BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. _ Though it won't be easy, fans may capture a glimpse of the real Mariah Carey when her docuseries, "Mariah's World," premieres on E! and Bravo Sunday.
Uneasy with personal questions, Carey admits that she's come a long way since she was a 3-year-old singing for her mom who later became her vocal coach.
"I'm like the same person that I was when I was a kid," she says. "I know the realities of having to, like, watch what you do and try to look a certain way and whatever. But I'm just the same person because I grew up with nothing.
"I didn't have money. I had a very difficult childhood. I moved around a lot. I had some things that were amazing and great and encouraging and then some things that were really difficult and sad and hard and hurtful. So I think that's always a part of me. And I think that goes into making music or doing any kind of creative activity."
The eight-parter, which will air subsequent shows Sundays on E!, is NOT a reality show, she insists. "I don't know how to explain that there's just things that happen, where you just go with it because it's not scripted. Somebody asked me something about scripted or whatever. It's not scripted. Like, I don't know what these other (reality) shows are because I don't watch them. So all I can say is that I know what I did. But I don't know what somebody else did. Like, it's not about getting my nails done or pedicures all day long."
Jeff Olde, E!'s head of programming promises fans, "We are going to take viewers beyond the flash bulbs, beyond the fame, and into the private, jet-set life of one of the most celebrated pop divas of all time, singer, songwriter, and mega producer Mariah Carey."
The show will dog her Manolo Blahniks as she hustles off on her international tour. "I haven't been on tour in Europe in at least, like, 10 years _ when I was 10 _ and so I figured, 'Let's go, for real,'" she says.
"I was, like, 'Let's just show the behind-the-scenes, what it really takes to do a tour, what it really takes for all these people to get together and work together and become a family, and mainly watch how the music evolves; watch the process, and watch how the different personalities interact."
And she promises more than that. "It's also my life, and I figured if I don't document this right now, I'm not sure when I'm going to go on tour again. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. So the reason why we call it more a 'docuseries' is because it feels like a documentary ... There's no way I was, like, 'Ooh, let's do some kind of reality thing.' I don't even watch reality. I don't even know what reality is, literally, in the terms of real or not real."
Carey has been skewered in the spotlight ever since her debut album, "Mariah Carey" hit the charts in 1990. Her personal life hasn't made her any more inconspicuous. Amid battles with her record company, marriage to recording company CEO Tommy Mottola for four years, and later nuptials with performer Nick Cannon, she seemed to always be under the lens of the paparazzi.
She and Cannon, with whom she has fraternal twins, divorced after eight years and she's recently suffered a well publicized breakup with her fiance, Australian billionaire James Packer.
Even on the job Carey can't seem to avoid notoriety. When she served as one of the judges on "American Idol," she and fellow judge Nicki Minaj exchanged toxic barbs. About that Carey shakes her head and says, "It was the most abusive experience."
Will her children, Monroe and Moroccan, be part of the series? "Here's the thing," she says, "they could have their own show because that's how funny they are ... Like it's not because they are my kids, but I just have to figure out _ mutually figure it out with Nick and whatever how much we really want them in the show.
"Because the truth is they jump on the stage when they can. They are an integral part of my life. It's the kids, and it's the show ... We were in South Africa, and we got onstage, and my babies were, like, dancing around, singing. Rocky is, like, 'South Africa.' Rocky is my son. And Ms. Monroe (her daughter), I was, like, 'Pose like mommy.' And suddenly, she's (posing). But they are 5. They just turned 5. So ... I want it to be, we'll see. I think it should be sparingly used, unfortunately. But they should have their own show. If I were an agent and I discovered them, I'd be, like, 'These kids need to be on TV.'"
Her phenomenal ascent in the music world _ with 220 million records sold worldwide _ is not an accident, she says. "I think it's about collaborating with people that you really feel a musical connection with, trying to just be true to what you want to do. There's so many trends, and if you follow them, they die, because that's what a trend is, something that goes away. But if you want to remain a classic or try to be a classic, maybe you dabble in, like, some part of a trend, but I think you have to keep the through-line as yourself."
MARK BURNETT AND WIFE LAUNCH NEW NETWORK
Roma Downey and her husband, producer Mark Burnett, have created some extraordinary spiritual TV shows like "The Bible," "Dovekeepers," "Women of the Bible," "A.D. the Bible Continues," but now they're begetting an entire network. In cahoots with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Fox, they will launch LIGHT TV in December, the first ever network dedicated to faith and family programming, 24/7. The network will mine the family-oriented treasures from MGM's film library like the wonderful "The Black Stallion," "Red River," "Little Man Tate," "Hoosiers," as well as wholesome television shows like "Highway to Heaven," "Heartland," and "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?"
HISTORY CHANNEL RE-ASSESES PEARL HARBOR
The History Channel commemorates the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor Saturday and Sunday with two specials, "Pearl Harbor: 75 Years Later" and "Pearl Harbor: the Truth." "The Truth" exposes some of the military goofs that prevented the U.S. from anticipating the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in Honolulu on Dec. 7. It will premiere on Sunday. "75 Years Later" will explore real-life accounts of military experts, and even some of the people who lived through the conflagration. "75 Years Later" premieres on Saturday. Short snippets, interspersed in History's programming on Saturday and Sunday, will feature the reminiscences of vets who were there on that historic day, including the oldest living survivors Jim Dowling, Ray Chavez and Nelson Mitchell.
TOP TALENT STYLES 'HAIRSPRAY LIVE!'
NBC is recruiting its expert musical comedy gurus for the special "Hairspray Live!" which hits the telly on Dec. 7. Featuring Derek Hough, Harvey Fierstein, Kristin Chenoweth and Jennifer Hudson, and producers extraordinaire Neal Meron and Craig Zadan, the show promises to be as exciting as the previous attempts at adapting boisterous live theater to the tiny tube. At the center of it all is young Maddie Baillio, who will play the pivotal role of Tracy Turnblad. A newcomer to show business, Baillio says: "This is surreal. This was my first audition outside of college and school. So I decided at, like, 3 a.m. the night before of the big open-call in New York City, that I was going to go out and go do it. There were over 1,300 girls there, and I was number 344, and after four callbacks, I got the part. And now I'm with this incredible cast, these people that I've looked up to for so long. So it's like the ultimate master class for me."
