Mariah Carey was the image of showbiz glamour when at Variety’s Power Of Women event in Los Angeles this Friday.
The 49-year-old pop diva, who was being honored at the fete, slipped into a sparkling full-length black PHILIPP PLEIN gown that emphasized her cleavage.
She could be spotted posing selfies at the event with songwriter Diane Warren, exactly 20 years after they first worked together.
Hello, gorgeous: Mariah Carey was the image of showbiz glamour when at Variety’s Power Of Women event in Los Angeles this Friday
Mariah flashed a bit of leg through a slit up the side of her gown and lent herself a bit of extra stature with a pair of open-toed heels.
Letting her luxurious wavy hair down, the singer affectionately known to fans as ‘Mimi’ accentuated her unmistakable features with makeup.
Diane wore an off-white jacket with an upturned collar over a print tee, slipping into pinstripe trousers and a black cloth choker.
She whipped out her phone and smiled big for selfies as Mariah stood behind her, flashing her megawatt grin for the camera.
Looking fabulous: The 49-year-old pop diva, who was being honored at the fete, slipped into a sparkling full-length black gown that emphasized her cleavage
Together again: She could be spotted posing selfies at the event with songwriter Diane Warren, exactly 20 years after they first worked together
When you got it: Mariah flashed a bit of leg through a slit up the side of her gown and lent herself a bit of extra stature with a pair of open-toed heels
Camera ready: Letting her luxurious wavy hair down, the singer affectionately known to fans as ‘Mimi’ accentuated her unmistakable features with makeup
Mariah spoke onstage at the luncheon portion of the event, where she was handed her trophy by child actress Mykal-Michelle Harris.
Mykal-Michelle stars on the Black-ish spin-off Mixed-ish, which features a theme song called In The Mix by Mariah.
Onstage, Mariah recited some of the lyrics of her 1997 song Close My Eyes, including: ‘Maybe I grew up a little too soon.’
As she continued her speech, which Variety has tweeted clips of, Mariah explained that she drew the lyrics from personal experience.
Getting the right angle: Diane wore an off-white jacket with an upturned collar over a print tee, slipping into pinstripe trousers and a black cloth choker
Reunion: She whipped out her phone and smiled big for selfies as Mariah stood behind her, flashing her megawatt grin for the camera
History: Mariah, Diane and David Foster co-wrote on two songs for the singing sensation’s 1999 album Rainbow – After Tonight and There For Me
‘Shortly after it was released, I received a letter from a fan, a young girl in Germany, who shared that she had been abused by her stepfather and that Close My Eyes helped her get through the trauma,’ said Mariah.
‘Her letter touched me because I wrote that song from a very real place. I wrote it, and many other songs, to work through my own trauma. I wrote that song for all the children who saw things they shouldn’t see, who were forced to grow up too soon.’
She recalled: ‘When I was a little girl, I would go on walks alone and come up with melodies and words and sing to myself. Writing songs and singing were my escape. It was my release. It was how I survived and it still is.’
Rollout: There For Me was ultimately cut from Rainbow and released two years later as the B-side of Mariah’s charity single medley of Never Too Far and Hero
Just the two of them: Without David, Mariah and Diane worked together on another track for Rainbow, the ballad Can’t Take That Away (Mariah’s Theme)
The pop icon also discussed her Camp Mariah in upstate New York, which provides a career awareness program to children from low-income families.
‘Oh, God, I started this camp 25 years ago, and if you don’t see what an accomplishment that is for a two-year-old child….’ she joked.
Mariah, Diane and David Foster co-wrote on two songs for the singing sensation’s 1999 album Rainbow – After Tonight and There For Me.
There For Me was ultimately cut from Rainbow and released two years later as the B-side of Mariah’s charity single medley of Never Too Far and Hero.
Not so new: In a new video interview for this year’s Variety Power Of Women event, Mariah said that ‘I love writing with other women and it’s something that is a newer thing for me’
Without David, Mariah and Diane worked together on another track for Rainbow, the ballad Can’t Take That Away (Mariah’s Theme).
Mariah was discovered in the late 1980s by her future ex-husband Tommy Mottola, who was then head of Columbia Records.
In a new video interview for this year’s Variety Power Of Women event, Mariah recalled her experiences starting out in the business.
Looking back: Mariah shared that when she started in the business ‘I didn’t have a powerful woman by my side to say: “No, you’re not paying for all this,”‘ etc
So sweet: Mariah spoke onstage at the luncheon portion of the event, where she was handed her trophy by child actress Mykal-Michelle Harris
The All I Want For Christmas Is You singer remembered that ‘I was a very young girl when I got signed to my first record deal, and I was surrounded by super, super, uber powerful people – mainly men, like predominantly men.’
Mariah added: ‘That’s what I fell into, and I didn’t have a powerful woman by my side to say: “No, you’re not paying for all this. You’re not doing that. They’re taking advantage of you here. They’re doing that.”‘
The songbird also shared in the video that ‘I love writing with other women and it’s something that is a newer thing for me.’
She elaborated: ‘You know, people like Bibi Bourelly or Priscilla Renea. Like, new young writers, I really enjoy working with because it’s a different energy, and they may or may not have been inspired by me, and I thrive on it.’
Connections: Mykal-Michelle stars on the Black-ish spin-off Mixed-ish, which features a theme song called In The Mix by Mariah
Onstage, Mariah recited some of the lyrics of her 1997 song Close My Eyes, including: ‘Maybe I grew up a little too soon.’
Art from life: As she continued her speech, which Variety has tweeted clips of, Mariah explained that she drew the lyrics from personal experience
‘My escape’: She recalled: ‘When I was a little girl, I would go on walks alone and come up with melodies and words and sing to myself’