TIME Magazine Interviews Mariah // 6:02 PM EST Updated by Casey


The Emancipation of Mimi became the best-selling album of 2005. Now Mariah Carey hopes her current tour will extend that career high note

Rebecca Winters Keegan (for TIME): In high school I washed dishes at your summer camp.
Mariah Carey: Get out!

RWK: Does Camp Mariah have a song?
MC: They have a ton of hot cheers.

RWK: How does it feel to be emancipated?
MC: There will always be parts of me that need emancipating. But it feels nice to allow yourself to be who you are.

RWK: Do you have any rituals on tour?
MC: Rest, humidity and prayer. In New York, I have a steam room with a bed in it. Everything is waterproof.

RWK: What's the first concert you ever saw?
MC: I didn't exactly have the funds for concerts. There was a time when the only joy I got was recording my outgoing answering-machine messages. My roommate and I left a message once describing when we had no heat, no water, and the fly-paper situation was bleak. It ended up being the message that the record company heard when they called to sign me. I was mortified.

RWK: You'll play a waitress in a movie called Tennessee. Were you afraid to act again after Glitter?
MC: I was honored Lee Daniels called me. He produced The Woodsman and Monster's Ball. He's a risk taker. Obviously it would be a risk in a lot of people's minds to cast me. But he never saw Glitter.

RWK: Have you ever sent dogs running with a high note?
MC: No, but I got a letter from a girl who said she was listening to one of my songs and every time I hit a particular high note, the garage door would open or close.

RWK: Thanks, Mariah.
MC: Hey, thanks for doing the dishes.

From the June 19, 2006 issue of TIME magazine (on newsstands tomorrow).