Mariah Carey takes Christmas more seriously than anyone else. The hitmaker of "All I Want for Christmas Is You" has turned the holiday into a cottage industry, with concerts, television specials, and even McDonald's menus themed on her love of all things Christmas-related. Now that Halloween is over, Carey is all set to impart the most Christmas cheer as possible, announcing she has a range of activities and projects lined up.
First is the release of the charming new children's book "The Christmas Princess" (Henry Holt and Co., 48 pp., out now).
Little Mariah and her hardworking mother, Mother La Diva, reside in a dilapidated shack in the story, which was co-written by Michaela Angela Davis.
She is ridiculed by local children and yearns for Christmas happiness to brighten her miserable existence. She soon realizes her ability to spread joy and unify people via singing. Carey characterizes the character as a "mixed-race Pippi Longstocking" who uses music to cope with her unhappiness.
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With "Christmas Princess," the five-time Grammy winner sought to compose something uplifting for "everyone who has ever felt like an outsider," she explains. It's a little little book, but it has a deeper message than meets the eye.
Next, with the return of her renowned Christmas concerts next month, she aims to bring the same shine to her admirers, or "Lambs," as she calls them. Carey will perform at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on December 9 and 11, then at the Madison Square Garden in New York on December 13 and 16. The set list will mostly consist of songs from her two Christmas albums, "Merry Christmas" (1994) and "Merry Christmas II You" (2010), as well as a couple songs.
She also hints at the potential of a concert to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her album "Butterfly," which was released in September. After starring in Lee Daniels' films "Precious" (2009) and "The Butler," (2013) the music superstar says she's ready to acting again. However, she is currently reuniting with the director to develop a television series based on her memoir. Although the concept is still in its infancy, she has given considerable attention to who should play her.
Any reader of her new memoir, "The Meaning of Mariah Carey" will enjoy and consume the unabashed chapters that seek to reclaim the story on Carey's terms (and gays, yes, she uses the term "guncles" in this book). She writes about her youth, her experience in the music industry, including her work with Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, tabloid gossip, her role in the Oscar-winning film "Precious," her marriages, and her children. Carey's lyrics reflect the events of her life at the time they were composed.
