-I'm always happy to see you. You look gorgeous as always.
-Oh, you're so sweet. -Stunning.
Backstage, I've got to say, I got to see --
I want to call them "the kids." -Yes.
-The twins. They're still kids, right?
-Of course they're kids. They're 11 years old.
They can't drink for another 10 years.
-Yeah, that's true. Yeah, you're right.
Roc and Roe.
They're actually -- There they are on the side of the stage.
-Hey, Roc and Roe. -They are so cute...
[ Cheers and applause ] -Yes.
Roc -- he said to me --
I go, "What do you think of the beard?"
He goes, "I like it. I like that with the suit."
And Roe was like -- I go, "What do you think?"
And she goes, "It's not bad."
[ Laughter ]
So,I'll take that as a win. -It's a compliment.
-Is it, though? -Well, I'm hoping so.
-Yeah, they're very sweet.
I've known them since they were baby babies.
-They were baby babies. -They're so cute.
Millie Bobby Brown was on our show a couple weeks ago,
and she was telling us that you guys
actually are friends
and, like, you're a mentor to her.
She also teased that there may be
a musical collaboration in the works.
-Did she, now?
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Just saying -- -Maybe it's not just musical.
I don't know. I can't say what it is.
[ Audience ohhs ]
-Wow. Alright. That's a good scoop.
I'll take that. I won't press anymore, yeah.
-Yeah, no, no, no. It's fun tings.
-Millie did an impression of what it's like
to have dinner at Mariah Carey's house.
-Oh, dear. Okay. -Let's take a look at this.
-She's good at impressions. -I go over to her house,
and I'll be, like, eating dinner,
and she'll come around and she'll be like --
[ Vocalizing ] I'll be like...
-No, for real?! -No, it's a real thing.
It's not like -- People are like --
No, no, no, no, no.
She does it when we're eating Chinese food.
-Wait! What?! -It's wild.
-She's not lying.
[ Cheers and applause ]
She's not lying.
-So you'll just be having Chinese food
and you just go into the high note?
-I can't define which type of food it is.
We're not allowed to do that anymore.
I don't know what type of food it was.
-Yes, your right. -We were having morsels.
-But you will break into -- -No, not really --
I mean, sort of. I mean, it depends on the moment.
Right now I'm just like --- Two days of vocal rest,
ready to get back and get moving
with some other projects happening.
-By the way, you had a giant summer, by the way,
with "Big Energy (Remix)" with DJ Khaled and Latto.
That was a giant. -That was -- That did --
-Congratulations. -Thank you.
-You were also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
-Thank you very much.
One of my fellow collaborators right there.
James James.
-What did that night mean to you?
-I'll just give this little bit of info.
So, there's this -- We've had some memes.
And one of the more --
one of the ones I see quite a bit is me going,
"As a songwriter, as a songwriter, as a songwriter."
So, I'm sitting there -- Because most people
don't give me the credit that I feel
after writing 18 number-one singles...
[ cheers and applause ] Well, I would say 19.
-I mean, come on. -I would say 19.
Is that the slow clap beginning? -No, I was gonna stand up.
I was ready to stand up for you.
-Enh-enh. -Respect. I love it.
-Please and thank you. But, no, no.
The truth is, people will ask about, oh --
Now they're saying, "Tell us about your process
and this and that."
It's not about awards really. That night meant a lot.
Because it was -- it was validating.
But it was also, like, as a woman starting out so young
in this industry, most people are given songs
and given, like, "Here's how you're going to do this
and this is what you should do."
That was the one thing I said in my contract when I was really --
had to have, like -- my mom had to be there.
I was too young to even sign the thing on my own.
And I was like, "The one thing I will insist on..."
It was -- [Bleep]
But, anyway, the one thing I insisted on
is, "You cannot make me do other people's songs."
Like, that's the one thing.
Like, I at least had to have that input.
That's where I talk to Millie about stuff.
That's kind of what she meant,
I think, about a mentor and a guide.
Like, don't give it away if you don't have to.
-Yeah, good. Good for you.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Trailblazing.
I do want to talk about this thing that was just announced.
You kind of -- Christmas came early
to all of us when you announced
"Merry Christmas to All" Christmas concerts
at Madison Square Garden.
You just added a second show, by the way.
What is -- What can we expect from this?
-Expect the unexpected. I don't know, darling.
-Really? -We're putting a really --
Well, we went on sale with the presale, right?
And that happened like -- That was a quick moment I heard.
-Oh, definitely.
-I don't follow these, like, statistics.
Time is irrelevant to me. I don't acknowledge it.
-Okay. -That's why even in my book,
this book, there's no page numbers.
Somebody had to point that out to me.
So I was like, "Oh, yeah." Well, 'cause I don't care.
'Cause it's all the same. It should all just be the same.
-Yeah, okay. -Why? Anyway.
No. So I realized that the best thing I could do is just talk
to the fans, be with the fans, sing to the fans, with them.
And it's an inclusive experience. It's so fun.
The last time we did Madison Square Garden
was pre-COVID, 2019.
The most fun I ever had doing a show because it snows.
I don't want to give it away. I don't want to give it away.
It's festive, and we may or may not be
seeing it on a network/ streaming service, as well.
-Whoa! -Coming to you.
-Dropping all the nice scoops tonight.
Thank you for that.
-Well, I don't know if it's a scoop or not.
They better scoop me the information
so I can get it all scooped and smoothed.
That's kind of what's perfect about getting into the book.
It's all about love, and it's about the love of Christmas
and the love of the song and the love that's in a song.
-And bringing people together really is the thing.
'Cause what I really said in this is that it's not just about
"'Cause here name is Mariah and she's little Mariah.
La la la. I'm so Christmasy." Whatever.
It's not that.
It's that this is for anyone who's ever felt othered,
who's ever felt different than other people,
who's ever felt ostracized, you know what I mean?
Maybe you don't feel like you're --
Not to throw out the vocab words,
because they always throw it at me.
[ Cheers and applause ] No, but it really is.
And so, at the end of the day,
it's not a magical prince that comes and saves her day.
It's the music.
But she gets through her own struggles and her own stuff.
And ultimately, in my opinion, this is --
It's the adventures of little Mariah.
She represents all people, little boys, little girls,
little whoever, everybody that needs that inspiration.
And it's fun and festive! -She's so cute.
-And her hair's a little bit unkempt.
-Yeah, she's cute.
-She's not perfect. She doesn't get a makeover.
Can I ask you maybe to do a little reading from the book?
Would that be okay? -I mean, if you'd like.
[ Cheers and applause ]
I wasn't given a -- Oh, look at this.
This is gonna be my new favorite cup at home.
-Oh, my gosh. I would love that. Please.
-I'm not gonna tell you who else's cup is there.
-Don't tell me, please.
Don't ruin the dream for me, will you?
-Oh, stop that. Stop that. -Darling, darling.
-Darling.
-Darling, where would you like to begin?
-Okay. So, we'll start here.
"In the middle of the rundown dwelling
was an unsteady flight of wooden stairs with rickety rails.
Little Mariah had to watch where she stepped
and had to beware of pesky little nails,
popping up out of nowhere, snaggin' her stockings,
prickling her pinky toe,
then snickering when they were done.
Pesky snickering nails in the stairs
with rickety rails really was no fun.
One brilliant spot inside the dank shaky shack
was an old golden-brown upright piano,
elegant, solid, and bright,
whose black and white keys held all the hopes
and possibilities of music, joy, and light.
Sitting on the bench humming a marvelous melody
written in her mind was the one place in the world
Little Mariah felt she belonged and was alright."
Then enters --
This is just me editorializing, but it's true.
Mike the Bird, who is one of our villains.
He's a two-faced parrot.
And he's really nice when he's around certain people.
But when he's mad, whatever.
So when he's with Little Mariah by herself, he goes like this.
This is real -- This part --
It's a fairy tale. This is a fairy tale.
But I still have a scar from this parrot.
That's serious.
-My gosh. You actually do. -I really do. Okay.
So, he goes...
[Gravelly voice] "Mariah!
[ Laughter ]
Time to brush the hair!"
-Ohh! Wow.
[ Laughs ]
That's real! That's how you read a book.
Come on. Mariah Carey. We love you.
"The Christmas Princess" is available now.
We'll be right back with Marcus Mumford. Stick around.