New Album For Mariah!

10 May 2002

With the bout of exhaustion behind her, Mariah Carey, newly signed to Island Records, says her next album will be filled with "celebratory, fun songs". Carey has signed a new deal with Universal Music Group that includes her own record label via a partnership with Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG). While the terms of the agreement were not disclosed, sources say it's a $20 million deal for three albums with an option for a fourth. Carey is currently in the studio recording the first release. Island Def Jam Music Group president/CEO Lyor Cohen says the set is due by the year's end or early next year.
"There are a lot of songs I've done in the past that are very introspective and personal", Carey told a U.S. website. "This album has a lot of those type of songs. But it also has celebratory, fun songs. I'm not going to sit there and dwell. People are always asking, 'Is everything OK?' Look, I was not depressed, I was exhausted" she says, referring to her much publicised breakdown last year.
The new album is set to expose a different side to the singer and part time actress. Carey says she's "going to wherever the creative energy takes me. I'm not trying to sound New Age-y, but it's true. I'm doing a lot of stuff with live musicians, and I'm doing a lot of ballads".