Mariah Carey: 'I’ve worried that people only know me for Christmas — but I don’t care, I love it'

Imagine the most cynical thing you could ever think to ask Mariah Carey? Well, I asked it. It wasn’t about the many rumoured beefs this towering icon of American song, who can boast more than 220 million record sales, has had over her career — with JLo, with Eminem, with Nicki Minaj. Nor was it about the duality of being a totemic diva since her career blew up in 1990 while being a parent to twins Moroccan and Monroe since 2011. Her co-parent is TV host Nick Cannon, who has 10 other children. My question wasn’t about him, or her other significant ex: head of Columbia Records Tommy Mottola, who pursued her first as an artist, then as a lover. In 2020, she described the experience like having a “completely controlling father”.

No, it was much more insulting than that. “Mariah Carey, do you actually love Christmas?” I ask the six-time Grammy winner bravely over the phone, as the New York-born superstar crosses America on her latest tour. “Are you kidding me?” she retorts, her voice almost cracking with disbelief. “Is that an actual question? Well, luckily, I’m going to tell you that I love Christmas — more than anything.”