Mariah Carey: Fall of A Pop Diva
I was watching the Mariah Carey E! True Hollywood Story the other night and it started me thinking about the pressures, pitfalls and ills of stardom. More specifically, the fast and furious track of a pop star, and how it negatively impacts the artist's career.
As soulful as Mariah Carey's voice is she's still, very accurately, categorized as Pop. Not because of her musical style but because of her appeal. For the most part, artists who appeal to a wide and broad range of people are always categorized Pop.
One reason Michael Jackson is the King of Pop (outside of the multi-million record sales) is the mere longevity of his career. No other Pop star has had such a long run among the masses. And for good reason - the career cycle of a Pop star is typically much shorter than a Soul/R&B or Rock band.
Pop stars know that if they don't come out with a new CD quick, fast and in a hurry, they'll be forgotton by their often, fickle audiences. Or, their young audience's taste may simply mature past the group's original sound.
Pop stars churn out music faster than kernals of microwave popcorn can cook. Witness Backstreet Boys and N'Sync, who are already releasing "Greatest Hits" projects after only two or three CDs under their belts. But who can keep up that pace indefinitely? Mariah Carey certainly couldn't.
The E! feature was peppered with close friends and Carey staffers exclaiming how Mariah hardly ever ate and ran on only several hours of sleep. And this isn't for a few months, this is since her career took off in 1988.
An E! feature on New Kids On The Block highlighted a similiar frenetic pace. The band toured from the time they were discovered til they were has-beens. They attempted to take time off for a year, only to come back and find their audience base had grown up and moved on. Their year-long vacation was also a day late emotionally- most of the band members had suffered from the pace in some way or another, including one member who had a serious bout of depression.
But back to the matter at hand - I wouldn't classify myself a Mariah Carey fan, but I have liked some of her music. Its hard to totally dislike someone that can sing with that much soul. Her recent breakdown - as classified by her publicist - leads me to wonder: would Carey have experienced the same level of success had she done straight R&B from the start? And, would she have had a better opportunity to bask in the glory of her hits?
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