I’ve been reading stories about Mariah Carey in the press lately. She’s broke, she sold James Packer’s engagement ring because she needed the money, and so on. Today, the story is that her Caesar’s Palace dates aren’t selling.
Well, it’s all hogwash. And I haven’t seen Mariah since our weird encounter in January at the end of Clive Davis’s pre Grammy party. Otherwise, it’s been silence.
But I will tell you I got a laugh about the sale of the ring. She’s a clever girl, our Mariah. She made $10 million out of that crazy engagement. Good for her. You can’t take the Long Island out of the girl.
And ticket sales? I checked. They’re fine. She has 8 dates at Caesar’s in July. They’re 60% to 70% sold. She’ll do 90 percent by show time. That’s around 35,000 tickets. Without a new album or a radio hit. Tickets run up to $500 a pop. Caesar’s gets huge PR. It’s a win win.
Listen, I don’t know who is managing Mariah, or who her publicists are these days. I do know that she made $50 million when EMI Records prematurely released her from a contact after the failure of “Glitter.” Just an update: EMI Records no longer exists, but Mariah is an international superstar. Those are just the facts.
Is she kooky? Yes. Is someone out there planting negative stories about her? Indeed. Is there Russian collusion?
But look, everyone has grown up. Madonna’s ventures in Malawai have even improved. And hell has not frozen over yet.
Mariah’s next best bet? Make an album with a really great jazz producer, no hip hop, not pop, R&B standards that showcase her voice before it’s too late.