Mariah Carey Quotes

"This is for all of you out there tonight, reaching for a dream - don't ever give up! Never ever listen to anyone, when they try to discourage you, because they do that, believe me!" (Madison Square Garden, 1995)

"Forget the image, forget the ensemble, forget the rumours, forget the short skirts, the big hair, whatever! I owe this to the fans and I will never forget you so I want to accept this award on behalf of all of you. We've come a long way and I feel like I'm just getting started. Because as an artist, and most importantly as a person, I am genuinely happy to finally be free to be who I am. Thank you." - Mariah sticks it to the critics at the 1999 Billboard Music Awards.

"There is a light at the end of the tunnel...hopefully it's not a freight train!"

"Music is what I love and it's what I feel and it's in me and to know that I can do something that I enjoy and hopefully bring some enjoyment to other people through what I do is an incrediable feeling and I am just really thankful for it"

"One person could say "Hero is a schmaltzy piece of garbage, but another person can write me a letter and say, 'I've considered commiting suicide every day of my life for the last ten years until I heard that song and I realized after all I can be my own hero.' And that, that's an unexplainable feeling, like I've done something with my life, ya know?" - Mariah discusses the importance of her music.

"A lot of the time they (the media) form the idea in listeners' minds. Calling me a 'pop diva' without listening to my work so when I come out with an urban song it's like, 'Pop diva goes black.' I mean, pur-lease." - Mariah from Hip Hop magazine

"Butterflies are always following me, everywhere I go."

"I'm not one of those people that goes into details of my personal life on national TV to get attention. Some things are better left unsaid"

"A lot of people are singing about how screwed up the world is, and I don't think that everybody wants to hear about that all the time."

"I'm not vain, I'm insecure."

"I decided to make my own ski-wear range after I found there were no fashion outfits for me to wear on the piste."

It's hard to be someone that people talk about and write about, you know? They don't know me.

I prayed very hard for this to happen and it happened. I don't even think about what I've achieved, I haven't focused on it and I wish I had, because I really want to enjoy it, and I don't know if I am enjoying it, because I am going through my life like a bulldozer. I still haven't marveled at it. I don't mind being compared to Whitney, there are people miles worse to be compared to, but if you really listen there's a difference.

People all of a sudden just see me and hear me having hit records and it seems to have come out of the blue. But really I have been working towards this my whole life, and this is what I say when people say I haven't paid my dues.

What I write is all from my imagination. Fact is, I haven't had time to experience all that, but that doesn't mean to say that I don't write from the heart, because I do. I put myself in other women's shoes, I can feel their pain and joy when I think about it. It's all the same, we're all women.

There's never been anything else in my life that inspired me at all. It's crazy, but I've always loved music and I've always known this was what I wanted to do. I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be a singer.

[Referring to the media] "They sensationalize everything. They have papers to sell, TV shows to sell, ratings to get. They're not interested in writing, I had a normal day, that I woke up, put on a pair of sweats, walked my dog, had lunch and went home."

Someone said I never paid any dues.I feel my whole life was struggling, because we were poor. We were alone, we had nothing--no security. I feel I have paid my dues. I've been paying my dues all my life.

They went through some very hard times before I was born. They had their dogs poisoned, their cars set on fire and blown up. It put a strain on their relationship that never quit. There was always this tension. They just fought all the time. [On her parents' divorce]

"I've always said that my father is half black and half Venezuelan and my mother is Irish. But people don't understand. They can't fathom that I'm African American, Venezuelan and Irish."

"And maybe there are some people out there who think a quarter Venezuelan is not a lot... Well, I may be only one quarter, but it's a strong quarter."