Britney Spears Shares Reason Why ‘Mariah Carey’ Was ‘Completely Right’ In New Book
In her new memoir, “The Woman In Me,” Britney Spears, 41, opens up about meeting Mariah Carey, 54, for the first time. Meeting backstage at the 1999 MTV VMA awards, Spears described the moment Carey opened her dressing room door.
“She opened it, and out poured the most beautiful, otherworldly light.” Yes, it seems like the meet-up was pure “Fantasy” for Spears — and she’s still not over it (relatable!).
Ever seen a 1999 photo of Carey and Spears decked out in all-black outfits? Well, then you know exactly the photo Spears is describing in her book:
Several parts of Spears’ new memoir are going viral on social media, particularly actress Michelle Williams’ voice-overs for the audiobook. While you may have already caught wind of Williams impersonating Justin Timberlake saying “Fo shiz, fo shiz,” the part about Mariah Carey is just as good:
Spears describes meeting the Songbird Supreme as so: “At one award show, I knocked on Mariah Carey’s dressing room door.”
“You know how we all have ring lights now?” Spears recalled. “Well, more than 20 years ago, only Mariah Carey knew about ring lights.” This checks — the “Without You” singer has always had a signature glow.
As one X user recently put it after reading the book, “Britney Spears’ love for Mariah Carey is adorable.” The duo we didn’t know we needed:
Read ahead for everything Spears said about Carey in her new book — and the heartwarming support both stars have offered to each other over the years.
Spears said her “real prize” at the 1999 award show was her “perfect photo” with Carey
In her book, Spears continued to describe her life-changing moment meeting Carey.
“No, I can’t just say her first name,” the “Stronger” singer wrote. “To me, she is always going to be, Mariah Carey.” Well, turns out Britney Spears is just like us!
“I asked if we could take a photo together and tried to take one where we were standing,” Spears recalled. “[Carey] said, “No! Come stand here, darling. This is my light. This is my side. I want you to stand here so I can get my good side, girl.'”
“She kept saying that in her deep, beautiful voice,” the singer remembered about her conversation with Carey. “My good side girl, my good side, girl.” One note? Michelle Williams’ voice portrayal of Carey is killing us right now.
And turns out… Mariah Carey does know a thing or two about taking a great photo. Here’s the stunning result, as posted by the “Obsessed” singer on Instagram when she wished Spears a happy birthday in 2018:
“I did everything Mariah Carey told me to do and we took the photo,” Spears continued to describe. “Of course, she was completely right about everything. The photo looked incredible.” Yep, fact-checked!
Later, the “Toxic” star described how her most important award of the night was her photo with Carey. “I know I won an award that night, but I couldn’t even tell you what it was,” the singer remembered. “The perfect photo with Mariah Carey was the real prize.”
Did Spears fan-girl over Carey in 1999? Confirmed. Would we fan-girl just as hard over the singer and probably sing every lyric to “We Belong Together” on a whim? Oh yes.
Here are all the times the two stars have supported each other over the years
It turns out that Spears’ book is far from the first time she has shown her love for Mariah Carey. In fact, back in March, she spoke about Carey being an early inspiration for her career.
The Mississippi-born star posted an Instagram photo from when she was 13 years old, writing, “I never even knew I took this [picture].”
“I used to make music videos with my friends at their house,” she remembered. “My first pretend video was ‘Dreamlover’ by Mariah Carey outside with my mom’s heels on while walking through a garden with an umbrella.”
Spears’ video was clearly much different than Carey’s real “Dreamlover” video, which shows the singer underwater and dancing with several backup dancers. Still, the “Baby One More Time” vocalist was probably inspired by the video’s natural imagery and all those flower fields.
While remembering how Antonio Banderas was always the “love interest” in her videos, Spears recalled: “The video was the worst thing I have ever seen in my entire life.”
Even more, Spears also uploaded a heartfelt birthday post on Instagram for Carey in 2020. Posting a photo of the two of them at dinner, the singer wrote: “Happy Birthday, Mariah Carey! You are one of the main reasons I started singing.”
In the post, the singer continued to describe Carey’s influence on her music career. “Your ‘Butterfly’ album never gets old even after 20+ years,” she wrote. “It’s simply a classic and I will be listening to it today as I work out in the gym!”
Several unearthed videos show Spears talking about her fandom for Carey’s music when she was starting out in the industry. One adorable video shows the singer choosing some of her favorite music videos for MTV. “I’ve chosen Mariah Carey singing ‘I Still Believe,'” Spears said.
“I’ve always been in love with Mariah Carey. Her voice is just phenomenal. She hits all these really high notes in the song, and it’s just the most beautiful song. And the video is really, really cool.” No lies detected.
Meanwhile, Carey has also often shown support for Spears. Apart from her birthday post on Instagram for the “Toxic” singer in 2018, she also once wrote on X: “We love you Britney!!! Stay strong.” By this, the 54-year-old singer referenced Spears’ infamous, 13-year-long court-ordered conservatorship that controlled much of her life:
Moreover, other resurfaced videos show both stars talking about their respect for each other. For one, Spears once talked about wanting to collaborate with Carey. Meanwhile, the “Hero” star once told Andy Cohen, “I love Britney Spears.” Could we get a collab soon?
Even more, Carey once sang her own hit “Heartbreaker” over Spears’ “Baby One More Time” track:
In short, we love seeing this duo shine — and supporting each other along the way. As one X user put it, “I love Britney Spears and Mariah Carey and women supporting women. I’m a girl’s girl until the day I die”:
