I'm working on a summary of the Mariah interview on Jojo [Archive]

misha

Mar 2nd, 2005, 10:35 PM

Jojo posted it at his website - www.jojoontheradio.com

JOJO: In the studio – the legend – Mariah

MARIAH: Hello JoJo, it’s so good to be here at night at a realistic reasonable hour

JOJO: Do you hate getting up early too?

MARIAH: Oh darling, I can’t stand it

JOJO: Let me try this on your real quick, the word legend

MARIAH: You must deal with the same thing

JOJO: Like I’m a legend (laughing)

MARIAH: No, seriously. Tell me the people that you grew up with don’t look at you and look at your life and are amazed that you’re a public person

JOJO: I guess that’s not a strange way to look at it now that you put it that way

MARIAH: When I was growing up listening to the radio all the time, if I knew somebody that was actually on the radio that would freak me out

JOJO: Who do you consider a legend?

MARIAH: You could go vocally, obviously the huge stars like Prince, Michael Jackson. I would look at those people and say ‘I want to become famous, but I never want to be that famous where they’re making up stories about you’

JOJO: Now what’s weird about it is now you’re that person

MARIAH: Honestly, I really feel like the same person that I’ve always been but I guess I’m not

JOJO: Well yes & no, you’re still the same person

MARIAH: Yeah, I’m still technically the same person but to the average public now its “Mariah Carey”, nobody ever called me that even at school

JOJO: Is that why the album’s called “The Emancipation of Mimi” – the nickname Mimi

MARIAH: Yeah. You know how these names evolved. I don’t know, did your mamma name you JoJo?

JOJO: It’s a nickname my dad gave me because his army sergeant called him Joe and my name's not Joe at all – go figure that one out

MARIAH: Figure Mimi…you know what’s funny is my Mom named me Mariah Carey because she thought it was a good stage name. She thinks she predicted this whole thing

JOJO: We have a mutual friend. There’s a dud on tv show called American Idol – Randy Jackson are you there?

MARIAH: Oh my goodness

RANDY: What’s up, what’s going down?

MARIAH: It’s too good to be true. Everybody who doesn’t know Randolph Jackson

JOJO: Randolph?
MARIAH: That’s just my name for him. If I say that now is everybody gonna call you Randolph?

JOJO: It’s already done

MARIAH: Randolph isn’t even his real name

JOJO: How did you guys meet and what’s the relationship between you guys because you’re known each other for quite a long time

RANDY: We met a couple of years ago

MARIAH: When I was doing my first record in

RANDY: San Francisco , CA

MARIAH: And what people don’t know about Randy Jackson is how much a musician that Randy actually is. He doesn’t just sit on the show and go ‘I like this, I don’t like this’ he’s a great producer, a great musician, has been on the road with so many artists and he just has this great personality. I couldn’t think of a better person to be doing what he’s doing. We love you Randy and we’re happy for ya

RANDY: Oh thanks man

JOJO: The reason I got “ Randolph” on the phone – cause you’re tight with her, what do we need to know about Mariah

RANDY: The main thing is people see a lot of stars, especially in Mariah’s case, she is definitely a legend. You hit it right JoJo, definitely one of those superstar legends, one of the best vocalists of our time. I think what people think and what they see sometimes in the press and they hear is really not quite the case always. She’s just really a regular cool girl, she’s just really down, cool, funny, cracking jokes all the time

MARIAH: We have a good time

RANDY: She has a good time. Don’t believe everything you hear or read

JOJO: And of course, her new cd – give me your comments on that

RANDY: I just gotta say, she is singing her face off on this record. Has written some incredible joints on this record. This is a hot record. See Mariah’s very humble, this is a hot record. JoJo – you been playing the record?

JOJO: Oh yeah, it’s been huge dude, phones lit up

RANDY: Radio needs records like this

JOJO: If Mariah walked on stage at Idol what would be your response to her after she wailed on stage?

RANDY: She’d win the whole thing hands down. In fact, Idol is about singers like that. It’s about somebody great winning and somebody great getting a shot that hasn’t gotten a shot yet. That’s what it’s about. It’s not about William Hung people, please

MARIAH: I don’t know the intricacies of the whole thing

JOJO: He’s probably one of the best vocalists of our time Mariah

RANDY: He’s one of the worst ever

JOJO: Thanks for hanging out man

MARIAH: Thanks Randy – call me

JOJO: I’m trying to picture you doing normal things. For you that’s easy, for the rest of us it’s kinda like you’re up on a pedestal. I’m gonna toss some things at you – you’re sitting on the couch watching tv, what do you watch?

MARIAH: First of all, I usually lay in bed and watch tv ‘cause if I get the chance to be at home it’s all about reclining. Even my couches are like beds. Guys who come over to my house love those couches. People fall asleep on those things cause they’re actually made of down also so it’s like being on a huge bed

JOJO: On to breakfast, when you get up in the morning, what do you whip up for breakfast?

MARIAH: I’m not really a whipper-upper. I can cook, but its more nighttime food

JOJO: What do you whip up at night?

MARIAH: Pasta, I have a very good recipe for linguine with white clam sauce. People are like she can’t cook, then I cook for them then they give me the respect I deserve

JOJO: Shopping for shoes – you should be dangerous in a shoe store

MARIAH: I don’t even go to the shoe department ‘cause I have a whole shoe closet that’s basically full and if I get new shoes its on a set of a video and I’ll be like ‘I like these’ and they already bought them for me, so I don’t really shop for shoes

JOJO: That’s just sad. Every chick needs their shoes and you need to get to the mall and shop

MARIAH: There was a time when I had no shoes, like I had one pair that used to belong to my Mom and they were these leather black shoes and she was a size smaller than me. I was 17, I’m living on my own in New York City , walking to work – I used to work at this sports bar. So I was walking and it was the year of a really bad snowstorm and the water was seeping through the holes of my shoes. And I was like ‘I vow one day I’m gonna have a lot of shoes’ and now I do so it’s cool. So it’s not like I was privileged.

JOJO: You have busted that ass

JOJO: “The Emancipation of Mimi” – April 12th. We have another mutual friend – a guy named Erik Bradley

MARIAH: One of the best people ever

JOJO: He’s another radio dude in Chicago, we worked together a long time ago in North Carolina. I called him up and said give me some info on Mariah Carey, something I can slip in – he said you are obsessed with the movie Mean Girls

MARIAH: I am, me and my friends right now are having a Mean Girls moment. But that’s how I am. I’ll be fixated on something, like when I was growing up it was Weird Science remember that movie? Like everyday after school we would watch it. I knew every line cause I wanted to be like her cause she was magical. Mean Girls, there’s so many classic quotes – I can’t communicate with my friends without it being a Mean Girls

JOJO: Speed round of questions – Why do you do what you do?

MARIAH: Cause I love making music

JOJO: Proudest personal moment?

MARIAH: The Artist of the Millennium award at the World Music Awards was a great moment…it was a real validating moment because it really represented the work that I had done for most of my life

JOJO: Ever milked a cow?

MARIAH: When I was little. I think everybody in school or camp had to learn that for some reason.

JOJO: I didn’t expect that answer. I thought it would be a quick no. Fear Factor – what’s your fear?

MARIAH: I don’t want to say my fear ‘cause people will start sending it. As soon as I say I like something then people will start sending me things. Like “Hello Kitty”. Fans have sent me so much “Hello Kitty” stuff that I now have an entire bathroom totally “Hello Kitty’d” out. Which is cute, when my friend’s daughter comes over and brings a friend they live for that room, but if I start saying I hate spiders, I love spiders, but then suddenly the evil people will start sending them to me

JOJO: Have you ever seen a ghost or a UFO, do you believe in them?

MARIAH: No

JOJO: Autographs – when’s a good time/bad time to ask for them

MARIAH: I’m usually pretty good about people asking for them. It’s always nicer when you don’t have food in your mouth

JOJO: Ever cried in a movie theater – remember the movie?

MARIAH: Yeah, the first movie I ever say was Bambi, I cried at that as a little kid

JOJO: Name one thing you suck at

MARIAH: Math and my father was an Aeronautical Engineer so it makes no sense

JOJO: Perfect vacation?

MARIAH: Anywhere with crystal blue water and privacy

JOJO: Have you ever broken glass with one of your patented high notes?

MARIAH: That’s what they say. This woman says she saw her garage door kept going up and down when her daughter was playing one of my songs and she didn’t know why. The girl kept rewinding the one part with the high note and the garage door kept going open

JOJO: You had a good time hanging out tonight right?

MARIAH: JoJo, I have enjoyed it. I can’t believe it’s taken this long for us to really meet.