In an eight-part series broadcast on E!, Mariah Carey is letting the world into her diva ways and prima donna attitude. Mariah World follows the singer as she embarks on a twenty-six-show tour through Europe, The Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour. In the series Carey is also seen planning an extravagant wedding to her fiancé, billionaire James Packer. (Since the show aired the engagement has been called off.) Carey is currently rumored to be dating her new beau, backup dancer and hottie Bryan Tanaka.
I’m not sure what I expected to see in the series: champagne flowing; tons of pink, sparkles, and glitter; fashion that would make The Devil Wears Prada envious; diamonds on top of diamonds; fancy cars, food, and plenty of staff waiting to indulge her every whim. While this is all true, I mean, she is a Queen Diva who jumped from a yacht into the ocean in an evening gown, I saw a side to her I didn’t expect. Although she is covered in glamour, glitz, makeup, and every Louboutin a girl could wish for, Mariah shows that she works hard, keeps her family close, and is extremely thankful and humbled by everything she has.
Here are six takeaways from Mariah’s World.
Personal vs. Work
The rule that no #GirlBoss can avoid. No matter what size your business is and how much you have in your bank account your personal life will collide with your business. In fact, the more successful you are the more you will struggle with balancing it all and finding the time to manage both. This is true for Carey, who realizes she can’t do twenty-six shows and plan a wedding all within two weeks. Carey makes an executive decision and chooses to put her career first and postpone the wedding.
Always have a crazy rule for yourself
“I have a rule which states that I will not be seen in fluorescent lighting without sunglasses,” Carey says as she puts on a pair of sunglasses. “I know; it’s very nineties.”
My rules are a little less dramatic but I still have them: unless you have a cup of coffee don’t look my way until noon and the word fuck is always okay for a #Girlboss diva to use when proving a point.
Hard work never ends
A half billion dollars later and Carey still needs to work from midnight to 8 a.m. doing dance rehearsals to prepare for her upcoming tour. People think celebrities only work for the few minutes that you see them on TV or during a two-hour concert, but you have no idea how much work and time goes into preparing for a concert. Time. Dedication. Commitment. Sacrifice. After a full day Carey still finds the energy to learn new moves and practice with her dancers for the show.
Trying new things
Never be afraid to try something new. Despite the fear, Carey agrees to do a lift where her dancers carry her on a throne-like bed during the show. You have to be willing to take risks and do things outside your comfort zone for your fans/customers/clients.
Splurging is allowed
Okay, so Carey may be a little over the top, well a lot over, but when you’ve sold 220 million records, have eighteen #1 singles, and an estimated fortune of more than $520 million—yeah that number is correct, she’s worth half a billion, that gives you a pass to buy whatever the fuck you want, when you want. If you want to bathe yourself in gold and caviar go for it, you’ve earned that shit. It always kills me when people say that celebrities should use their money to do good and feed a country or the homeless. While I’m all for giving your money to a good cause, when you work that hard and make an impact on so many people’s lives you deserve to enjoy your money how you want and ball out.
Get a Molly in your life
Always, always, have a person on the team that wants you to win so badly, that they will go above and beyond to make you happy. Carey has a new assistant Molly, whose vital task is to setup her Apple TV at the hotel room while on tour. Molly unfortunately has no clue how to install the Apple TV and is brought to tears when she can’t figure it out, ““If she can’t have the Apple TV playing while she’s sleeping, she can’t sleep. If she can’t sleep, she can’t perform. If she can’t perform, there’s no show. If it’s not there everything else falls apart.”
Can we all have a Molly that’s willing to go this hard?
Don’t miss all new episodes of Mariah World every Sunday at 9/8c on E!