Hear Mariah Carey sing a 'Fame' classic by Irene Cara

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Columbia/LegacyOn Thursday, Mariah Carey shared an excerpt from her upcoming memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey, in which she details her love for the 1980 movie Fame and its star, Irene Cara.  Now, you can hear Mariah sing one of the songs Cara performed in that movie: “Out Here on My Own,” a top 20 hit and an Oscar nominee for Best Original Song.

In the excerpt, Mariah wrote, “My mother entered me in a talent competition in the city, and I sang one of my favorite songs, ‘Out Here on My Own,’ by Irene Cara. I felt ‘Out Here on My Own’ described my entire life, and I loved singing that way — singing to reveal a piece of my soul. And I won doing it.”

“At that age. I lived for the movie Fame, and Irene Cara was everything to me,” she continued. “I related to her multicultural look…her multi-textured hair and, most importantly, her ambition and accomplishments.”

“‘Out Here on My Own’ was such a pure song that touched my heart, and I couldn’t believe I won a trophy for singing a song I loved,” she wrote. “It was the first time I’d received validation as an artist.”

On Instagram, Mariah explained, “Coincidentally, it wasn’t until after I had written about ‘Out Here On My Own’ in the book, that I found it in the vault while making The Rarities. Totally meant to be!!”

Mariah’s version of the song is now out.  The track, recorded July 17, 2000, was going to appear on the soundtrack album of her 2001 movie Glitter, which was apparently originally titled All That Glitters.  It’s included on Mariah’s album The Rarties, due October 2.


By Andrea Dresdale
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