Mariah Carey, 56, Says She Won’t Accept Time and Aging in Recent Interview

Mariah Carey brushes off the concept of aging as she prepares to unveil her 16th studio album. The 56-year-old singer stands firm in her views about time's passing.

"I don't allow it — it just doesn't happen. I don't know time. I don't know numbers. I do not acknowledge time — I have a new song that starts with that line," Carey expressed during her chat with Harper's Bazaar UK, stating she refuses to embrace the idea of getting old.

Her upcoming album, Here For It All, also explores her stance on aging. Set for a September 26 release, it will mark her first complete musical collection since Caution dropped in 2018.

She also spoke about penning her life story in the 2020 memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey with writer Michaela Angela Davis. "Working on it together was challenging, but it was also therapeutic. We stayed up late figuring out how we were going to put the story forth," she shared.

The writing process stirred up difficult past experiences for the Queen of Christmas. She explained, stating: "I knew it was going to bring up bad memories I didn't want to relive. It was a tough situation to go to sleep listening to it [the audiobook]... I'd wake up and be kind of freaked out. Because this is me and I went through that."

Her mother's guidance encouraged her to pursue a music career, and it eventually shaped her path to success. Speaking about her mother, who passed away last year, the "Always Be My Baby" singer revealed, "We didn't always have the world's greatest relationship, but certain things she said or did resonated with me as a kid."

As Mariah recalled, "She once told me: 'don't say if I make it, say when I make it'. That just stuck with me, and I never gave up."

Discussing her approach to public appearances and keeping up with the diva mentality and everyday glam with designer fits, the star expressed that she's very direct. "It's part of my job. What's the point of a disguise? Just get up, get dressed, go out. If I don't want to be seen, I'll stay home," she stated bluntly.

Since her 1980s debut, Mariah Carey has topped UK charts with multiple singles and two albums: Music Box (1993) and Daydream (1995). Her latest track, "Type Dangerous," made its way into the Billboard Hot 100 chart this June.

Want to read about everything she had to say? You can find the complete interview in Harper's Bazaar UK's September issue, out July 31, 2025.