Raiff Celebrates Mariah's 20 Years In Music: 2007

Posted by Raiff on Tuesday, 01-Jun-2010, 5:18PM EDT

With the hugely successful "Adventures of Mimi: The Voice, The Hits, The Tour" and the promotion of The Emancipation of Mimi over, 2007 was a quiet year, in terms of music, for Mariah. According to Billboard's Fred Bronson, this was the first year where she did not have a single entry on the Hot 100. But by no means did that mean that Mariah was not keeping herself busy.

Mariah started the year in South Africa, where she attended the opening of Oprah Winfrey's Leadship Academy For Girls in Johannesburg. The school aimed to give over 150 poverty-stricken young girls the chance for a brighter future. Mariah was joined at the event by Tina Turner, Mary J. Blige, Sidney Poitier, Chris Tucker and Spike Lee. All of the guests were asked to bring a personally inscribed book for the school's library. "My visit has been amazing. This is my first trip to South Africa and it's just been overwhelming," she said in an interview. "You know, everything Oprah does is next level... She's just one of those anointed people who can change the world and we just don't have many of those people left."

On January 22, filming commenced in New Mexico for the Lee Daniels drama, Tennessee. The film followed two brothers in Albuqueque who had to return to their hometown in Tennessee to search for their estranged father, when one of them is diagnosed with leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant to save his life. Along the way, they meet Krystal, played by Mariah, an aspiring singer who joins them on their journey. "This character is really far from who I am in a lot of ways," Mariah told MTV News. "There are some parallels, some internal things, nothing that people would ever look at and go, 'That's very Mariah.'... This is not about hairdos and ensembles. The girl's in the trenches. And I'm the third lead, so it's nice to work with an ensemble cast and to really just be able to do my work and go home at night."

During the course of Tennessee, Krystal writes a song, which she ends up performing at a bar. That song is "Right To Dream," which Mariah co-wrote with country great Willie Nelson. The collaboration is not one many people would have expected, but the two enjoyed working together. "She's a sweetheart," Willie told Billboard. "And she can really, really sing. It was no more left field than working with Julio Iglesias." "Right To Dream" was intended for the Tennessee soundtrack, but that never came to be. The song was released as a digital single in late 2008.

In February, Mariah became the face of the Italian Pinko fashion label. In a photoshoot by photographer Michaelangelo Di Battista, Mariah struck sultry poses wearing Pinko's signature urban designs. She traveled to London to take part in the launch of the campaign, which included a photo call/cocktail party at the Pinko Store. The campaign was featured in over 750 stores worldwide. Previous Pinko models included supermodels Elle Macpherson, Eva Herzigova and Naomi Campbell. "I'm really flattered to have been asked to be the new face of Pinko. I first discovered this spectacular fashion house while working in Italy... I immediately became a huge fan of the brand," Mariah said in a press release. "The clothes are so stylish and fun, and I'm really looking forward to our new venture together."

After the Pinko promotion was complete, Mariah took time to return to the studio with Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony. Almost ten years after they had collaborated on "Breakdown," she appeared on the track "Lil L.O.V.E.," which also featured rapper Bow Wow. The track was for Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony's album Strength and Loyalty. In an interview with MTV Europe, Mariah said "It's a favorite of mine. It's a nice song, and I think it really kind of gives you the back-in-the-day Bone vibe but also a very new take on who they are as artists... I am so influenced by their style that it kind of merges together. It's funny, because so many artists today are influenced by Bone, and they may not even realize it." Later on in the year, the artists filmed a music video for "Lil L.O.V.E." and the song went for adds on urban radio. "Lil L.O.V.E." debuted at #67 and became her 40th chart entry on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart.

In addition to the track with Bone-Thugs, Mariah began work on her next album. Mariah had told MTV in February that the new record was "really early on in the creative process." Throughout the year, she recorded tracks with Bryan Michael Cox and Jermaine Dupri, among other producers. The album had originally been set for a December release, but was pushed back to 2008.

Mariah appeared in a string of magazines in the first part of 2007. First, she graced the cover of the March issue of Playboy. In a shoot by Markus Klinko and Indrani (who were also responsible for the The Emancipation Of Mimi album packaging), she did not appear nude. Her appearance was for the magazine's "Sex and Music" issue, in which she sat down for an interview with staff writer Jason Buhrmester. In their annual list of the 20 Richest Women In Entertainment, Forbes Magazine named Mariah the 6th Richest Woman, with a net worth of $225 million. In April, FHM readers named Mariah the 45th sexiest woman in the world, in the magazine's Top 100 Sexiest List.

Mariah won two BMI Pop Awards in May for Most Performed Song ("Shake It Off" and "Don't Forget About Us").

At the end of June, Mariah travelled to Disneyland Paris to perform at "One Mighty Party," a benefit for the Elton John Foundation's fight against AIDS. The crowd of 5,000 was treated to one mighty performance. Her stage set, which was based around Sleeping Beauty's castle, featured illuminations and a huge "MC" spotlight among thousands of silver cellophane butterflies hovering through the sky. Although "Through the Rain" was not part of the setlist, Mariah did make it through the rain that night, as it began to pour during her set. Always prepared to improvise, Mariah held her microphone in one hand and an umbrella in the other. "Okay, I'm dropping the umbrella and what a pity for my hair! It is a complete and total mess," she joked with the crowd. "Next time I'm gonna do 'Singing in the Rain' instead." The audience was treated to a rare performance of six of Mariah's biggest dance mixes, including the C&C mix of "Make It Happen," the David Morales mixes of "Dreamlover" and "Fantasy," and the Junior Vazquez version of "Heartbreaker/If You Should Ever Be Lonely."

In September, Mariah and Jon Bon Jovi were guests of honor at the VH1 Save The Music Foundation's 10th Anniversary Gala, where they were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the organization over the years. "It would be hard to look back on the past ten years and recount each of our triumphs and successes without recalling individuals such as these two artists that have donated so much of their time and efforts to restoring music education programs across the country," said Paul Cothran, Executive Director of the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. Since 1998, Mariah had performed at several benefit shows, including the very first "Divas Live." She was also active in raising public awareness about the benefits of music education in such events as NBC's "VH1 Save The Music Today Week." She also helped raised funds in 2006 by donating the Escada dress she wore in her Intel Centrino Duo commercial, which later sold at auction to benefit Save The Music.

On top of the Save The Music event, Mariah took part in the unveiling of the U.S. Postal Service's Jury Duty Stamp. The stamp was designed to call attention to the importance of jury duty, a civic obligation in the U.S. Mariah was on hand at the New York Supreme Court for the event, which was also attended by actress Bernadette Peters, model Paulina Porizkova and New York Post columnist Cindy Adams.

Billboard named Mariah one of their "Women of the Year" in October. In the magazine's second annual "Women In Music" issue, Billboard recognized the honorees for the success they had achieved in the past year, their power status within their organization and their track record of producing forward thinking initiatives. Among the others to top the list were Celine Dion, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez and Woman of The Year Reba McEntire.

Autumn saw the launch of a new kind of business partnership for Mariah. This was not a new record or a movie, but a fragrance. "M by Mariah Carey" was issued by Elizabeth Arden. While the connection between Mariah Carey and perfume was not immediately clear, she would explain that this venture was closer to her heart than many might have realized. "We went to a few different perfumers and every time we would test a different fragrance," she explained to People. "It was very similar to writing and recording a song for me... It's a process that I'm really used to. They have told me that no one has been this involved in creating their own fragrance before."

Mariah was not the first artist to put her name and image on a perfume, but she was significantly more involved in the creation and promotion process than many of her counterparts. There was an aggressive radio and television campaign to support the launch of "M by Mariah Carey." In the months of October and November, Mariah called in to radio stations around the country, including LA's KIIS FM, Chicago's B96 and New York's Z100, to talk about the new fragrance. She also made stops at BET's 106 & Park, The Ellen Degeneres Show, The Today Show and The View. On October 23, a launch event was held at the Macy's store in New York's Herald Square. More than 1,000 fans (some of whom had waited in line more than 24 hours) showed up to greet Mariah as she arrived. Fifty fans who had paid $305 for a "M" gift set the day before were entitled to a private photo op and autograph session after Mariah was done on the sales floor. In a single day, more than $70,000 worth of product was sold, making it one of the most successful sales events Macy's had ever seen. A similar event was held at Macy's Glendale Galleria in California on November 20, 2007.

Another highlight for Mariah was an appearance in Jay-Z's video "Roc Boys," shot at his 40/40 Club in New York in October. The video included cameos from what could have been the entire Def Jam roster; people from Sean "Diddy" Combs, NAS and Just Blaze to Def Jam Chairman L.A. Reid and his son. A week later, Mariah appeared at the 2007 Glamour Magazine Women of The Year Awards at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. A past Glamour Women of the Year honoree, Mariah opened the ceremony with a special performance of "Hero," accompanied by the African Children's Choir.

In December, we received the first look at the trailer at Mariah's next film, You Don't Mess With The Zohan. In the film, Adam Sandler plays the title character who fakes his own death and moves to New York to become a hairstylist. In various scenes, he is spotted wearing Rainbow, Heartbreaker and Mimi shirts. Mariah makes a cameo appearance.

Also that month, "The Adventures of Mimi" was released on DVD and Blu-ray. Filmed in Anaheim, CA in October 2006, this show from "The Adventures of Mimi: The Voice, The Hits, The Tour" featured a special guest performance from Boyz II Men on "One Sweet Day," as well as the hits including "Vision of Love," "My All," and "I'll Be There" with Trey Lorenz. This release was big for Mariah fans. Although this was her sixth concert tour, this was the first time a full-length concert had been commercially released worldwide. The two-disc set featured an exclusive tour documentary and a karaoke feature. "There's no stopping that voice as Mimi pours on the hits," People heralded in a review.

Mariah returned to Aspen, Colorado to celebrate the holidays in style. Just as she had the previous year, she helped brighten the holidays for 150 children from Denver Social Services, who were said to have had "the time of their lives." Mariah took them out to enjoy the winter weather after purchasing brand new winter coats, snow boots and ski suits for each child. Meanwhile, her timeless Christmas album was still making waves thirteen years after its release. "All I Want For Christmas Is You" finished its Digital Sales chart run at #17 and sold 266,000 copies in this year alone.

From Aspen, Mariah went to Las Vegas to ring in the new year. She was the host for New Year's Eve at Tao, with tickets starting at $200. That same night, her performance of "Shake It Off" from "The Adventures of Mimi" DVD had its network television debut on FOX's "New Years Live."

MARIAH QUOTES

"When Tommy [Mottola] signed me, I had two other record deals pending. I had already put in the hard work and I had my life planned but nobody likes to talk about that. I guess fairy tales make better stories." Glamour

"Living in the suburbs is a place that's all about fitting in. I remember after one particularly bad incident, one of my mother's friends said in front of me, "If this kid makes it, it will be a miracle." I'll never forget that moment. I think my ambition grew even more from there. So I guess I showed them that miracles are possible." Glamour

"I own so little art, and I know that the reason is because I need to be in love with something to have it around me. The thing is, I know the art I'm going to love is going to be like a gazillion dollars - that's just the way it's been my whole life. Who the hell nominated me to be the princess and the pea? [Sischy laughs] I don't know why it is that everything I like has to be the most expensive limestone hat was somebody's antique floor in France. For some reason, I always gravitate toward that." Interview

"I got the job as backup singer because I was one of those girls hanging out with Lenny Kravitz. His band ended up really helping me by introducing me to Brenda. I had a demo tape, Brenda heard it, and she played it for a few different record people, and one person said that I looked too white to sound the way that I sounded. Another person was like, 'We want it to be a little more like that Debbie Gibson girl that had a hit a couple years ago.' It was, 'You're too young; you're too light; you're too black. ...' I was this nebulous creature that nobody understood, but they could hear the voice, and yet all these lower-level A&R people didn't have the real weight to make a decision." Interview

"Remember Star Search? That was around, and I didn't audition for it. I didn't think it was for me. I know everybody thinks I'm the poster child for American Idol, but I was really shy when I first came out as a performer. My mother wasn't a stage mom. She was more of a hippie." Playboy

"I'm really proud of winning the BMI Songwriter of the Year, and Song of the Year awards... it meant a lot to me. Unless people see you sitting behind a piano or strumming a guitar, they don't recognize you as a true songwriter, which I consider myself to be first and foremost. A lot of people don't realize that." Aspen Peak

COLLEAGUES' QUOTES

Willie Nelson: "She's a sweetheart. And she can really, really sing. It was no more left field than working with Julio Iglesias."

Liz Smith, journalist: "I see that Mr. Blackwell put Mariah Carey right up there on his worst-dressed list, but some people think this is a compliment. I did recently see a photo of Mariah in Aspen. She was outdoors. It was snowing. She was wearing skin-tight, cleavage-baring black leather from head to toe. Four inch heels. She was holding a glass of champagne. Why do we love Mariah? Because this talented star doesn't pretend to be the girl next door!"

Jerry Biggs: [Plays Diner manager in Tennessee] "You know when you are working with somebody if you make a connection... you check your egos at the door and get down to business... that's how she was. When we had breaks and could get away from our characters, we just talked and she was so great."

T.I.: "I want to work with Mariah! I have wanted to work with her for a long time. I have produced beats for her to use, tried to get her on this album and will work with her on her new stuff. I will do whatever Mariah wants! Tell Mariah to call me, I'm down. Call me Mariah!"

Jordin Sparks: "I've always loved to sing, but I remember watching an awards show, I don't remember which, and Mariah Carey performing. She was so beautiful, and I knew then that's what I wanted to do."

Eric Roberts: "She's really down to earth, very considerate on set. She's not weird, strange or difficult at all. She was great to me and we had a great time."

Jermaine Dupri: "She's a person that you have to respect her for doing her job. She respects me for doing my job. When I'm in the studio, she don't question what kick [-drum sound] I use. She don't question if I'm using the right snare. She might say, 'I ain't feeling it.' I could say the same thing. There's been plenty of times when I've said, 'Mariah, I think you need to sing this part over.' But after the last album, we got a pretty good understanding. She knows what I'm looking for from her now. We're hoping we have the same formula this time."

Cindy Adams, New York Post columnist: [At Jury Duty Stamp Inauguration] "Mariah, who'd worked recording an album until 6 a.m., graciously spoke, posed for photos, lovingly gave autographs, smiled, was sweet and friendly and made it to the 11 a.m. ceremony despite a skirt even shorter than Paris Hilton's jail sentence.

Wentworth Miller: "Mariah's an international icon. The two days I spent working on her video did more for my career, gave me more exposure, than anything I'd done before Prison Break. I'm grateful for the opportunity."

Dionne Warwick: "My ears can only take Mariah Carey, Usher and Brazilian music."

DJ Toomp: "It's a little different working with Mariah. She usually writes her own stuff and when she goes into the booth there's usually nobody else there but her engineer. But what's crazy is the results are great. She's gone this far working like that so why try to change that?"

Mark Feehily, Westlife: "The maddest thing was when I was sitting in my living room in my house in Galway - the same living room my dad had called me down to see her in all those years earlier - and my mum said 'Mark! It's Mariah Carey on the phone!' F**k me. It was before we performed Hero with her in Manchester and she was calling to go through what we were going to do with the BVs. I was just thinking all the way through the conversation 'f**king hell, I wish I was taking this phone call on my computer so I could record it.' Mariah singing down the phone to me in my mum's living room. I put the phone down and didn't remember one f**king thing that she said. For me, things like that are the things that make this job the best one in the world."

Jason Buhrmester, writer of Playboy article: "I tend to go into things with a preconceived notion of kind of who the people are. I do a ton of research. I find out what they like to answer and what they don't like to answer, and I try to ask the questions they don't like to answer to try to get that information out of them. She's a lot smarter than I thought. She's open about things if you really kind of press her toward it. I was surprised. She was a lot of fun."

TV APPEARANCES