OUCHT! Why did the Mariah Carey have to go and dispel rumours of her crazy diva demands?
It was soooooooo unnecessary, and such a disappointment, to find out that's she's actually quite a normal gal after all.
"I try not to be a jerk, I really do. I try to be nice and cordial," said the voluptuous star, who has been dogged by claims s
he is a prima donna through-out her career, with countless bizarre allegations of her backstage demands.
"I've seen the real extreme diva behaviour and I don't think that's who I am. I think I have mannerisms and that whole thing, and I'm running around in these shoes. But even before I had any type of fame, I was like this. Seriously."
Ok, fair enough, but tell us, you did ask for kittens or puppies as accessories backstage? Surely, Mariah? "No. In a video maybe".
Fine, but bowls of blue M&Ms, at least that was true, right? "I don't even eat them."
And the carpet thing? "Yeah. They said I wouldn't come into a hotel unless there were petals on the floor. I'm like, do you really think at 3am I give a s*** what I'm walking on?"
Maybe it's just me, but I liked to think of Mariah as the dotty diva. And for her to poo poo such talk, well, it's just wrong.
These myths are important in pop culture – it would be a boring place without them. That's why so many folks put down Coldplay for being devoid of any personality, right?
Without Mariah's claims that her image and behaviour have been portrayed out of proportion by the media, all we're left with a sensible business woman who can't sing without shoving ten notes into the space where one should be. Those kind of singers are ten-a-penny these days.
Thanks heavens, then, for Barbra Streisand. I tuned into the Jonathan Ross show the other night and Babs had the whole show to herself – now that's what I call a diva.
Editors still on top of the pileSERIOUS contenders to the Birmingham doom-and-gloom merchants Editors' crown arrived this year in the shape of White Lies and Red Light Company, but the third album from Tom Smith and the boys is packed with enough melodic miserablism to keep them at the top of the pile for a while longer at least.
In This Light And On This Evening, the album that will take up the majority of their set at The Picture House on Monday night, was recorded over a six-week period in Cricklewood, West London with producer Flood (real name Mark Ellis).
The follow-up to 2007's An End Has A Start sees the foursome tackling some heavy issues, such as the global financial crisis and singer Smith's lack of trust in the world's custodians of wealth and power.
"Every time you turned on the telly it was people not quite being sure where all the money has gone so the lack of trust with those people who're supposed to be in charge of that," says Smith, who recently tied the knot with the mother of his young child, Radio 1 DJ Edith Bowman.
"I'd hesitate to call the songs political but there are two songs on the record that are that way charged."
"Some of it might come down to being a dad, you know? You take a step back and look at the world around you. It changes the way you look at things - I guess you have to be less selfish."
Editors will follow their Edinburgh show with an exclusive signing session at the venue, with the first 500 people through the door receiving a wristband which gives them access.
Editors, The Picture House, Lothian Road, Monday, 7.30pm, £18.50, 0131-220 2280
Rare chance to see a true music legendTHE word 'legend' should never be bandied around, but how else is one to describe Joan Baez?
Famous for her political activism and love-affair with Bob Dylan as well as her friendship with Martin Luther King, the Sixties and Seventies protest singer and poet has influenced almost every corner of popular music.
Having recorded over 30 albums in a career spanning more than 50 years, it's a sure bet the 68-year-old, whose mother was born in Edinburgh, will put on a great show at the Usher Hall on Monday.
Don't miss this rare chance to hear a true 20th century icon.
Joan Baez, Usher Hall, Lothian Road, 7pm, £35, 0131-228 1155
GRUNGE gurus Mudhoney were hailed as the next big noise from America in the late Eighties before another band from Seattle came along and stole their thunder.
That band was Nirvana, who would go on to world domination, while Mudhoney remained largely a cult US garage outfit.
The band stuck at it, though, and their live shows have lost none of their power or popularity as the years have gone by, while last year's album The Lucky Ones proves they're still a creative force to be reckoned with.
Support tonight comes from recently-reformed seminal Glasgow outfit The Vaselines – yet another reason not to miss this one.
Mudhoney, The Picture House, Lothian Road, tonight, 7pm, £17.50, 0131-220 2280
Green light to get back into Groove ArmadaTHE last time Groove Armada came to town, the London-based dance duo braved freezing cold temperatures to give Princes Street Gardens everything it had in headlining Edinburgh's Hogmanay party.
On that occasion, Andy Cato and Tom Findlay ditched the laser shows and big screen imagery they've been peddling for the past 12 years in order to concentrate solely on the music. But it's back to business at the Corn Exchange on Sunday, with the boys promising an incredible light and sound show, during what is the only Scottish date on their current tour.
"For the Black Light tour we've hand-picked six UK venues with a warehouse feel, and we just had to include Scotland, one place where we always have an amazing time," explains Cato. "We are also using this tour to debut our new album, Black Light, which includes contributions from a couple of legends.
"It has been intense, but it's the best music we have ever created and we can't wait to hear the reaction live."
Groove Armada: Black Light Live Show, Corn Exchange, Newmarket Road, Sunday, 7pm, £22.50, 0131-443 0404
Win ticketsThe Guide has teamed up with Groove Armada to offer you the chance to attend Sunday's gig FREE, with ten pairs of tickets up for grabs. To enter the draw to win, simply e-mail your name, age and address to theguide@edinburgh news.com with word GROOVE in the subject line. Entries to be received by 5pm today. GARY FLOCKHART
