Apparently, the August 2004 issue of Seventeen Magazine (with covergirl Hilary Duff) reports that Mariah is scheduled to sing the Olympic Anthem at the opening ceremonies for the 2004 Olympic Games, which will be held on August 13th in Athens, Greece.

-- On the second season premiere of the FX television show Nip/Tuck, there was a mention about Mariah's movie Glitter. A friend of a woman who had just had plastic surgery was telling her he'd see her the next morning. She said, "I thought we were going to watch Glitter tonight."

-- From The Situation: Fans of Mariah Carey will like the track ‘U Make Me Wanna’ [from the new Jadakiss album], the distinctive Mariah vocals with Jadakiss laying down lyrics, the track plays on an Egyptian like sound with added synthesised beats, not one of the best singles but it is one you can listen to.

-- From AOL Music: The most startling thing about Kiss of Death is that Jadakiss dumped a bunch of Neptunes productions and kept only "Hot Sauce to Go," one of the record's poorest tracks. This, along with a particularly ill-suited "soft and smooth track for the ladies" featuring a carted-in Mariah Carey, as well as a too-familiar-sounding Scott Storch production, are thankfully the only outright blights on an otherwise satisfactory showing.

-- From CBS News: Over the years, several artists have dabbled with their own label deals, some enduring longer than others. Mariah Carey's Crave label, which she launched with Sony Music Independent Labels in 1997, closed its doors in less than a year. In an industry where more than 90 percent of artists fail, the chances are slim an artist-label venture will turn a profit.

-- From The Mirror: According to top New York astrologers, Stella Starsky and Quinn Cox, the zodiac offers one of the best clues to our sex lives. Aries women (the "original Eve") include Mariah Carey, Victoria Beckham and Keira Knightley. Notoriously cool customer, she sees herself as the 'Catch of the Century'. Aries woman has strong physical needs for sex every day and craves instant gratification. Sexy secret: Likes it on top and a little rough. How to turn her on: Introduce a shock factor such as outdoor sex or nookie on the train - Aries woman would just love to be caught!

Having cooked so many classics for his city, will anybody outside Chicago get mixed into [producer Traxster's] recipes? Apparently, Cam’Ron, Mariah Carey and Tech N9ne plan on being the new vocal ingredients. ...Next on his agenda, the legendary beat maker has work to do with singing-sensation Mariah Carey! Trax is involved for one song on her album, and finds himself again with Twista (long live guest appearances), who will be featured. America’s diva should certainly mesh well with two of Chicago’s finest.

"It's Good To Be Mariah Carey", the brand new television special we exclusively reported about last month, will premiere on E! Entertainment TV on Tuesday, July 13th at 10:00 pm.

The program comes as part of the series "It's Good To Be...", and will give a behind-the-scenes look at the financial world of Mariah Carey by revealing salaries, spending habits and consumption sprees; and detailing Mariah's rise to fame and the money she made on the way to the top.

Mariah’s complete television schedule can be found to the right of your screen under Important Dates.

Mariah is featured in the latest issue of In Touch Weekly magazine on a page about divas at the Trump International Towers in New York City. She was seen leaving the Trump Restaurant on June 15th. Below are two photos from that event. Click each thumbnail for a larger, full-scale view.

After a volatile two years that saw Mariah Carey suffer a nervous breakdown, not to mention ugly reviews for her film "Glitter," the seven-octave singer is plotting a massive comeback with a new album in the works, and a forthcoming children's book that could turn into an animated series.

Her management company Creative Artists Agency and personal manager Benny Medina are spearheading this cattle-drive to remake Carey into a multi-media star.

She's currently penning an illustrated children's book about a biracial orphan girl, and according to CAA, is eyeing opportunities to write music for other artists, as well as television commercials. She's already set to star in the stage play "The Prince and the Showgirl" early next year in London's West End, and Medina says Andrew Lloyd Webber's wants to work with her on Broadway.

We'll also get a new Maria Carey album, her first under new Island Def Jam chief Antonio "L.A." Reid, by the end of the year. So far, she's worked with producers Kanye West, Swizz Beats and R. Kelly. After the album drops, Carey is likely to hit the road for a tour.

Actress Mira Sorvino who played alongside Mariah in "Wisegirls," is getting married to actor Chris Backus on July 2nd. The wedding will be held in Villa Monte San Michele on the island of Capri. Mariah Carey, Woody Allen and Sophia Loren were among the friends invited to the wedding.

Critics would say her life is already a cartoon but news reaches us that a new children's book written by Mariah Carey could become an animated TV series.

Mariah's illustrated book is about a bi-racial orphan girl who eventually makes it in the big city. [Sound familiar?]

Mariah's agent said: "It's something she's worked on without the help of ghostwriters. She has a whole idea based on her bi-racial heritage. She thinks there will be a huge audience."

Yes, almost as huge as her flop film debut Glitter eh?

Here's a message we received: "My name is Undray. I live in Maryland and my long term goal was to always move to New York City. I also wanted to go to college. Well a few months ago, I was broke, with only a high school education and there was no way I was going to get a good enough job in NYC to pay for an apartment. At the time I was also contemplating joining the Army National Guard. Well by doing this it would give me some structure and give me a chance to save some money to be able to move to NYC.

"Well after listening to 'Make It Happen' so many times I was crazy enough and I went ahead and did it. On Febuary 17th of 2004 I shipped out to go to BCT (basic combat training; bootcamp). I would spend 10 weeks there training, being yelled at, being trained to fight and kill and do lots of push-ups and you know how it goes. Well everyday that I was there I would sing 'Make It Happen' to myself just to keep myself motivated. Well towards the end of BCT on April 17th I had just returned from a 10 mile road march coming from a three night stay in the woods. During the march home we had to carry our m16 rifles, and had about 65 pounds on our backs. It was crazy. However the night I got back I recieved something in the mail that I would never forget. It was a 8x10 signed photo of Mariah saying I was her hero! I went crazy! At first I thought, 'Wait this can't be for real! How on earth would Mariah have gotten the address to my BCT to send this to me while I was here?' I thought one of my lamb friends was playing a sick joke on me. Well after I asked everyone if they knew anything about it and they all said no, I was sure it was the real thing. It was mailed from Universal Music in NYC. It was just the right gift to recieve at a perfect time.

"I graduated BCT on April 29th and then had to go straight to AIT (advanced individual training) and learn my job skill. I lived in the same barracks and have the same job as Jessica Lynch so the company I stayed in was much harder on us than they had been to others in the past. It was a little harder than BCT to live there and deal with all the drill sergeants. I just graduated from there on June 25th. The entire time I was there I had the signed picture of Mariah hanging in my wall locker. It motivated me and reminded me that I can make it happen.

"Now I am home, I do my one weekend a month for the army, I have a job skill under my name and now I can start applying for jobs in NYC so I can get an apartment with my wonderful soon to be roommate Cesar. And now I can start my online college classes for free because the army is paying for it.

"Thank you Mariah. 'Make It Happen' is the only thing that helped me make it through BCT. Mariah's music was really put to the test when it comes to inspiration. So if anyone out there ever feels like they can't make it through the rain. Think again! Because I've made it through a lot worse but I don't think I could have done it without Mariah! And let's not forget that the entire 17 weeks I was gone (10 for BCT and 7 for AIT) I wasn't allowed to have a cell phone or discman so I never heard any Mariah music until I came home two days ago!"

-- Another picture from the InStyle Magazine photo shoot can be viewed at mariahcarey.com.

-- From The Wall Street Journal: "Home-Improvement" television star Bob Vila has sold a home of his own: his 5,000-square-foot apartment in New York's TriBeCa neighborhood. The property, just under the triplex penthouse owned by his neighbor, singer Mariah Carey, sold for $3.73 million after about a year on the market at $4.1 million, says listing agent Robbie Brown of Corcoran Group.

-- From The Times: Acutely aware of the lure of celebrity endorsement, [disc jockey Erick Morillo] is not ashamed to use it. His Subliminal nights are famous for their starry clientele; at the annual Miami Winter Music Conference in March, he turned up to his own party with P. Diddy, Lenny Kravitz and Naomi Campbell, while U2 and Kylie Minogue, Mariah Carey and Mick Jagger have been to hear him play.

-- From All Africa: [On Project Fame Academy, an African talent show] Lindiwe Alam, 25, from Zambia, is a wife and a mother, and is in the Academy to mould what is agreeably an amazing and dynamic voice that literally blew the judges away during the auditions. An ex-Miss Zambia finalist, she likes both Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey in equal parts.

-- From Inquirer News: This early [in a Filipino talent show called Search for a Star], industry pundits have been pitting one against the other. Comparisons are flying thick and fast. Sarah Geronimo can supposedly give Celine Dion a run for her vocalization, while Rachelle Ann Go, they say, can scale the dizzying musical heights of Mariah Carey. Still, the two girls seem largely unaffected by all the fuss and frenzy. Truth is, they act more like sorority sisters than cutthroat competitors.

Click here to download an MPEG video file of TRL's segment on Mariah's photo shoot at Dramatics Salon in New York City for the July issue of InStyle Magazine. The clip is very similar to the one from Entertainment Tonight but in this one, Mariah adds: "Maybe if I had this uniform, I would've stayed!"

Many thanks go out again to Richard for making the file and JD for hosting it for us!

These days, when we think Mariah Carey, two things come to mind: the craptacular cinematic experience that was "Glitter" (along with the post-release meltdown it triggered) and wide open expanses of cleavage. But if the chart-topping chanteuse's reps have anything to say about it, those negative images will soon be forgotten thanks to a carefully coordinated career overhaul.

The transformation seems only fitting for the butterfly-loving Carey, who has re-teamed with CAA in a bid to emerge from the cocoon of so-so sales and personal problems.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the talent agency and Carey's manager, Benny Medina, are developing a "multi-pronged approach" to make over Mariah into a "multimedia star."

To that end, the octave-leaping singer will not only release a new album this year, but is making like Madonna by penning ("without the help of ghostwriters," her agent is quick to add) an illustrated, semi-autobiographical children's book about a biracial orphan girl, which CAA hopes to turn into an animated series.

The trade says there are also plans to have Carey parlay her song-writing skills (she's written 15 No. 1 tunes) into a separate entity that could possibly have her churning out hits for other artists or creating commercial jingles (just ... no). And what of Mariah's stalled acting career? Look for her to emote her little heart out as she treads the boards in the London stage production of "The Prince and the Showgirl" next year. Medina claims there's also talk of an Andrew Lloyd Webber Broadway production.

"For everything she's done to this point -- she's been credited as being an incredible vocalist -- but everything else, from acting to songwriting, kind of gets pushed down," Rob Light, head of music at CAA, tells the Reporter. "Our goal is to just take the lid off that talent and let people know who she is." Judging by Mariah's recent outfits, that lid came off long ago.

-- Smooth Magazine wants know who are the hottest women in the world. Smooth is showcasing their 'Smooth 100 Hottest Honeys' list in their first ever Hot 100 issue, which is due out later this year. Pick your top 10 honeys and be sure to vote for our lovely Mariah. You can vote as many times as you want! Click here to vote.

-- From Tenterfield Star: The North West Country Schools band tour rolled into Tenterfield this week entertaining locals with an eclectic repitore of music. With an average age of 13.7, the fifty-four students performed at the School of Arts Tuesday night. From James Bond, to Lord of the Rings and Mariah Carey to Peter Allen, the band showed their diversity in their range of musical items.

-- From Riverfront Times: When newcomer singer-songwriter Dayna Kurtz was asked: "Is there any music that you've always wanted to perform but haven't been able to nail?" she replied:

As a singer, when I hear stuff that I don't know how to do -- like Mariah Carey's dog-whistle stuff -- I give it a try. You know, like, "Can I do that?" It's interesting to try to test the limits of your ability. One thing I've never been able to do that I'd really like to do is scream like Prince or James Brown.

-- From The Globe and Mail: A man with five guns and more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition set himself up beside a Beaches water plant yesterday planning to commit mass homicide. But a dog's affection apparently persuaded him not to go through with his plan. The man's automobile, a red two-door Subaru, was also on display. A yellow plastic dog's bowl, a quarter full with food pellets, balanced on the back seat. The upholstery was almost invisible under a mish-mash of food wrappers, packets of medication and assorted papers. In the trunk, a collection of CDs revealed a taste for the music of Mariah Carey, the Doors, Abba and Judas Priest.

-- From Sky News: Can Westlife finally crack the US market without Bryan McFadden? They famously teamed up with Mariah Carey for a version of a Phil Collins classic that never saw the light of day in the US. So will it be any different with 70s disco diva Donna Summer?

Rob Light, managing partner and head of music at CAA, asks the important question, "How do you take Mariah Carey, arguably the most successful female singer in history, and reinvent her for the next stage of her career while staying true to exactly who she is?"

The past few years been a roller coaster ride for the songbird, who has sold more 150 million albums worldwide since her 1990 debut. In 2001-02, her film "Glitter" flopped, she had a nervous breakdown, and Virgin Records dropped her. Yet, she received critical acclaim for her role in the indie film "Wisegirls," and only six months after she left Virgin, Island Records signed her to a multialbum deal and gave Carey her own label, MonarC. While her first album under the Island deal, "Charmbracelet," wasn't the smash many hoped it would be, it did sell more than 1 million copies in the United States, and her 2003 tour in support of the record grossed $6 million-plus.

Now she has re-signed with CAA for representation in all areas, and Carey's manager, Benny Medina, and Light are planning a multipronged approached to remaking her into a multimedia star.

Carey is in the process of writing an illustrated children's book about a biracial orphan girl, which Light says could be turned into an animated series.

"The children's (project) is a very natural step," Light says. "It's something she's worked on without the help of ghostwriters. She has a whole idea based on her biracial heritage; she thinks there is a huge audience."

While Carey is best known for her seven-octave range, she also has penned 15 No. 1 singles. Light says CAA will be looking to utilize her songwriting talent to possibly write for other artists, as well as for jingles, commercials and television.

Carey also is looking at theater opportunities. She is set to star in "The Prince and the Showgirl" early next year in London's West End, and Medina says Andrew Lloyd Webber's office has expressed interest in working with Carey on Broadway.

Says Light: "For everything she's done to this point -- she's been credited as being an incredible vocalist -- but everything else, from acting to songwritng, kind of gets pushed down. Our goal is to just take the lid off that talent and let people know who she is."

Carey's next album, her first with new Island Def Jam chief Antonio "L.A." Reid, is due out this year. Medina says the record will "hit all the marks," from her signature ballads to R&B crossover songs and high-energy dance tracks. She's been working with such A-list producers as Kanye West, Swizz Beats and R. Kelly.

"She's an interesting iconic phenomenon," Light says. "Every time a record comes out, it feels as relevant today as when her first record came out. Very few artists can do that."

Of course, Carey is likely to tour again after the album's release. "She really enjoyed the last touring experience," Light says. "She really felt she put on a show that was her and connected with the audience. We're looking at the big picture. I think touring will be a part of it."

Corkscrew-curled Mariah Carey manages a miracle of modern engineering at Jay-Z's 40/40 Club anniversary bash in New York. Her slinky angled white satin gown not only flashes her thunderous thighs but forklifts her bionic bosom. If those biohazardous babies get hiked any higher, this songbird won't be able to swallow, much less sing.

Click on the thumbnail to see a larger version of the photo.

E! Online's Fashion Police Rating: 3/5.

Click here to give Mariah a higher rating!

-- Lea, the singer who sings the hook on "Sunshine" by Lil' Flip named Mariah as one of her inspirations on the show "Access Granted" which aired last night on BET. She also mentioned Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston as her other inspirations.

-- From ic Teesside: If you decide to take the aquatic plunge you'll be in good company - Missy Elliot has an amazing double sided aquarium in her home (rather like the one in Romeo and Juliet) as does Mariah Carey who freely admits to being besotted by her underwater world.

Click here to download an MPEG video file of Entertainment Tonight's behind-the-scenes report on Mariah's photo shoot at Dramatics Salon in New York City for the July issue of InStyle Magazine.

When the issue hits newsstand on June 25th, be sure to pick it up! Many thanks go out again to Lynn for making the file and JD for hosting it for us!

Click on the thumbnail to see a large scale version of the scan from the magazine. This is the only Mariah picture in the magazine with Catherine Zeta-Jones on the cover and ironically a title that says "how to get the silkiest sexiest legs" -- perhaps they should get some notes from Mariah!

Editor's Note: Download currently disabled.

Mariah Carey made sure all her best assets were on show at the anniversary party of Jay-Z's New York nightclub, 40/40, choosing a busty white satin number with high-cut skirt. How many marks out of 40 would you give her?

Click on the thumbnail for a larger version of the photo.

Is Mariah's dress a 'Do' or a 'Don't'? Click here if you think it's a 'Do'!

Pop diva MARIAH CAREY quit her first job as a hairdresser's assistant because she refused to change her name to ECHO.

The sexy singer swept up hair in a beauticians called DRAMATICS but was furious when bosses complained her name wasn't unusual enough and attempted to rename her.

She says, "The problem was they had this thing where they gave you a new name, and Mariah wasn't exotic enough for them, and they named me Echo.

"I walked out because I thought it was degrading."

Carey gets to recreate her life as a one-day wannabe stylist in the new issue of glossy American magazine IN STYLE, where today's pop, rock and hip-hop stars like NELLY, AVRIL LAVIGNE and LL COOL J agreed to go back in time for a special photospread.

Nelly recreates his first job as a UPS delivery man, Lavigne revisits her youth spent mowing lawns and LL Cool J poses as a newspaper delivery boy.

-- From MSNBC: Still, the disc [“Kiss of Death,” Jadakiss] has its share of undeniable bangers. A cooing Mariah Carey breezes through the sexy “U Make Me Wanna.”

-- From Delusions of Adequacy: Gordon’s [of Sonic Youth] already infamous “Mariah Carey and the Arthur Doyle Hand Cream” (re-christened on finished retail copies to “Kim Gordon and the Arthur Doyle Hand Cream” for litigious reasons), provides the latest twist on her bubblegum-pop-meets-feminist-politicking schtick. Blatantly aimed with acerbic aplomb on the song’s original title-star, Gordon mocks the whole sex-as-music commercialism of the multi-channel MTV generation; “Your bounce to the ounce makes us want to pounce” she quips. Whilst it’s a tad rich for someone who has been a major-label-signed-indie-pin-up over the years, to snipe on the sexuality-charged side of the music industry, the song’s scolding melody and bitter wit wins her through.

-- From The Voice (Jasmine's Juice column) : I began my week in New York for LA Reid’s birthday/Grammy party, where all the artists in the urban royal court came out to show their support. Mariah Carey looked the superstar in a tight, short, deep-blue vintage dress. She sat right next to LA as his guest of honour. Also in the house were Andre 3000, Mary J Blige, Ashanti and her mom, Irv Gotti, LL Cool J, Damon Dash, Jay-Z and Puffy.

... [Brandy] has always been a hip-hopper at heart but was marketed (like Mariah) as the sweet little girl next door.

-- From NY Daily News: Kelly Clarkson: Though declared by meanie Simon Cowell as the only "Idol" he could actually stand to see in concert, Clarkson suffers from a tendency to give us 10 notes when two will do. Her unfortunate role model: Mariah Carey. Kelly treats her performances like sporting events, batting every note out of the ballpark rather than ferreting out what a song really needs: Finesse.

-- Aladerri is organizing a fan gathering in Illinois, here are the details he sent us:

When: Saturday June 26th, 2004
Time: 5:00pm
Place: Buca di Beppo Lombard
90 Yorktown Road
Lombard IL 60148
630.932.7673

Each and every Mariah Fan is invited! all you have to do is RSVP to aladerri@yahoo.com or laurenjacob@cs.com and let us know how many people are coming, it is very important we receive your confirmation because we need to make reservation and hold your seat or for any other question.

The main thing about this gathering is to meet more Mariah fans, talk about our beautiful Miss M and of course feel free to bring some extra goodies you have to share with other fans. We might have a few presents too!!! We hope to meet you all this saturday!

InStyle Magazine is checking out how rock stars made their spending cash before they were stars – and they have the pictures to prove it in a layout entitled "Before They Were Stars: Rockers’ First Jobs"! The celebrities featured include Avril Lavigne, Eve, LL Cool J, Nelly, Liz Phair, Martina McBride, Dave Matthews, John Mayer, and of course Mariah.

Mariah was a beauty school dropout who only lasted three hours working as a sweeper at New York’s Dramatics beauty salon. When her boss tried to nickname her Echo, she took a hike – or rather a bus ride – home.

Mariah, a former junior stylist at the salon, visited the 47th Street location for her shoot. There she met up with stylist Omega and boss Rock. Can you guess where on her body she had her former nickname Echo temporarily tattooed? Watch for the pictures in the July issue of InStyle Magazine, on newsstands June 25.

Click here to download an MPEG video file of Mariah singing "Happy Birthday" to Island/Def Jam president L.A. Reid at his birthday party. The clip comes from a feature on Entertainment Tonight.

In related news, we have added the fourth and final installment of mp3s in our Mariah Homecoming Special marathon. Those files are located under the Weekly Multimedia section of our sidebar.

Editor's Note: Download currently disabled.

As you probably know, Mariah dated New York Yankees baseball player Derek Jeter for a few years. Several of his fans posted about their experiences meeting Mariah on a fan message board.

ruffnstuff23 writes, "I worked at L.A. Reid's birthday party, and she was there. Here's just a couple of observations for those that care: she has some line backer shoulders and no booty; but on a positve note, her skin is flawless, legs are toned like whoa, and she has Bambi eyes; on a suprising note, she's skinny and the boobs are the biggest thing on her. The girls are even bigger in person.

"On a personality note, she's definitely a Long Island girl. She comes across as uber charming. I was in the bathroom cleaning up when she busted in. She goes, 'Hey, I use to do a job like yours. But, girl you are really trying to clean. I just use to dump the bucket water on the floor, and chill out for 15 minutes. Then I would walk back out like I did something productive.' I just stood there and looked at her. I mean I have actively hated this woman for so long, and then here she was chatting it up with me. Well it was a pretty one-sided conversation; I just stared at her. I didn't know what to else to say. I could actually feel myself starting to like her.

"She is a funny girl though for real. I overheard her and AJ from 106th and Park discussing bands. AJ was saying that people think up the weirdest names for groups. She asked if he could come up with a cool name if he had a band. He couldn't do it off the top of his head, and asked if she could. She grabbed one of his braids and said, 'You could call it AJ and the Attachments.'

"I practically stalked this woman listeing to her mix and mingle. She invited Mary J. Blige to a dinner party. Mary laughed and then asked her could she even cook. Mariah paused and then said, 'I like to think my dancing is like my cooking. It might not look right but I try.' That's pretty much the only other conversation I was able to eavesdrop on. Her and Jay-Z look like they have a very close relationship. He looked really upset and they sat and talked for a long time.

"On a side note don't know what her boyfriend does or who he is, but he is cute. She really looked into him too. I don't know what nationality her boyfriend is but he is pretty. He has really long eyelashes, dark hair, nice build, and is about average height. He's not even cute the boy is just outright pretty."

Another person, mekmek, commented about her experience with Mariah. "I met her during a meet and greet when she was on tour and did a sow in Tampa. She was very beautiful in person and smaller than I thought. She was very mild and even seemed kind of shy when talking to the fans. I only went because of some friends and family who were big fans of hers (i.e. my brother) wanted me to. Not that I didn't like her or anything.

"We had a chance to talk to her for about 20 minutes. She was cool to my surprise. I wasn't saying anything to her. I stood off to the side kind of. I remeber waving my tour book in my face because it was hot and she looked over at me and asked if I was ok. I said yes even though I was not and I think she saw that so she had some man bring me a drink. Than she had me and my brother to come over and stand next to her in some lobby area.

"The meet and greet was over and the fans had left but we stayed there because my brother had won some radio thing were he got a chance to have some one on one time with her. I came along because I was his ride. She asked us our name my brother told her his and than I told her mine. She looks up at me and says " I have a cousin with the same name; it's very pretty." I told her thanks and than some lady named I think Mary walked by and pushed her kind of hard in the back and she went off. She goes, 'Okay were going to see how good you can fight if you push me again', then the lady turns and says, 'and I'll see how quick you can get up off the floor .'

"I thought they were going to fight but they both started to laugh and said, 'I'll see you in an hour.' It was fuuny because for a second Mariah looked like this hard ass who might have some fight in her. But all in all she was very nice and down to earth even close to the people who worked for her she was not the person I thought she was at all after that I think I started to like her. And as for all those stories you hear about her you forget about them after you meet her."

PRQueen shared her story. "Meeting her was very strange. I was eating with three other girls. All very attractive but none of us are model material. Still, we are regular pretty chicks (if I do say so myself). Well Miss Mariah and her entourage come strolling in. Now, if any of you have been to Mistral [a restaurant in Boston] -- it's kind of an upsale place. On the conservative side. So MC and friends come in loud as all hell. Basically drawing all sorts of attention to themselves.

"Mariah was wearing a black mini skirt that kept riding up as she walked, so she was tugging at it. She was also wearing her trademark tube top. Anywho, they ended up sitting in the booth right next to us. It was Mariah, a light skinned black girl and two male friends, plus two big body guards. They were all very immature and the two guys started hitting on us. Inviting us to some after party at the Park Plaza Hotel. It seemed sketchy. She just kept giving us the evil eye and the whole time I am thinking to myself, 'You are Mariah Carey! Don't be hating on us!'

"So of course we all ended up in the bathroom at the same time. We were putting on lip stick and she came in. She was really staring at my pants. But in a very uncomfortable way for everyone. It's so hard to explain. Finally she was like, 'Those pants are hot!' and she sort of tugged at my side. It was so odd. This was like two weeks before her mental 'breakdown' or whatever you want to call it. She just seemed very out of sorts. Very weird the way she kept looking around. Shifty eyed. Also she was much bigger then I thought she would be. She was wide. Not fat but wide. Her boobs are huge. And she has a big face. If any of this makes sense."

PUTmeONtheHOOD also met Mariah. "I worked for Clearchannel Radio in Colorado Springs and I have to admit I am a huge Mariah fan...I have every album, poster, single, whatever. Well the last day I worked there I found out they set up a meet and greet for me and ten of my friends and family. They were supposed to give them away on-air, so I took my mom and dad who thought she was crazy. Dad being a colonel in the airforce at a Mariah show, I thought would be interesting.

"The show went great. My dad loved her actually. I was afraid after the show waiting to meet her because I thought she would be a snob and squash all my thoughts and blocking out crazy talk from people.

"We walked up to her and she was short just like you described her...very tiny except for boobs. She was so nice. Looked me in the eye when talking and just chatted for a few. We are not supposed to touch her said her bodyguard but she gave me a hug and signed an autograph which I guess she normally doesn't do. They tell you before you meet her no autographs."

To view comments on these stories, log on to The House That Jeter Built message board.

-- From BET Online: “I sang background vocals for Bobby Brown, Pebbles, Babyface, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton and Be Be & Ce Ce Winans when I moved to Atlanta,” says [Trina] Broussard. Through her association with Trey Lorenz, she began writing and then later signed with So So Def.

-- From New York Daily News: Pulling a Mariah Carey, [Jessica Simpson] belted every note to the rafters. While she clearly lacks Ms. Carey's pipes, a gross excess of amplification, and some apparently recorded vocal helper, allowed her to simulate diva-status. Too bad the songs from her three CDs all sound like pieces fished out of Britney Spears slush pile.

-- From Newsday: Britney Spears has become a stateside Kylie Minogue, churning out one dance pop hit after another. Christina Aguilera continues to walk the line between Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson; and with both film and music careers cooking, Mandy Moore is like a Vanessa Williams minus the Penthouse scandal.

-- From Stars & Stripes: As the new arrivals [of military troops] walk into the reception area, they are told to drop their bags and head into the briefing room, where there are plenty of chips and sodas to be had. In the briefing room, they are greeted by images of the work they’re doing in Iraq while the song “Hero,” by Mariah Carey plays. “We want them to know that they truly are heroes,” [Ellie Walbridge, the program’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation supervisor] said.

-- From Ask Men: Check out [Jadakiss'] sophomore effort, which features fellow artists like Nate Dogg (on "Time's Up"), Snoop Dogg & DJ Quick (on "Shine"), Pharrell (on "Hot Sauce To Go"), and Mariah Carey (on "U Make Me Wanna"). If you liked Jadakiss' platinum debut album, Kiss Tha Game Goodbye, you'll be pimping it up with this one.

-- From The State: Backed by China's highest family incomes, Shanghai has recently hosted shows by acts ranging from Mariah Carey to aging British hard rockers Deep Purple and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.

-- From Online Entertainment: [Jennifer Lopez] and her spokespeople have still not officially announced the secret wedding at her Beverly Hills mansion earlier this month did take place, despite the fact pictures of the couple in wedding outfits have been published across the world. Instead, J-Lo moved to quash rumours she is poised to hire Mariah Carey's ex-husband [Tommy] Mottola - who used to head up Sony Records - as her new manager.

-- From News & Observer: [Hip Ksor] cannot go home, so he buys his youngest child [Treh Nay] an airline ticket to Vietnam. She cannot remember the village in the highlands or her four grown siblings, so she spreads out the old photographs on the coffee table at home in Raleigh. "I feel like I will be seeing it for the first time," she says. She packs her flared pants and silvery heels, the tight dresses that show off her figure and a Mariah Carey CD.

-- From The Scoop: While at the helm of Flyte Tyme Records, based in Los Angeles and Minnesota, ["Jimmy Jam"] Harris and [Terry] Lewis have been responsible for the development of such young talent as multi-platinum selling artists Janet Jackson, TLC, and sultry Pop diva Mariah Carey and has had a hand in the popularity of other such artists as Rod Stewart, Patti LaBelle, Mary J. Blige, Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera, and Michael Jackson, Sting, Luther Vandross and Herb Alpert, to name a few.

Here are a few screen captures taken from Entertainment Tonight's behind-the-scenes look at Mariah's InStyle Magazine photo shoot. The full segment will be airing Monday. Click each thumbnail for a larger, full-scale view.

-- Twelve years ago, on June 20, 1992, Mariah Carey scored her sixth US No.1 single with 'I'll Be There', a No.2 hit in the UK. The song was also a US No.1 for The Jackson 5 in 1970.

-- Singer Kyla, known as the Filipino R&B Princess, joined in on the Filipino television program "Million Video-oke Challenge" on June 20, 2004 and won the jackpot round with a performance of Mariah's Through The Rain. Kyla, a very big Mariah fan, had joined the show three times previously before she finally hit the jackpot. You can hear her performance at kylaonline.com.

-- From New York Daily News: In the song "The Arthur Doyle Hand Cream," [Sonic Youth's lead singer Kim] Gordon curls her deepest sneer. A little late in the day, the lyrics weigh in unsympathetically on Mariah Carey's breakdown. But its zingers could just as easily apply to Britney Spears, Courtney Love or any number of dedicated publicity hounds.

-- From New Zealand News: Another track on Sonic Nurse, initially titled Mariah Carey and the Arthur Doyle Hand Cream, is sure to reinforce [Sonic Youth's] viewpoints. "We had to change the name of the track for the album, we've changed Mariah Carey to Kim Gordon for legal reasons. The song came about at the time when Mariah was being dropped by her record company, Virgin, after they'd spent $80 million to sign her to the label. It's a comment on her as a pop star, but also it has a lot to do with that situation where a label signs an artist that sells 15 million copies of an album, then if the next record only sells five million copies they think the artist is a failure all of a sudden and they give them the boot. It's so ridiculous the way the labels think about this medium that is supposed to be art. It's just so crassly commercial and commodified."

-- From The Statesman: The International Chamber of Commerce states that counterfeiting has spread in recent years from luxury goods such as Louis Vuitton handbags and Cartier watches to drugs, including Viagra. The most widely intercepted product was cigarettes. Madonna and Mariah Carey are among the most pirated artists. In 2003, Nintendo says it lost about $720 million in sales to counterfeit goods.

On June 17th, Mariah joined stars like Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams from Destiny’s Child, Ashanti, LeBron James, Wesley Snipes, Damon Dash and American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino at the one year anniversary party for Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club on West 25th Street in New York City.

Be sure to tune into Entertainment Tonight on Monday! They will be going behind-the-scenes of Mariah's InStyle Magazine photoshoot (the one MariahDaily.com exclusively reported about on May 6th), in a segment about celebrities talking about their first jobs. For Mariah, that was her start as a worker in a hair salon. For local listings, log on to etonline.com

-- From Times Union: Mariah's version of "I'll Be There" is the 4th current favorite dance at wedding songs, according to weddingtips.com.

-- From Reuters: In the rock era, the record [for the longest running #1 single] is held by Boyz II Men, with two 16-week runs. In 1994, "I'll Make Love to You" was on top for 14 weeks, followed by the first two weeks of the reign of "On Bended Knee." In 1995, "One Sweet Day," recorded with Mariah Carey, ruled for 16 weeks.

-- From All Africa: Yvonne Nabeta was eliminated from the Project Fame show [Africa's newest television reality show] on Sunday, and will not go into the Academy, but she has no regrets. Second last born in a family of five daughters, [Yvonne's father] was Uganda's Ambassador to Rwanda and then Belgium, where Yvonne spent much of her childhood, dreaming about being a singer, just like Mariah Carey. She thought she would be like her music idol when she grew up, and tried to do everything that Mariah could. When she grew up and found she could not be exactly like Mariah, she almost gave it all up.

-- From Yahoo! News: She first attracted attention on the "Love Jones" soundtrack with her mesmerizing cover of Minnie Riperton's "Inside My Love." That was in 1997. Seven years later, R&B singer/songwriter Trina Broussard is finally realizing a career dream. Universal/Motown Records Group will release her solo set "The Same Girl" June 22. The Houston native began pursuing a music career in 1990. She had relocated to Atlanta, where she landed background vocal gigs for Bobby Brown, Babyface, Mariah Carey and Toni Braxton, among others.

-- From The Daily Record: 12 years after the last days of [British singing group] Bros and after a brief return to the charts with his top 30 hit I'm Coming With Ya, which saw him tour the UK with Mariah Carey, Matt [Goss] finally has a solo album ready to sell.

-- According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Mariah is the third best selling female recording albums artist in the United States, with 57 million albums sold. Madonna is second with 60 million, and Barbra Streisand is first with 71.5 million. For the complete list, log on to riaa.com.

-- From Express & Star: Hundreds of mourners packed a Bilston church today to pay an emotional tribute to heroic teenager Jason Mansell who died saving the life of a friend. The congregation which had tried so hard to fight back tears during the moving ceremony, could do nothing to stop them as Mariah Carey's "Hero" filled the room. Parkfield High School in Prosser Street was closed today as a mark of respect to the pupil.

-- From Web India: Guess who all feature in 'Who' magazine's list of the world's sexiest people? Well Kate Hudson, Beyonce Knowles, Brad Pitt, Jake Gyllenhall and Paris Hilton and Halle Berry to name a few. And those who did'nt make the cut this year include Mariah Carey, Carmen Electra and muscleman Claude Van Damme.

-- From MTV Europe: Since it launched on MTV in the States in 1998, TRL US has become an entertainment phenomenon. Want to know how important the show is? Just ask Britney Spears, whose first step to global fame came when she performed her debut single ‘Baby, One More Time’ live on the show. Jennifer Lopez, Eminem and Mariah Carey are all regular TRL guests.

-- From USA Today: Whatever his lingering qualms about the music business [George] Michael has patched up his differences with Sony. He signed a new deal there last year, shortly after chairman and CEO Tommy Motolla stepped down. Asked whether the reconciliation had anything to do with the departure of Motolla, who has also been taken to task by ex-wife Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson, Michael says, without elaborating: "It had everything to do with Mottola leaving. I never had any problem with Sony in the U.K., but America holds the purse strings. If you fall out with the boss, you're in trouble."