Mariah Carey is causing quite the storm ahead of her Christmas Time tour, with sources revealing just how extravagant some of her demands are.
The 55-year-old is set to embark on another Christmas concert tour as she once again shows she is the queen of the holiday season. This year is particularly special as it comes 30 years after her signature holiday song, ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’, was released.
While Carey hasn’t hidden the fact that she is a diva, her demands this year have done nothing to dispel that notion.
Sources have revealed that members of the production have been “asked not to speak to Mariah take photos with her”, and that she has no interest going on tour with “unattractive dancers”.
“Mariah is just being so extra this year,” a source told DailyMail.com. “She is getting paid an insane amount of money. Rehearsals started at the end of September as she wants it to be the grandest tour yet.
“One of her requests was that her main backup dancers are all “hot” men. She did not want any unattractive dancers.
“She also requested hair and makeup for the rehearsals.
“Everyone who is directly involved in the production has been asked not to speak to Mariah or take photos with her.”
Mariah stands to make millions
Despite the tour featuring just 21 dates, sources state that Carey is set to make millions for her performances.
It should come as no surprise given she has made $70 million from the hit Christmas song that has reached number one in 30 countries.
The New York Post reports that Carey earns around $3 million per year from the song, prompting the singer to announce The Fantasy tour back in August to mark the 30th anniversary of the holiday hit.
Given Mariah takes an estimated cut of 20 percent in her royalties, she has embraced all things Christmas over the years. On November 1 she announces the arrival of the Christmas season to all her fans by declaring: “It’s timeeeee.”
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“When I did that first Christmas album, “Merry Christmas,” it was pretty early in my career,” she told the LA Times back in 2020.
“But in this case, I was just sitting there, coming up with this melody, in a dark house with a Christmas tree.”
In a 2023 interview with Parade she shared the story behind the release of the song, which she composed with 66-year-old Walter Afanasieff.
“I started writing that on a little DX7 or Casio keyboard that was in this little room in the house that I lived in at the time in Upstate New York lifetimes ago,” she said, adding that she was “just writing down everything that I thought about. All the things that reminded me of Christmas that made me feel festive that I wanted other people to feel.”
“We did take some time doing the record because if you listen to all those background vocals and all that stuff, you can’t do it in five minutes.”