Mariah Carey Guests On "Archetypes" Podcast With Meghan Markle

Mariah Carey is one of the most notable singers / songwriters of the last 50 years. She has sold over 220 million records worldwide, and is an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Nineteen of her songs have topped the Billboard Hot 100. She holds the record for the most number-one singles by a solo artist, a female songwriter (eighteen), and a female producer (fifteen). Carey has won five Grammy Awards, nineteen World Music Awards, ten American Music Awards, and fifteen Billboard Music Awards. She was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2022.

Ironically, it may be one song -- All I Want for Christmas Is You -- that will secure her musical legacy for decades. As of the issue dated January 8, 2022, it has topped the Billboard Holiday 100 chart for a record 51 cumulative weeks, of the chart's 56 total weeks since the list launched in 2011; it has topped the tally for 36 consecutive weeks, dating to the start of the 2015–16 holiday season. No other song has spent more than two weeks at No. 1 on the Holiday 100 since the chart's launch in 2011. On November 18, 2021, it was ranked as the #1 Greatest Holiday 100 Song of All Time by Billboard.

Carey was a guest on the second episode of Archetypes, a new podcast produced by Spotify and Archewell Audio. The podcast features Megan Markle, The Duchess of Sussex, as the host. In the premiere episode, Markle interviewed tennis great Serena Williams.

Since its series launch last Tuesday, Archetypes has topped the Spotify Podcast Charts in markets around the world including: US, UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, India, and France. 

Setting the stage for a discussion on the evolution of “diva” and its connotation, Amanda Seales opens the episode with her own experience with the label. Furthering the conversation, Meghan Markle and Mariah Carey talk about growing up as mixed-race, finding their freedom, and how the pop singer embraces her inner “diva”. Also joining Meghan to discuss the definition and history of “diva” is Dr. Mashinka Firunts Hakopian.  

You can check out the full episode here available now, only on Spotify. 

Some notable moments from Meghan and Mariah’s conversation include: 

• 8:10 - Meghan and Mariah connect about growing up as young girls of mixed-race, and feeling under-represented; Meghan shares that Mariah was a role model for her in terms of representation. They each open up about the struggles, throughout their lives, of not fitting or identifying with a specific race or community. 
• 14:56 -  Meghan and Mariah debate whether being called a diva is a compliment or a criticism. Mariah shares her opinion on the phrase and how she embraces the name and all that comes with it. 
• 31:18 - Mariah opens up to Meghan on the hardships she’s faced - from growing up poor to her marriage to music producer Tommy Mottola. She shares that being a diva became an aspirational goal in her journey to financial and creative freedom. 

 For a full transcript of this episode and all forthcoming episodes, click here.