Mariah Carey breaks free on her new CD, Butterfly
Interview by Molly Meldrum

The list of producers of Mariah Carey's Butterfly is remarkable. It includes hot names like Sean ‘Puffy' Combs Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and David Morales. Butterfly is essentially an urban record. "I've always been influenced by R&B and urban music," explains Mariah. "I grew up in New York listening to urban radio from the beginning of hip-hop. It's not like I am suddenly changing. It makes sense to be working with Puffy and Q-Tip, Missy Elliot, Jermaine (Dupri), even Boyz II Men." The funky beats blend with signature soaring ballads "My All", "Butterfly" and "Whenever You Call" made with Mariah's long time associate Walter Afanasieff. The title track begun as a house tune to be done with David Morales. But Mariah decided halfway through it should be a ballad, and that the line about "butterflies are free to fly, fly away" its title. This year Mariah broke free of her past.

She split with her husband, record chief Tommy Mottola, and her long time manager and lawyers. She found a new circle of friends and is determined to get into movies. Contrary to reports, her new man is zillionaire Donald Trump, or Cuban/American model David Formaro, the hunk dancing on the "Honey video". Stardom was something she'd dreamt of since she was four. When it came, virtually overnight, she felt trapped. Her life revolved around music, and her world consisted of limos, bodyguards and maintaining a sweet pop star image. In the track "Outside", Carey reveals how she's never fitted in. Coming from a dysfunctional family, she admits she went through "some crazy experiences" before she turned 12. She'd be out roaming the streets until 3 in morning. Her family friends shrugged she'd never amount to much. All she had was a remarkable voice. "I don't want to get too specific because a lot of people could relate to that song for a lot of different reasons. For me it was basically about being multiracial and feeling like I came from another planet because I never knew anyone in the exact same position as me."

Some of Butterfly was cut in the Bahamas. Mariah recalls the joy of being able to walk about the beach in casual clothes without a bodyguard and hang out in bars with complete strangers. "Has anyone told you that you look like Mariah Carey?" they'd ask her. "Yeah, and I'm getting tired of it," she'd reply straight faced.

Mariah is still vibing on how exciting the recording sessions were. The way Puffy expertly weaved the loop from Treacherous Three's "Body Rock" into "Honey". How she found Krayzie and Wish Bone of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony "very inspired, very cool and not on ego trips at all". How "The Roof" with Trackmasterz is her favourite track on the CD.

She tracked down Missy Elliot, an exciting young rapper she is a fan of. "We wrote in my hotel room, drinking champagne. She was hung over from the night before, and fell asleep halfway, so I had to finish it alone. On the back of the album cover that's why I say ‘no more Christoff for you' because she couldn't handle it."

She covers her favourite Prince song "The Beautiful One". At high school, she'd go and see his movie ten times in a row and then go home and cry. She has a promise for her fans, "I am most definitely coming to Australia. I've always wanted to come to Australia and now I will be there in January, definitely."


Many thanks to Kerry from MariahCareyCollection for the scans.