Mariah Carey Talks Diamonds in Cheeky Interview — from Her Bathtub!

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Mariah Carey may be the Queen of Christmas but she's also pretty fabulous in the fall. In addition to headlining the Global Citizen Festival on Sept. 24 in NYC, she's working on a scripted series based on her memoir and she just launched two butterfly-themed jewelry collections with Chopard. With her packed schedule, it's no surprise that she squeezes in interviews when she can, even if it means doing a Zoom from the bathtub (camera off, of course). "Sorry, but I have to multitask," the superstar explained of the splish splash sounds during our phone call about her diamond debut.

You love a bath moment. The time you got in the tub on your 2002 episode of Cribs was iconic. 

That was the same tub I'm sitting in right now.

No way. What I also remember from that episode was that your closet was incredibly organized. Is it still like that? 

Well, we spent the first five months [of the pandemic] here without leaving, which is great. It's a very big apartment. I'm not complaining. But over time, I'm not saying I'm a shopper that's going out, buying myself stuff all the time. In fact, I rarely do, but one does accumulate stuff when you're doing shoots or whatever. So it's not quite as organized, but I do still have the closet and the wardrobe area.

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Let's talk about your collection with Chopard. Was the butterfly motif your idea? 

When we first started talking about partnering, "All I Want For Christmas" was about to receive a diamond certification, so I thought they'd want to do something Christmas-y. Then, the Chopard team stated the obvious — the butterfly. It also made sense because this year is the 25th anniversary of Butterfly, which is my most personal album. It's the body of work that I'm the most proud of as an artist, a producer and a writer. So it was just sort of kismet.

Has the meaning of butterflies changed for you over the last 25 years? 

I don't acknowledge time, so it's 25 seconds, 25 minutes, whatever we want to call it. Seriously, after going through what I had to go through to even create the Butterfly album and to break free from that shell....it's part of my 25 years and that's kind of unbelievable. It represents so much to me as just a human being and particularly as a woman.

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What is your jewelry motto?

The more, the better. You can stack the more everyday pieces in this collection. Even my daughter [Monroe, 11] is living for that. She cannot wait to get some of the bracelets. She wants to be a designer one day, so this was really inspirational for her. I think she really felt like her dreams were attainable.

Do you have a favorite piece from the collection?

The butterfly necklace — it's so symbolic. Caroline Scheufele, the Co-President and Artistic Director of Chopard, and I were on the phone just riffing while she was sketching it out. It was like when people come to the studio and we're creating something and they're watching it happen. She sent me the sketch and I'm going to frame it. But first I really need someone to come help me figure out my closet.

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I'd watch a show about organizing your closet.

No more reality [shows]. Actually, I'm working on a documentary called the Butterfly Lounge. It started over the pandemic. I moved to a place for a while just to work with my band and create music and we filmed all of it. All of this is coming together at the exact same time. It just represents freedom and emancipation in so many ways for me.

Before I let you go back to your bath, can you tell me if diamonds are really a girl's best friend?

I hate to say it, but for the most part, people let you down. So I might have to go with it. With very few exceptions, but for the most part, yeah.