Mariah Carey did not grow up in a stable household.
And that is why the All I Want For Christmas singer works so hard to get into the Christmas spirit as an adult, not just for her twins Monroe and Morocco, but for the kid inside her.
‘I think it’s just that longing that I had as a child, that I always wanted things to be perfect for the holidays,’ said the Glitter actress told Elle. ‘And they never were. It was always somebody ruining the moment, always these dysfunctional family members who came around and foiled everything.’
Christmas is joy: Mariah Carey did not grow up in a stable household. And that is why the All I Want For Christmas singer works so hard to get into the Christmas spirit as an adult, not just for her twins Monroe and Morocco, but for the kid inside her
Her upbringing was challenging: ‘A lot of very bad stuff happened to me when I was 12.’
She talked about being treated cruelly by her jealous mother in her new memoir and also touched on being bullied as a child; she was even once called the N word.
The former reality TV star added, ‘But also, there is the spirit of that kid, that fighter who doesn’t give up, who does embrace who she is, even though the world didn’t understand that from my point of view,’ admitted Mariah.
She remembers Christmas as ‘maybe the one time that I got to breathe for a second.’
Her aim: ‘I think it’s just that longing that I had as a child, that I always wanted things to be perfect for the holidays,’ said the Glitter actress to Elle
The diva added: ‘And so I just made a pact with myself that I wasn’t going to allow that to happen anymore. After I kind of emerged from my first relationship–slash–marriage, I created the Christmases that I wanted to have.’
She makes sure everything sparkles. ‘I literally go to a snowy place. Reindeer are there,’ she said. Carey is known for visiting Aspen every Christmas season.
‘I’m not making this up. Santa Claus comes, hangs out with the kids. And by the way, even if I didn’t have kids, I would be doing this,’ said the songbird.
She co-parents Monroe and Morocco with ex Nick Cannon.
Her happiness: ‘And they never were. It was always somebody ruining the moment, always these dysfunctional family members who came around and foiled everything,’ she added; seen on her special for Apple TV+
Her Magical Christmas Special will air on December 4 on Apple TV+.
And to celebrate, the pinup appeared on a special digital holiday cover of Elle.
She discussed the importance her mega-hit All I Want For Christmas still holds in her heart today, and sings Joy to the World, Walking in a Winter Wonderland in the video.
There will also be a soundtrack to be released on Apple Music the same day, and on all other music streaming services on the 11th.
Hard start to life: Her upbringing was challenging: ‘A lot of very bad stuff happened to me when I was 12’
The show promises a crop of Yuletide riches: a new version of her song ‘Oh Santa!’ with Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson, which she calls a ‘girls’ group moment’; Misty Copeland playing the Sugar Plum Fairy, dancing to ‘instrumentals’ sung by Mariah herself; plus appearances by Snoop Dogg, Billy Eichner, Tiffany Haddish, and Carey’s nine-year-old twins among others.
And Carey has celebrated her 30th anniversary in the music business with weekly vault drops of fan-pleasing releases, dubbed MC30.
She came out with a best-selling memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey as well as a double album of unreleased material and Carey’s personal favorites from her vault called The Rarities.
For her kids: She loves to get into the Christmas spirit for her twins Monroe and Morocco
‘It’s been such a hard year, and I really feel like people so need a celebratory moment,’ said the siren.
‘At every turn, it’s like, We can’t be [together]; you can’t celebrate. This is canceled; that’s canceled.’
And this year she worries people won’t have the Christmas feeling due to COVID-19. ‘I hope people feel festive when they watch this special, and I hope it helps in some way. Just like any really good Christmas movie or song can lift your spirits, that was the goal here,’ said the chart topper.
She states it is important to look forward to Christmas: ‘If I’m not looking forward to something, it’s bleak.’
Now she wants to spread some good spirit with her special: ‘I came to it with the spirit of “Let’s make it festive no matter what.” If you go into anything with that kind of hopefulness, then it’ll happen.’
Tough: She talked about being treated cruelly by her jealous mother in her new memoir and also touched on being bullied in school
Issues: The former reality TV star added, ‘But also, there is the spirit of that kid, that fighter who doesn’t give up, who does embrace who she is, even though the world didn’t understand that from my point of view,’ admitted Mariah
She also talked about being a biracial kid. ‘It’s very difficult to explain to most people who haven’t experienced that on some level,’ she said.
‘Being very ambiguous-looking, that really affected the way people saw me or judged me, depending on what kind of caste system you grew up with.
‘There would always be that question of, What are you? Not Who are you? How can I get to know you as a person? But “What are you? Oh, you’re so exotic. What are you mixed with?”
‘It depends who’s asking the question and how they ask the question.’
And she has talked to her children about racism: ‘The best way that I can protect them is with knowledge. I can’t prevent it, but I can at least try to make sure they’re aware of it.’
The good times: She remembers Christmas as ‘maybe the one time that I got to breathe for a second’
Mariah also talked about being a celebrity: ‘When you frame it as “celebrity,” I don’t really know how to answer that question,’ she said.
‘Because I don’t really see myself as a celebrity. I’m a recording artist. I make music, occasionally. Not to be like, “How dare you call me a celebrity?”
‘I love the glamorous stuff and the dress-up of it all. But the truth is, that’s work to me.’
She also discussed maintaining control of her music and why it was her ‘saving grace.’
Star power: Mariah also talked about being a celebrity: ‘When you frame it as “celebrity,” I don’t really know how to answer that question,’ she said. ‘Because I don’t really see myself as a celebrity. I’m a recording artist. I make music, occasionally. Not to be like, “How dare you call me a celebrity?”‘
‘It was always something that made me feel worthy,’ said Carey.
At one point, she almost sold the publishing rights to one of her songs for $5,000, ‘which seemed like a trillion dollars to me back then.’
She then felt ‘this little thing, when I write down words—I have to protect that, because this is something that people try to take from you.’ She also said she learned a lot from the Beatles selling their work.
And she has tried to branch out,
When she collaborated with Jay-Z, Missy Elliott, and Busta Rhymes on songs, the executives were not impressed. ‘They didn’t grow up with hip-hop. They didn’t understand it,’ she said.