I have formed an opinion about Mariah Carey as she relates to Enron.
Okay, that’s not true. Not even I can figure out how to connect those two subjects. But I do have an opinion about Mariah Carey. And I feel compelled to share it.
For most of my life, I have hated Mariah Carey. I didn’t like her music, and I thought that she looked a little desperate with all her short dresses. Plus, occasional stories of her diva-like behavior would come out, like none of her employees could look her in the eye and they had to greet her every morning with “you look beautiful, Miss Carey.” I mean, really. There was a lot of fodder for me to ridicule. Let us not forget the horror that was Glitter. Or the fact that she had a nervous breakdown on MTV and undressed herself. The fact that she insisted on wearing four inch stilletos in Aspen in winter, when there was a foot of snow on the ground – and she’d carry that stupid purse-dog around with her and say he was the love of her life.
Okay, whatever. Crazy-head.
Then two things happened. The first is, she released We Belong Together. I instantly forgave her everything. That is the best song recorded in this decade, and I defy anyone to deny it. Her normally Minnie Mouse voice sounds nice and sultry, and she doesn’t try to be cute with the lyrics – they’re honest and heartbreaking. For once. Believe me, nobody could be more shocked than I. But I love the song, it’s on every playlist on every iPod I own. I began to warm up to her at that point, I was nice and neutral, and could say that I didn’t really have an opinion about Mariah Carey anymore, but I love We Belong Together.
Then she got married to a guy she’s known for six weeks.
While most people might scorn her for this and make jokes about her marriage lasting six months… I respect it. She seems happy. She looks happy; she’s lost that crazy look in her eyes.
I’m in a place where I believe that love can happen fast, and when you recognize it another, it makes no sense to be cynical about it. It can happen in six weeks. Perhaps it’s ironic that the one thing that will get the most criticism about her marriage – that it happened so fast – is the one thing that, to me, seems the most geniune.
