How Mariah Carey Stays 'Unbothered': 'I Try to Be Bothered When I'm by Myself, Not in Front of the World' (Exclusive)
The queen of all things Christmas — now on a national tour — has long and famously stayed above the fray, seemingly unmoved by anyone or anything. But today, Carey says she just gets bothered in private.
Mariah Carey embraces many assumptions about her. And why wouldn't she? She's an icon.
She's more than earned the title, what with 19 No. 1 songs — only one less than The Beatles — more than 200 million records sold, and she's the only person to have a No. 1 hit in each of the last four decades. Carey is beloved for her voice, her songwriting, her Christmas queen-ing, and her Old Hollywood glamour. And, sure, her seeming "diva" aura,
“She understands that people see her a certain way,” her longtime makeup artist Kristofer Buckle, who has worked with her since 1997, says. He's referring to her playful, diva-ish act in a recent concert — she's touring the country right now with her "Merry Christmas One and All!" concert —where she invented a song about mopping on the spot. “She gets it. Like, the joke is always hers.”
Carey mostly embraces the word, she tells PEOPLE. “I still define the word ‘diva’ the way it is in the dictionary. It's a successful singer, usually a soprano, typically in the opera field. And that's sort of a half-assed way of explaining it. But the second definition is like ‘a difficult woman.’ ” She’s found that characterization silly, she says.
“Especially when everybody started talking about ‘diva this, diva that.’ Whatever. It was like, well, are they trying to say it in a bad way or in a good way? So many people that I know that are called ‘divas’ all the time, don't take offense to it. If someone's like, "The diva, so-and-so." Who cares? Why is it a big deal? Just take it and be on your merry way.”
Related: Jennifer Garner Thanks Mariah Carey for ‘Spreading the Christmas Cheer’ at Her Festive Show
Carey endeavors to stay merry year-round, she says. She knows that, especially this time of year, folks come to her for joy. “I’m trying to bring it.”
Her fans admire her for being a diva. Her fans admire her for her perpetual holiday spirit. But they also admire her—and meme her—for being, well, unbothered. She is known to her fan, called Lambs, as the Queen of Christmas. She's also sometimes called the Queen of Unbothered, always rising above and unmoved by anything or anyone placed in her path.
“I don't know if I'm the Queen of Being Unbothered,” she says. “I guess maybe if they want to call me that, that's a good thing to be. I don't know that I'm always un-bothered. But I try to be bothered when I'm by myself. Not in front of the world.”
She certainly has her days. “I've been looking forward to this Christmas for, like, the whole year. Since last year — because last year wasn't the greatest. I'm thankful for them all, but it wasn't my most fun version of Christmas ever.”
Related: Mariah Carey Reveals She Hasn't Had a Driver's License for 7 Years: 'I Let It Expire'
Kevin Mazur/WireImage for MC
Mariah Carey performs in Highland, California on Nov. 15, 2023Carey has her way of dealing, she tells PEOPLE. “I would say it's writing. It's prayer. It's like these little things that can take you from possibly being in a really bad mood to just being in a better place immediately. And just really being thankful for all scenarios, all the moments that come our way. I don’t read anything written about me. That’s one of my coping mechanisms.”
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