Interview Readers "Carey" On

The letters from readers below appear in the November 2007 issue of Interview magazine.

"I loved the September interview with Mariah Carey, and I couldn't help sending a quick note to corroborate the fact that she indeed loves her fans! One rainy Friday night this past June at Euro Disney in Paris, Carey was set to perform outside for the first annual One Mighty Party. The Elton John AIDS Foundation was the beneficiary of this special event, as we all waited for her to arrive, it began to rain harder and harder. However, Carey fans never left - they stood waiting for her to show up. When her car pulled in behind the stage, we were all standing there, drenched! She ran into a tent and emerged in a gorgeous white gown and a clear umbrella. (There was no cover on the stage.) After she began to sing, she quickly realized the umbrella was getting in the way, so she threw it aside and sang the rest of her set in the pouring rain. She did not disappoint!"
--Scott P. Campbell, Executive Director, Elton John AIDS Foundation

"I was shocked and disappointed to find nude Mariah Carey on the cover of your magazine. If I wanted pornography, I would subscribe to Playboy or a similar magazine. I was ashamed to have anyone see this in my home."
--Barbara L. Cox, Sun City, CA

"First of all I must say that, as usual, Interview remains one of my favorite magazines. I was surprised to see Mariah gracing your current cover. Reading the piece, I noticed that there is still that hint of insecurity in her (something I think we all have). I've met Mariah in person and spoken with her on several occasions, and as I read the interview, I felt like - for once - the person I remembered meeting was the same one doing the interview: the fun, smart, down-to-earth Mariah! She was open and honest and, in fact, almost seemed relaxed. The interview was both entertaining and fascinating - not the usual, boring let's-discuss-the-upper-register and what-a-villain-Tommy-Mottola-is. Mariah has always been about evolving, and she continues to do just that. She has always been ahead of the game, and despite some "bad lighting" and lack of film- and record- company support for Glitter [2001], it was not the worst film ever made. As Mariah says in the interview, the soundtrack included some of her best vocals yet, and real fans all over the world will not tell you anything different. Everyone makes movie mistakes (does anyone remember 2003's Gigli?). I was hesitant at first to read the interview because I have been a fan since 1990, and sometimes where Mariah is concerned it feels like the same story over and over - she winds up trying to explain and defend herself too much, when in reality she doesn't have to. Instead, Ingrid Sischy got the interesting side of Mariah - the side that Mariah's real fans know and love. I have never once read a more fascinating interview with her - a comfortable conversation where she seemed genuinely free. Who knows, maybe the butterflies I myself have been seeing lately were a sign to read the interview. P.S. The hot guys were nice to look at too - lucky M.C.!"
--Janel Spiegel via the Internet

"So it turns out that Mariah Carey isn't such a diva after all. While I've never been deeply enthralled with her music, I have to respect an artist who is so famously and intensely loved for so many years by her fans, not to mention the God-given quality of her voice. While the theory of the "emperor's new clothes" does apply to many popular pop artists, it seems like Mariah's devotees were correct to believe that she is, in fact, the real thing. Ingrid Sischy's interview with Mariah reveals a likable person of much more substance than one might have expected - you can't help but empathize with her struggles and applaud her growth and insight of recent years. She comes across as a humble and genuine person whose work is not all about the high notes she can hit and the skin she shows."
--Pearl Henley, Brooklyn

"As a sometime reader and more often skimmer, I find it's always a joy to discover that the seductive, hard-edged glamour and glitz of Interview is balanced by the all-so-human qualities of those being interviewed. Reading the Mariah Carey interview, I was struck by how much is revealed about the ordinariness of her life. It's what makes all of us unique."
--Alan Godwin via the Internet
Source: MariahDailyJournal