Mariah Carey's Fairy Tale Gone Bad
ZAHN: In the music world, Mariah Carey seemed to have the 1990s all to herself. A string of hit CDs that never seemed to end. Even a divorce from her music mogul husband didn't stop her. But as we'll see, there was trouble coming down the road. Now more of our exclusive interview in tonight's "People in the News."</s>ZAHN: In 1997, a Mariah Carey like we have never seen before emerged. Just minute from finalizing her divorce to Sony Music president Tommy Mottola, the ring was gone, the hair was down, the butterfly was taking flight.</s>CAREY: You know, I think it was a moment in time that people saw such a transition between the girl that was always really covered up to jumping in to a pool in the "Honey" video in my Gucci stilettos and ripping off the dress and being in the James Bond bikini which I loved and I lived for.</s>ZAHN: And with a new Mariah came a new reputation. On April 1998, she headlined VH1's "Divas Live." Mariah Carey diva. Deserved? undeserved?</s>RANDY JACKSON, MUSIC PRODUCER: I'm not sure what diva is. Is it a negative thing? I don't know. She's far far, far, far from diva.</s>ZAHN: Why has she gotten tagged with that over the years?</s>JACKSON: Because she's so big, she's so successful. What else are they going to say? She's so big, she's so successful, I love you?</s>ZAHN: Officially Mariah was now a diva in training. It was during this time buzz began to build about her short stop in spring training. His name, Derek Jeter. But the connection didn't last long. Six months later, the romance turned to friendship which was hardly the case of Mariah, her ex-husband, and the label she called home.</s>CAREY: It was completely horrible to be there after the divorce. And it was a constant battle, a constant I've got survive. I've got get out of here. I've got to succeed on my own.</s>ZAHN: Album number nine arrived in November 1999. Two No. 1s and one world tour later, a blockbuster announcement, Virgin Records was offering five years, five albums $80 million.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was astounding. It really was. Even given Mariah's status as the biggest selling female artist of the '90s, that kind of deal, you just do not see.</s>PETER CASTRO, PEOPLE MAGAZINE: That Virgin deal was huge. They felt that they had a money-making machine and then it all unraveled. It was a terrible, terrible sequence of events.</s>ZAHN: In the summer of 2001, Mariah Carey was everywhere. Her first album with Virgin was soon to be released. Her first motion picture was in the can. 2001, was supposed to be a glittering year.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she was just pushing herself so, so hard that this single lover boy and then the soundtrack and then the movie all had to be right. And everyone points to that TRL appearance as the moment where it just seemed like she was on the verge of some sort of break down.</s>DALY: What are you doing? Mariah Carey is stripping on TRL right now.</s>ZAHN: And then on July 25, an outburst at her mother's home prompted a phone call to 911. And as the headlines blared, the superstar was hospitalized under psychiatric care. (on camera): So, what went wrong in 2001 for you?</s>CAREY: I was working, working, working. I took it on my shoulders and said I'm going to work. I'm going to work every single minute of the day. I don't care, I'm going to make this happen. And then basically, I didn't sleep for like six days in a row. And I just collapsed. And it was a physical thing where nobody could have done that.</s>ZAHN: But as you were trying to regain your strength, you had to deal with the hysteria of this outside world trying to characterize what had happened to you, whatever way they wanted to. Was that hurtful to you?</s>CAREY: Yes. It was so astounding, you have no idea. They were making these headlines that were so over the top, it was like I was at my mother's house in my pajamas and somebody was literally in the bushes taking a picture. And, of course, you look ridiculous and crazy in your pajamas on the front page of a newspaper, like why is she in her pajamas?</s>ZAHN (voice-over): In the fall of 2001, both "Glitter" the film and album flopped. And as tabloids chronicled every move Mariah made, Virgin Records counted every penny they lost. In April 2002, just one year after signing one of the biggest contracts in music history, Virgin paid Mariah $28 million and terminated their five-year deal.</s>CAREY: I think that it was a blessing, because I had to take a break. There had been no break since the demo tape. Since the beginning, there had been no break. And when I was in my married life, my breaks were worse than working. I liked working more than I liked being at home. So it was just like, OK, let me have a moment to just regain who I am.</s>ZAHN: And on April 12th, 2005, a 35-year-old diva walked through the door and re-entered the party. Her latest is called "The Emancipation of Mimi." Its title honors her childhood nickname and alludes to newfound freedom.</s>RANDY JACKSON, FRIEND: She's now really in control of her own life and her own music, and guiding herself the right way.</s>ZAHN: From seven-octave highs to bittersweet lows, from beautiful ballads to restless R&B.; The superstar of the '90s has returned.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whatever the drama, whatever the diva image, deserved or not deserved, there is that voice. No one can take that away from her.</s>CAREY: Anytime in my childhood, anything negative I was going through, I would sing. Any difficult situation, I would write poetry. I would write lyrics, I would write songs. And that's what got me through a lot of those really difficult years. Making music is the thing that keeps me going. It's the greatest gift that I've really ever gotten.</s>ZAHN: She's back, Mariah Carey, back on top after a very rough time. Please join me this weekend for "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," with much more on Mariah Carey. Plus, an in-depth look at Usher, whose latest CD, "Confessions," was the biggest debut release ever for a male R&B; act. That's Saturday at 5:00 p.m. Eastern right here on this Cable News Network. Coming up, a tabloid gets caught doing a little cut-and-paste. Oh, you will be shocked when you hear about this. And a little bit later on, are men and women actually hard-wired to cheat on each other? First, though, just about 15 minutes before the hour, time to check in one more time with Erica Hill of HEADLINE NEWS to update the top stories.</s>HILL: Paula, a shocking development in the stabbing of two children in suburban Chicago. Tonya Vasilev has been charged with murdering her 3-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son. Police say their father found them when he returned home from work on Wednesday night. But they wouldn't say if their mother has confessed to the crime. A legal blow for the Michael Jackson defense. The judge said two books taken from the pop star's home showing pictures of nude teenage boys can be used as evidence. They were found during a 1993 search of Neverland ranch. Jackson's lawyers argued the material was too prejudicial and wasn't directly related to the current case. The books are considered to be sexually explicit but legal under California law. And you may remember this stash of old bank notes, those two New England guys who say they found them buried in a backyard? Well, today, police arrested them. They say the guys found the money, all right, but not in the ground. It was in the attic of a home where they were doing roofing work. Barry Billcliff and Timothy Crebase pleaded not guilty. Police, though, say the $100,000 bankroll belonged to the homeowner, who didn't even know it was there. And they might have gotten away with it, they say, too, if they hadn't gone to the media. And that's the latest from HEADLINE NEWS. Paula, back to you.</s>ZAHN: Yeah, that might have saved them. Thanks, Erica. Coming up next, Jeanne Moos with a picture that's worth a thousand very descriptive words.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh. How deceptive.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's sleazy.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's shocking.</s>ZAHN: And that's just the beginning. See what all the fuss is about in just a minute. And please don't forget to vote for the person of the day. Will it be TV producer Mark Burnett, whose shows "The Apprentice" and "Survivor" are so popular that it actually sort of forced the White House to move the start time of the President Bush's news conference so it would be seen on the broadcast networks? Madalene Lindill, the 80-year-old woman who carried her 67-year-old neighbor away from a fire, saving her life? And bird watcher David Luneau, for proving that the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is not extinct. You can vote at CNN.com/Paula.