"It should have read like a Cinderella success story - but life at the top of the charts hasn't been a fairy tale for pop princess Mariah Carey."

Despite astounding success - five multiplatinum 
albums, 12 No.1 singles and worldwide album sales of 
over 80 million - the bestselling female recording 
artist of the '90s says she was stifled both 
personally and professionally. 

But over the past six months, Carey has made moves to 
take charge of her life and her music. First came a 
split from her husband of four years, Sony chief Tommy 
Mottola; then she began to take acting lessons; and
then last month Carey released an album, the 
symbolically titled "Butterfly," where she moved away 
from her trademark sugary ballads to record with 
hip-hoppers Sean "Puffy" Combs and Missy Elliot. 

The results so far have been positive. "Butterfly," 
with songs that have a rougher, street edge, has 
earned both instant No. 1 status and praise from 
critics normally dismissive of Carey's efforts. 

In this unusually candid interview, Carey talks about 
her music, her marriage, her life and her new-found 
independence. 

Lisa Robinson: Until this new record, why did you 
always appear so uptight about your image? 

Mariah Carey: Well, as a 19-year-old starting out, I 
was made to feel very nervous. People had very 
high expectations about everything I said, or wore, or 
the way I did my hair, the way I answered questions, 
the types of records that I made - anything that 
involved my image. And because of the way I grew 
up as a kid, moving around a lot, I always felt like 
the rug could be pulled out from under me at any time. 
Even though my mother was always there for me, I 
always felt different and insecure and a little bit 
unstable. I'm a very cautious person, so when
powerful people said things to me, it was very easy to 
frighten me into not doing things." 

LR: When you say powerful people, do you mean Tommy 
(Mottola)? 

MC:  Well, first of all, I'm not bashing Tommy. I love 
Tommy. People just grow up and grow apart and continue 
to change. We both changed, it wasn't just me. But I 
feel good about myself now, I feel better about myself 
than I have in a long time. I feel more comfortable in 
my own skin."

"LR: What about the perception that Tommy was your
Svengali? 

MC: What people might not know is that before I went 
to Sony I had a deal on the table with Warner Bros., 
and other companies were interested in me. But I chose 
to go there [to Sony] because he [Mottola] really did 
did believe in me as an artist. And look, it didn't 
hurt me. I have this career now, and I never want to 
appear ungrateful.  But I do know that people think I 
haven't paid dues, and I have. Prior to making my 
first record, my whole life was paying dues. And even 
since 1990, I really feel like I've paid a lot of dues 
by going in the studio and making a record every 
single year."

"LR: Were you trying to be fashionable by working with 
hip-hop artists on your new album? 

MC: Absolutely not. There were songs on my first demo 
that I had liked but didn't make the record because 
everybody said it didn't fit. It was considered more 
important then for me to get with the big-time 
producers and to give me a sound that was 
recognizable. It worked, I guess, but in retrospect I 
don't think having one song on that album would have 
made a difference, and it might have let people seea
different side of me from the get-go. 

LR: Was the huge mansion that you both [Mottola] built 
in Bedford a fantasy or a prison? 

MC: It wasn't a prison, it's a beautiful place. But in 
some ways I guess it was a fantasy. I would always 
look at friends' houses and things other people had 
when I was growing up and feel inferior. My mom and I 
never starved, but it was a struggle a lot of times. 
People might not realize it but [Tommy and I] built 
that house together. We split everything right down 
the middle. That house made me feel like I 
accomplished something, and it was beautiful, but the 
way I'm living now, on my own, feels more appropriate. 

LR: You've been reported as having romances with 
(Yankee) Derek Jeter, Puffy and a member of the 
Fugees. What's the truth? 

 MC: I swear, these freaking rumors!  There was one 
... last week about the guy from 98 Degrees - I've 
never even met him! Anytime I work with somebody or 
meet somebody at a charity event there's a big deal
made about it. All I can say is I'm not with anybody 
right now. The Puff Daddy thing is completely, 
completely false. We've hung out, we worked together, 
but these rumors are totally ridiculous. When I vibe
with someone creatively, usually we become friends. 
I've been friends with Da Brat and Boyz II Men, but 
nobody saw me hanging out with them at a club so 
nobody wrote anything about it. 

LR: You're dressing sexier these days; you used to 
dress more matronly. 

MC: I just feel that I wear what I feel I want to 
wear. I'm not considering anybody else's opinion. The 
whole thing has been a gradual process that seemed 
really necessary for my own emotional well-being. 

LR: Do you want to be romantically involved with 
someone again - or free for a while? 

MC: (Long pause) (Sigh) I want to be free for a while, 
but I'm very cautious, and all these rumors don't help 
things, because someone might not want to be involved 
with all this craziness. 

LR: You've said you're not promiscuous. 

MC: That really is true, and a lot of it has to do 
with things I saw growing up with people who behaved 
recklessly - and paid the price for it. 

LR: Do you think you were too young when you got married? 

MC: I think I always had a fear of marriage because my 
parents got divorced when I was 3 or 4 years old. I 
never had a vision of what an ideal married couple, 
ideal mother-father relationship was. I just had
other friends whose parents were divorced or whose 
families fought every night. I never really believed 
in the whole thing, so in that sense, I wasn't 
emotionally prepared to be married. I didn't really 
know what that meant."