Mariah Carey Through the Years: Journey to QUEEN of CHRISTMAS | ET Vault Unlocked

Tonight, her voice is the sound of the season. I am the most festive person that I know. But Mariah's story? That goes way beyond Christmas. My earliest memory is of wanting to sing. From the dreams chased to the dark days she faced. We all have dark days, we're just not all on TV. And the triumphs that made her an icon. The Grammys, that was the most incredible experience of my life. E.T.'s been there for every era. Nobody knows that tidbit. For the sparkle, the shade. I don't know them, I've never even met them before. And the legendary moments behind her biggest videos. Typical horse riding gear. Every evolution, every reinvention. I was stuck wearing a turtleneck for the first five years of my career. I couldn't wait to get that nonsense over with. E.T. Vault unlocked Mariah Carey. Hi E.T., I just sang and I'm a little bit out of breath E.T. Starts now. It's divas night. She's the one star who may love this day more than Santa. Merry Christmas everybody and welcome to Entertainment Tonight. Our vault is the gift that keeps on giving. As we throw it back to the ghosts of Mariah's past, present and future. All while celebrating her reign as Hollywood's Queen of Christmas. I love Christmas so much. I am the most festive person that I know. I have reindeer, Santa Claus is my friend. You know the Queen of Christmas is a title we have all affectionately bestowed upon you. What are your thoughts on the title Queen of Christmas? My thoughts are I can't call myself that or anything, I'm just me. When people say it I'm like oh that's cute, like that's sweet. Yeah Mariah plays it cool but her All I Want holiday anthem has made her the undisputed voice of Christmas. So in her honor we're unwrapping secrets behind the holiday hit. I don't want a lot for Christmas. Number one she told us way back in 1994 it all started with the video before the song even existed. We just shot all this B-roll of me doing the Christmas tree, playing in the snow with Santa Claus, with reindeer. And it just so happened to work really well when we put it to the music. Very retro kind of group sounding record and it's fun for me. So it was really cool for me to put the footage to the song. More festive facts, Mariah reportedly co-wrote the song in under an hour. And it was an industry game changer. Back in the mid-90s it was basically unheard of for a 24-year-old pop star to drop a holiday album. Honestly it's bizarre. So when I first wrote All I Want for Christmas is You the label was like okay why don't you do a Christmas record, Sony. And I'm like really now? Like second album, like two albums in. And then I was like well I do love the holidays, let me try. So All I Want for Christmas is You was the first song I wrote, first Christmas song that I ever wrote. The first and phenomenally profitable. The holiday hit has made a staggering amount in royalties, an estimated $60 million. When you record a Christmas album it's around for the rest of your life. It's something that people can play for years and years to come. Mariah's holiday empire also includes her Christmastime in Las Vegas residency. It's time! I am festive, I do love the holidays. But of course it's not just Christmas. Diva has sold more than 200 million albums and has had 19 number one hits. Mariah shot to fame in a flash. You know what, it's like Oprah says, you have to just keep dreaming a bigger dream. It's incredible to look on the charts and it's like oh okay, this one, this one, Mariah Carey. It's pretty incredible. And E.T.'s been there every step of the way. Hi E.T., I just sang and I'm a little bit out of breath E.T., but don't be mad at me, I gotta go change. It's divas night. Rewind to 1990 when we first sat down with Mariah when she was just 20 years old. I knew I loved to sing when I was like four. My earliest memory is of wanting to sing. How did you happen to get the name Mariah? My mom liked it and she tells me she thought it would be like a good stage name. I guess she maybe had a plan or something. We were on set for hit after hit. From 1990's Someday to Emotions the following year where Mariah fanned herself between takes. Emotions, the single, was written by myself and I'm trying to write great records and I'm trying to write what makes me feel happy and what makes me feel good and what I like to sing. And that's the best I can do. The song is called Make It Happen and it's sort of a story that is semi-autobiographical about my life and it's sort of trying to send a message to young people that if you really believe in something you can make it happen. I'm burnt out from this experience. And we were with a frazzled Mariah in 1995 when she shut down a New York amusement park to direct herself in fantasy. I'm behind the camera as well as in front of it for the first time. After the second trip on the roller coaster I could have done without it but now it's great. Yes, Mariah had the hits and the hardware came next. Mariah Carey! She won two Grammys in 1991, Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Where are you going to put them? I don't know because I don't have a mantle or anything so I guess I'll put them on my shelf. The Grammys, that was the most incredible experience of my life. While it seemed Mariah had it all, enjoying chart-topping success, she was actually at one of her lowest points after marrying manager Tommy Mottola in 1993 in a lavish New York ceremony. She was 24, he was 44. During the period of time that people think was my like oh wow she must have been so happy, this must have been like yay amazing time period in my life. Personally was a really not a good time in a not so fabulous personal life slash relationship that was very very you know draining and I'm not trying to blame anything on that but it was rough. In her 2020 memoir, Mariah said she felt controlled and isolated in her marriage and even referred to their home as Sing Sing. The couple separated in 1996 and the following year Mimi launched her Butterfly era. E.T. was on the set of the album's videos including Honey, where the singer's newfound sexed up, skin tight confidence was clear. I was stuck wearing a turtleneck for the first five years of my career. I couldn't wait to get that nonsense over with. And they all criticized me for running around on the beach in a bikini. For me, it's about having a good time when making a video. Typical horse riding gear, no. We were also there as Mariah rode horseback for Butterfly. It's about finding the strength to let something go. This time in my life is about me being myself, being independent and doing my work and being happy. Butterfly will always have a special significance for me because it was at a time in my life when I broke free from something that was very unhappy. And Mimi told us how she proudly put Sing Sing in the past. It's about a new beginning and so I'm just real excited. I have a new home for the first time. The only home I've ever owned alone. Because I owned one with someone else before, but that burnt down. But I did own it, actually. Paid by half of everything too, but nobody knows that tidbit. In the next decade, that confidence and strength Mariah built would be put to the test. Cue her leading lady debut in 2001's Glitter. I don't do this. Yeah, I can tell. No matter what happens with this movie, it's really helped me grow the whole process of acting. I'm really glad that I'm finally seeing the whole thing come to fruition because there was a time when I didn't know if it was going to work. The film, which took about four years to make, at a reported cost of $22 million, took in less than $4.3 million domestically and was panned by critics. I know people are going to say, oh, she's doing a movie now. Whoa, she thinks just because she's a singer she can do a movie and whatever. I hope my fans like it. But even two months before its premiere, there was drama. Mariah suffered a medical crisis and was hospitalized for two weeks for what was essentially a breakdown. Initially, her ordeal was only publicly referred to as the result of extreme exhaustion. Diva headlines dogged Mariah, but behind the scenes, she was actually dealing with bipolar disorder, intense pressure, and being overworked. Well, basically, my fans already know that I'm a workaholic and that I'm an insomniac. And what I did is I worked myself into the ground, but my problems are minuscule compared to what's going on with our country. The film and soundtrack's release also coincided with the September 11th attacks, but the star, wearing an American flag to the premiere, was determined to bring about hope. Tonight, I'm just thankful to be here, to be alive. It's important for me to get back to my life a little bit, just in terms of healing. In 2002, a steadfast Mariah went on to release her ninth studio album, Charm Bracelet, bested three years later by her appropriately titled number one record, The Emancipation of Meaning. I think it's more symbolic of just me feeling centered and happy and in a good place, and sometimes you have to go through a lot of stuff to get to that point, you know, but that ultimately makes you stronger. We Belong Together was number one for 16 weeks and cemented Mariah's domination of the music industry. Did you ever in a million years think that you'd be called a comeback kid of 2005? I never went away in my own mind. I mean, I've been the same human being I was before I was famous. If you really believe in yourself and you have faith, nothing is impossible, and that's the way I look at things. So when people are like, wow, you know, don't you feel like this is the vindication of Mariah Carey? It's like, no, because I'm not even about that anymore, and I think that's why this has been such a blessed year. Honestly, that whole moment of the quote-unquote breakdown was so overly dramatized. Whatever doesn't kill us makes us stronger. I think we all have dark days, we're just not all on TV. Other people want to be shady, and if they want to be shady, that's fine. I don't know them. I've never even met them before. Mariah Carey's known for being the Queen of Shade. How'd she earn the title? Well, remember back in 2003, the Jennifer Lopez denial heard round the world? I don't know her. I don't even know why it's infamous. All it is is the truth. My fans name themselves Lambs. I feel like I want to tell everybody else who now has, you know, their fans have names, you're welcome. I mean, we love everybody. No offense, people. But Lammily, hashtag Lammily, came first. From dissing the Beehives, Swifties, and Katy Kats to that legendary bathtub moment on Cribs, Mimi has had no shortage of viral moments. When I come in here, it's just like I relax and proceed to being nothing. Everybody made such a big deal out of it. They hold me up to this other set of rules, I don't understand why. What's going on with you, Miss Minaj? I'm nothing. Mariah and Nicki Minaj made headlines for their American Idol beef in 2013. Mimi later cited the show as the worst experience of my life. How messy did it get between you and Nicki? We just have to adapt, and I think my thing is I have to be myself. And if that means in that moment, I don't hear you, I don't see you, you don't exist to me at this moment, that's what it is. Yeah, the queen of shade always tells it like it is. So, American Idol's coming back. Yay. I'm riveted. Lionel, he is said to be joining American Idol. Have you heard this, and do you have any advice for him? I have not. I would say don't do it. And she knows how to laugh at herself, like recalling her 2010 drunk speech with Precious director Lee Daniels. And please forgive me, because I'm a little bit... Yeah. By the way, that was your fault, because you were like, let's drink, everybody else is drinking. And by the way, I won that award. Yes, that's right, you need to be proud. And then we made a mess up on the stage. Nobody loves him more than I love Sir Nicholas Scott Cannon. Fireworks. I sort of dove into something that's amazing relationship-wise, meaning my marriage with Nick. Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon's six-year Hollywood love story was marked by tattoo tributes. I mean, I got a big Mariah tattoo on my back. Two babies and a secret wedding just weeks into dating when she was 39 and he was 27. How's newlywed life going, you guys? It's amazing. We just have a great time together, so people are like maybe confused about the whole thing. But it's, you know, in the beginning, because it was like, oh, what's going on, this is so fast. But it's perfectly normal to us because it just seems like how it's always was supposed to be. E.T. was there in 2008 as Nick threw a big bash at Magic Mountain to celebrate their nuptials. I'm not big on surprises, but this is a smash hit. Hi, Bugs Bunny. Oh, come on, this is so festive. And for their 2013 fairytale Disneyland vow renewal ceremony, Mariah, dressed as Cinderella, arrived in a carriage with their then two-year-old twins, Moroccan and Monroe. And they lived happily ever after. This is festive because I like to play dress up. Nick plays along with it because he's like, okay. I like to dress up too. The fraternal twins were actually born in 2011 on the couple's third wedding anniversary. Twins wreak havoc on your body, but you know what, it's the best gift ever. The best gift ever. When the couple split three years later, co-parenting was their number one priority. We're together when it counts. We're together for the kids. And I think that's the most important thing. Are you guys excited to see your mommy in this film? Yes. I want the microphone. Oh, you want the microphone? Well, you know that... Of course, E.T. has had a front row seat to watching the twins, now 14, grow up. From star-packed premieres to joining their mom on stage. Rock and roll. Love being on the stage. Actually, the other day I was just teaching Miss Monroe the, You'll always be a part of me. And just singing that to her. And she has a really good ear, so she was learning it. They're so brave. They really are. I'm very proud of them. Of course, Mariah wasn't alone for long. She was swept off her feet by Australian billionaire James Packer. They hit their first red carpet at the Intern premiere in 2015. Well, I don't think either one of us felt like, here we are making a debut. I mean, he's not that guy. Four months later, James popped the question with a 35-carat see-it-from-space sparkler worth an estimated $10 million. It's fun. I'm not gonna lie. The secret to their happiness? His and her yachts. And only E.T. was on board in Italy. It's important I'm his and her and everything. But the engagement lasted only nine months. Mariah admitted they didn't have a physical relationship and James called the romance a mistake. Are you going to keep the ring? Because I would. Well, then you just answered your question for yourself. And in true Mimi style, she burned her $250,000 custom Valentino wedding gown in her I Don't music video. What prompted that decision? It was a moment. How could you not? There was a fire pit. There was a dress. Just throw it on the fire and burn it. What's the big deal? Mariah's backup dancer, Brian Tanaka, was right there to mend her broken heart. The two dated on and off for seven years, but she was coy about their status. Ooh, it's glittery, baby. Does that mean he's your boyfriend? With my boyfriend, my love. Come on. Here he goes. I really don't want to talk about my personal life very much because I just like to keep it to myself. I can't hide it at all. These days, Mariah's been linked to her Play This Song collaborator, Anderson .Paak, but at the end of the day, it's her twins who have her heart. They will always come first as she continues to reign as a global superstar who's never been afraid to be unapologetically herself. And for those who question that... Bing bong. Goodbye, sir. Is the lighting okay? Because I don't like bad lighting. Oh, you better believe Mariah knows her good side and her good light. We leave you now with more peak Mimi moments. Bye, everybody. Merry Christmas. I was like, why are you so obsessed with me? If you could have an up-and-comer portray you as an icon, who would it be? No up-and-comers portray me. I'll have to portray myself no matter what. I'm going to South America. I just found out. Maybe China. I've been around the world. Don't go too close up on me. Stay kind of wide. Could you back up just a little bit? It's just killing me softly. Minutes. When was the last time you went grocery shopping? Grocery shopping? It's very bad lighting. In the grocery store. Have you not noticed? It's fluorescent lighting. What the **** did I buy?