While we all have an angle we'd prefer to show off in photos, Mariah Carey has an angle. Scroll through the singer's Instagram page, and you'll see thousands of beautiful snapshots all pointedly taken from the same vantage point. It's her signature move—or was, anyway.
In honor of the New Year, the icon is showing us a side of herself that some fans may have never seen before: her left. In an Instagram photo posted on Monday, January 1, a glimmering Carey stares off into the distance, or rather the year ahead.
"New year, new beginnings..taking a picture from my 'bad side'!" she joked in the post's caption.
Lore regarding the 54-year-old's "bad side" is nothing new. In Britney Spears' 2022 memoir The Woman In Me, she recounts a time when she met Carey and learned what a ring light is. According to the "Lucky" singer, Carey took it upon herself to coach her on how to take the perfect photo while backstage at an early 2000s award show.
"I asked if we could take a photo together and tried to take one where we were standing, and she said, 'No! Come stand here, darling. This is my light. This is my side. I want you to stand here so I can get my good side, girl," she wrote. "Of course she was completely right about everything—the photo looked incredible."
Now, more than 20 years later, the good side/bad side tale continues from Carey herself—and her brilliant makeup artist, Kristofer Buckle.
"Many people have a preferred side but to refer to the other side as 'bad' I never understood…Mariah is not only beautiful right to left but also inside and out," Buckle tells Marie Claire exclusively, adding that he used Charlotte Tilbury Highlighter in "Champagne Glow" and Fashion Fair Lipstick in "Nudeattude" to achieve last night's all-around-perfect look.
With her highlighter glowing and natural curls once again flowing, the obvious takeaway here is that the "Touch My Body" singer doesn't have a "bad side" at all. Still, I respect her bravery for posting something she's self-conscious about (it's valid! we all have them!)—and would never say no to a new photo of Mimi, especially in full NYE glam.
