Anyone who has followed Mariah Carey‘s illustrious career will be well-versed in the stormy nature of her relationship with Tommy Mottola.
The powerful music exec signed the songbird in her late teens, flexed his corporate and financial muscles to ensure she became a global megastar, and went on to marry her in 1993. At the time of their grand nuptials, the budding diva was 23 while Mottola was 20 years her senior.
Unfortunately for the duo, their marriage would crumble in 1997 amidst claims from Carey that Mottola was too controlling and that he abused her “mentally and emotionally”.
Despite this, Carey’s run-in with her ex and his new wife in 2005 suggested any issues were water under the bridge; an observation which makes the existence and timing of Mottola’s new book ‘Hitmaker’ particularly suspect.
Set to hit stores on January 15th – a day before MiMi makes her televised debut on American Idol, the memoir sees the industry supremo relay his “side” of the story.
And while freshly released excerpts suggest he won’t be throwing his former bride under the bus, he does make a number of interesting remarks.
According to the New York Post, Mottola accepts that he may indeed have been strict, however he insists that it’s his firm
approach that would serve as the prime catalyst for Carey’s blockbuster success.
Relaying a time when the singer was keen to take a break between projects and he denied her, instead sending her back into the studio, he writes:
“My feeling was that there’d be plenty of time for Mariah to celebrate just a little ways down the road. I’m not talking 10 years, just a few.”
Mottola adds that he shut down his former wife’s dreams of following hip-trends at the time and collaborating with the artists setting them. Perhaps most interestingly though, he cites the still-selling ‘Merry Christmas’ project as an instance where his iron-hand was proven right. For, according to the thrice married Motolla, his now re-married did not want to record the classic album – arguing that he was trying to turn her into 50′s singer Connie Francis. He writes that he nearly laughed in her face, asking “does she even know who Connie Francis is”.
Other chapters of the book relay how Motolla had “great chemistry” with Mariah and how, despite being married upon their first meet, he was “flirtatious from the moment I set eyes on her”.
Summing up his heavy handed approach and MiMi’s comments on it since their split, the 63 year old writes: “If it seemed like I was controlling, I apologize. Was I obsessive? Yes. But that was also part of the reason for her success.”
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As easy as it may be to demonize Mottola, examining the matter beyond the allure of Mariah’s “celebrity” raises interesting debate. For much like Joe Jackson in the life of Michael Jackson, Mr Mottola clearly played an integral role in the legendary status Mariah enjoys today. How much of a role, though, is open to interpretation. Hence, as ever…
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