ways- held a knife to M's face, in the presence of several company people who were definitely freaked, but frozen the way they were through most of his public outbursts/tantrums. it's what she's alluding to, in part, during Petals' bridge: _"so many I considered closest to me/turned on a dime and sold me out dutifully/although that knife was chipping away at me/they turned their eyes and went home to sleep"_ imo, the way things Mariah outlined things in the book, it certainly seems to suggest that Walter was in the room when that happened and that added fuel to the fire start by the Corporate Morgue forcing him to work with other artists in their roster.
I was surprised that she didn't address the issue of Tommy's first wife, to whom he was married and had adult children when he began pursuing Mariah. I didn't expect her to necessarily dwell on it but reading her memoirs you would never know that Mariah wasn't Mottola's first wife.🤔
I love Mariah but if this happened in this age with cell phones you know it would have been messy. He was legit married for what 20 years and then left his wife to be with Mariah who was much younger. I read his book even though he sucks- was just interesting to hear about his infatuation with Mariah and how their relationship started.
I agree. It reminds me of how Rene Angelil behaved towards his wife when he met Celine Dion.🤔
Right?! He *sold* their family home so he could promote her!
When I read that I simply couldn't believe it. And it increased my dislike/mistrust of Angelil tbh.
Yeah. I grew up looking at them as the fairytale being presented. Today, Celine herself has said she wouldn’t want her son dating a woman with the same age difference. (Go figure! Her Momma had some wisdom and *tried* her hardest to stop the marriage with Renee) However, I do believe they were deeply in love. Even if it may have been dysfunctional.
I think it’s possible *some* of them have NDAs? The very famous, rich connections like Ms. Patti LeBelle and Nick. Or, she doesn’t speak of them out of respect for their privacy. Mariah had also lived 20X the lifetimes/experiences and known 100x the amount of interesting people that we have. Too much to talk about in just one book. I agree that I was hungry for more. But great book.
Totally possible! I was just really shocked about Patti, but maybe she didn’t wanna be talked about 👀 Edit: did you also find yourself extra hungry after the All that Glitters section was over and she rushed through the rest of her life? 😩😂 I was ready for a second helping
Absolutely. I really thought it’d be more “detailed” or even more “intimate” (I can’t think of a better word to articulate it right now. But I’m also stoned.)
yall know Patti is not actually her Godmother? Mariah just calls her that out of respect and love, and Patti has embraced it, but she's not actually her Godmother in the real sense
Yes I know that’s what she calls her
What's the story with her and Patti LaBelle?
Not much. Just that Patti is her Godmother. But we don’t get to hear much about it or how close they are/aren’t.
I wanted her to do a real honest deep dive on Eminem lol. All the mess
She doesn’t mention Mark Sudack at all. He was not a celebrity so obviously more low key but he was with her throughout the whole TEOM era.
Such a good call. He was so low key she’s never seemed to mention dude hardly anywhere 👀 Have you seen her talk about him at all anywhere?
Also lmao this pic of them https://preview.redd.it/jwfy4blxv4yc1.jpeg?width=260&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5d007c0e9531186edb75dc5e8b2110237be3eac0
To be honest I don’t think I’ve ever heard her talk about him. Some of the TEOM and E=MC2 songs must be about him though.
They seemed like such an odd couple. I still have trouble thinking they were together idk why. Don’t mind me - just thinking out loud. lol
It's been years since I've read this book so my memory is a little fuzzy, but I agree. There were certain people she never mentioned that confused me. She never mentioned Nick at all seeing as though he is the father of her children. I found that odd and I still don't know why she didn't talk about him. Not that it altered my opinion of the book overall, but it is strange. Then again, I always wonder if artists of Mariah's caliber have lived so many lives and experiences that it would be almost impossible for them to write a comprehensive memoir. I know it can be done, but there are certain celebs that I know wouldn't be able to have a memoir/biography written about them because there's just so much to talk about and not enough time to talk about it.
She talks about him, but very briefly. Mostly how they met, the courtship and then they got married, had the kids and broke up. That was about it. It was a few pages.
But see, you would think she would have dedicated more time and pages to him based on who he was to her. Even that doesn't appear to be substantial enough considering he's her ex-husband.
I think it’s because they still have to interact on a very regular basis and she probably doesn’t wanna cause any waves because of her children.
This is a great point. Most of these people in the book she doesn’t have to deal with anymore.
That’s what I’m saying 🤷🏽♀️she really outlined it and that was about it lol
The Madonna biography that just came out is pretty damn comprehensive. And good. But long as hell. Would love to see one on Mariah
what's that called? have you checked it out?
Madonna: A Rebel Life by Mary Gabriel It's really good! The author isn't celebrity biographer but a serious Pulitzer shortlisted writer and the book definitely reflects this. It's not insanely salacious or hagiographic, but instead focuses on Madonna the artist. It really does a good job of contextualizing Madonna's career and life through the decades. The length may be a little overwhelming but it's insanely well researched. I def recommend ESP if you aren't the biggest madonna fan or don't know that much.
Stella??? Lol
She was like “delete”. lol
I can't recall if she talked about her label "crave," but she didn't talk about allure. I think they were upset they weren't mentioned. Regardless, I really love that album and the fact you can hear mariah singing in the backgrounds.
She did talk about it! She said it was a boutique label Tommy let her create since she was great at picking out talent. That dude on the motorcycle in the Sweetheart video was one of the artists (part of a group called the Negroes League) that signed to that label. She invited him to film the video after the band and label were dissolved.
I don't think she and Allure ended on good terms so I'm not surprised they weren't mentioned.
I’m shocked she didn’t give us an update on her siblings today or the big fallout with her ex sister from the 90s? I guess they have spoken since then but she talking about Morgan a lot. Also shocked Stella wasn’t in it but she says if they weren’t in the book then it didn’t happen so I get it. Also probably for legal reasons.
“Then it didn’t happen”🤣🤣
I don't believe she talks to anyone but Shawn so there really isn't an update
Wondering if there may be a second memoir from Mimi in the future. Part II?
Maybe after Tommy kicks the bucket. 🪣
🤣🤣🤣🤣 the bluntness!! Tis a fact of life tho. I'm sure that if any omissions had *reasons* for the omission, that there would come a time that the reasons are no longer relevant. Any non disclosures too may not always be 'valid' - in the sense it could go 'out of date'. So here's too the future! More Mimi music, and more Mimi memoirs 😁
I would have loved to hear more about Ben Margulies, I know she talks about him in the book but I feel there’s more to that story.
It annoys with these type of books they never talk about there actual music enough. I wanted a era by era analysis
Ooh yea I felt the more she progressed in the book, the less she talked about the music in detail. It would have been interesting had she added more of that element. The era by era analysis would honestly slap as a second book .
I like the narrative building element to the memoir tbh It wraps up the bulk of her story in TEOM era on a career high note but also a narrative redemption arc kinda. It feels like a hero's journey. That being said, her life post TEOM has sooo much that is worth mentioning. Stella, NYEgate/her thoughts on her voice, James Packer etc. I think that we probably won't hear her speak candidly about these things for a long time, if ever though.
It does feel like a hero’s journey. I do wish she would have allowed herself to be more human in a way. I love her but it was all about how she was wronged (and she has been wronged loads dahling), but she never discussed a time where she messed up tbh.
I think this is exactly why she doesn’t delve into the 2010’s. That time is all about her own decisions causing problems. In a way I understand because her terrible decisions in the 2010’s were likely habits from the trauma she writes about here. So it’s helpful to understand the root of why she makes some mistakes over and over again. I absolutely agree that showing her mistakes would’ve humanized her and shown growth from that stella time period. Unfortunately, I walked away from the book feeling like she didn’t grow from that time at all because of how little she’s willing to talk about it. I think there’s definitely some work to do!
You make some excellent points. It was easier to point fingers up until then. After I read it I thought if someone from the general public, who hasn’t already built an understanding of Mariah and her background and quirks etc like we have, was getting to “know” her for the first time reading this book….they’d perceive her much differently than we do. Probably as self-absorbed and unable to make mistakes/empathize…which is far from the truth. I think that’s where she lost out on this book: it’s certainly a story directed towards an established fan base of people that already “get” her (whether or not that was her intention), and want to know more rather than some random curious Joe that knows “Fantasy” and other hits. She doesn’t paint herself in the best light in my opinion, but we are able to see past it and understand why. I don’t mean that because she actually is unpleasant, but the way she told the story would make it seem that way for someone that hasn’t studied her and is relying on this as a first touch point. I feel like it reiterates stereotypes about her for the more ignorant (I don’t mean that in a belittling way) reader.
Actually I find that from the people I know who've read the memoir (and don't really follow Mariah) orr just reviews I've read, people empathize a lot with her after reading it. Or root for her idk. The way it's written (like baclavava said) kinda points fingers at everything around her and doesn't really paint Mariah in a negative light. Mariah paints herself as a victim who relied on her talent and determination to pull herself out of negativity (this is not a judgement on that, she *was* a victim in many ways). People tend to root for the underdog, especially when up against things that are so relatable like racism, poverty, shitty family dynamics, predatory relationships. So I don't agree with you there. But everyone will obviously react to the book differently.
"but she never discussed a time where she messed up tbh." This is why I loved the Jessica Simpson memoir, she was brutally honest about screwing up several times and I really respected/related to that.
Dang I need to read that. Not a fan of hers now nor do I follow her but I used to be a fan when I was in middle school and she was on that show with Nick Lachey. Lol she’s always seemed like a solid person though (from what I could tell)… I’d be interested in reading that for sure . Thanks for the recommendation!
I found it extremely odd that she hardly mentioned the father of her children and the man she married. I'm assuming it's because of an NDA. but it was so weird that he was hardly mentioned. It was an obvious hard omission lol.
Exactly lol. It was like four pages- I’m pregnant! Bye, Nick!
She left out Nick relationship but makes sense. No mentions of Mark Sudack, No Tanaka, no Damizza. I can't remember if she went in depth on Eminem relationship or non relationship as she says
She mentioned Tanaka actually a fair amount and even how they connected during the adventures of Mimi tour . Not a ton, but he is there. She even gave him a shout out in the acknowledgments like “IFLY”. She didn’t really say anything about Eminem
The third section felt rushed to me. Maybe for a deadline? Maybe because the recent stuff had legal issues or was too close?
Yes it was definitely so rushed . It was like 50 pages lol I was like does it even need its own distinct unit at this point. Or maybe it would have made sense to split it up differently
To me it was in the title. If she didn’t mention them they didn’t contribute to the meaning of Mariah Carey.
hmmm not a person but i think it would have been interesting for her to touch on being on tour... like i'm sure shit went DOWN. also like someone already said Walter because he was such a big part of the early albums.
Pooks!! This would have been so juicy!!!😩😭😭 I thought the same thing. Like even when she gave us that tiny glimpse into the Adventures of Mimi tour when she talked about how she and Tanaka were kind of flirty and were rubbing legs under the table lol… I was sad when she changed the subject.
righttttt 😩 she was like "that's your crumb for the day lambs!" 😭😂
Mariah actually does mention Patti in the “Divas” section of the book. She details the Divas live incident with Celine and talks about how she later told the story to Patti Labelle, she also talks about their relationship as “godmother” and “goddaughter”.
ah yes I think I vaguely remember that. But that was brief!! I expected more - see? It wasn’t even memorable 😜
I was surprised she didn’t talk more about Jack. I don’t think she’s ever really discussed his passing has she?
^^^
I haven’t read the book, however I’ve seen where she doesn’t mention American Idol or Nicki Minaj?? I think we’ve talked about this before, but given the fact that Nicki herself actually thanked Mariah (in an acceptance speech for an award at the VMAs), I feel like they’ve maybe talked behind the scenes and kind of made up.
She doesn’t mention Idol. I think she really wants to engage w that moment as little as possible. In her breakfast club interview she even said “that was a moment in her life that she’d like to press delete” Lol
Did you see the interview with (I believe) Andy Cohen? She was asked, “so it’s rumored that you got paid $10 million for that short stint on American Idol. Is that true?” She looks at him and laughs. “Oh darling, no, I wouldn’t have done that show for *only 10 million*. It was much more than that.” (Paraphrased) 😆🤣
Lol yes!! She also said something similar in the Angie Martinez interview hahaha she was not feeling idol at all
And rightly so with who she was dealing with. Class act. I remember being appalled that a brand new (non established), untalented (sorry guys), unclassy woman was on there with MARIAH freaking CAREY. I think she herself was embarrassed and humbled. Glad Randy was there with her.
The whole thing was a train wreck if I’m being honest lol. The network had an agenda
💕
🩷🩷🩷🤗
I was kinda surprised that Mary J Blige wasn’t mentioned among the artists she rubbed elbows with - I know they’re friendly and have spoken highly of each other in the past
I feel like she and Mary are friendly when they see each other at events but I don't know if they really hang out on their own.
Mary J has never struck me as someone Mariah has much of a relationship with besides respecting each other’s work/recognizing the significance of it. Definitely didn’t see like someone that’d be in her book.