I Met Mariah Carey! #MariahCaution
Proceed with caution…
That’s a lyric to Mariah Carey’s new song, Caution, from her new album of the same moniker. It’s also a warning to those who ever dare to meet their idols. Their feet are made of clay and the image often doesn’t measure up to the reality. Still, I went full speed ahead to meet the elusive chanteuse. After suffering through 8 hours in the New York cold and body going numb, I met the living legend herself.
That’s the back of my head!
I’ve been a MC fan for as long as I can remember. It’s how I met my best friend, Cori, who is the only bigger Mariah fan than me. I have a “Maria” obsession according to my mom. She’s not wrong. Even before Eminem (Yeah, I know) coined the term stan, I was one for Mariah. I’ve got love for a lot of artists but she’s held a permanent spot in my Aries beating heart.
Do you know how many SAT words she’s taught me? Mimi helped me get into college and hone my writing skills.
Mariah is my spirit animal. If I were a multi millionaire, I’d be living my life just as she indulges in hers. I love her excess, being eternally 12 , throwing classy shade and her authenticity. Being *** flawless is its own goal but a lot of us are fucked up. I’m one of them. There’s a lot that’s gone left in my life and Mariah’s voice has soothed the pain. This was a common story told by those who risked frost bite and losing fingers just for the chance to meet our idol.
We stood in bitter cold, sharing how Mariah gave us strength. It was a fabric of background of diverse backgrounds, creeds and orientations. But we came together to laugh, sing her songs in off key falsetto and mock the idea that the diva would roll up in a standard taxi. As if! Only choppers would do.
Even as the day wore on and grumpiness started to set in, we were still there for each other. Paying for other lambs when we were told that cash wasn’t accepted, buying each other hot drinks and food. Another fan took my hand in hers and breathed warmth. She was literally keeping me warm and we all teased the married guy who came just to support his wife and knew it wasn’t the crowd that wanted to talk about sports. Sorry about your Boston teams.
It was around 9:30 p.m. when I shuffled inside the Sony building to meet Mariah. I gasped to see Madame Butterfly. It really was her! I opened and closed my eyes, almost convinced it was a dream. I took the deepest breath and told her what she meant to me. At this point, Mariah has heard it all before but she looked at me with genuine affection as though it were the first time she’d heard those flattering words. But I did catch her surprise when I presented her with Control. Reesa Jenkins is inspired by her, a biracial singer who wants to take the music industry by storm.
This is the note I wrote to Mariah. I promise the book is better than my handwriting!
We weren’t allowed to take selfies. I’m annoyed by that but perhaps it was for the best. I never live in the moment. My iPhone is always snapping away but I got to be in the moment with my fav and absorbed it.
I’ve been stressing about making Control a best seller. It would be nice to see my book on the New York Times list but it’s not bullshit to say that placing the book in Mariah’s hands means more to me. She blessed the novel! She has it. I hope she loves Control and Reesa.
Thank you to all the lambs who stayed with me from early morning to the late hours on this cold day in November. We are a lambily. It’s because of you that I fortified my will to go the distance.
I fux with you!
