Excuse us; we’re still in state of shock! Megastar Mariah Carey has just been in touch to talk about The X Factor, Justin Bieber and the secrets to her success. As one of the best-selling music artists of all time, she’s sold in excess of 200 million records, Mariah Carey is perfectly poised to offer advice to our X Factor 2011 winners Little Mix. Here’s what the musical icon had to say…
As one of the most successful artists of all time, what advice do you have for Little Mix?
My best advice for them is to know who they really are as artists and embrace it, write their own songs, tour, and always stay in touch with their fans.
Did you enjoy appearing on The X Factor back in 2009?
I loved being on The X Factor UK! The crowd was very energetic but I just hoped Simon wouldn't try and judge me, ha ha!
You're also friends with Simon Cowell – what’s he like?
In real life, Simon's a lot of fun to hang out with! I think he is a great person and a genius when it comes to recognising talent. I think he's actually different than his TV personality - he's not as mean as they think he is! He's very thoughtful and cares a lot about his artists.
What’s the secret to your phenomenal success?
I am so grateful for all the success I have but honestly, success to me is more than just numbers. I'm just happy to be able to do what I love for living as a songwriter as well as a singer and to be able to inspire people. I think the secret is staying true to yourself as an artist and never letting go of your inner child.
How will you be spending Christmas?
Nick and I are so excited for our first Christmas with the babies, even though they're not gonna know what's going on, ha ha! We will be spending Christmas in Aspen this year which is very exciting because last year I wasn't able to go due to the fact I was pregnant with twins, obviously!
Can you tell us more about your collaboration with John Legend?
I wrote When Christmas Comes with James Poyser of The Roots, we worked together on The Emancipation of Mimi and John had also done an entire album with The Roots. I was really glad when John said he was thinking about doing a Christmas album too so it was perfect for us to do this song together.
And how did your duet with Justin Bieber come about?
The duet with Justin was for my song All I Want For Christmas Is You. I was really surprised when he wanted to do a duet with me but it made sense because it was for Christmas and to me at Christmas time, unique collaborations are common place historically. I think the fans felt it was fun to have a new take on the song with him. He's such a nice guy, I'm really happy for him and all his success.
Mariah Carey has two singles out for the festive season, which are available now, ‘When Christmas Comes’ a duet with John Legend (Available digitally) and ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ (SuperFestive!) a duet with Justin Bieber (Available on Justin Bieber’s album ‘Under The Mistletoe'). Mariah’s two Christmas albums are ‘Merry Christmas’ and ‘Merry Christmas II You’.
