Mariah Carey has described how losing music greats such as George Michael has "really taken a toll" on her.
The Faith singer died in December 2016 - just one of the legends of the music industry who have lost their lives in recent years. And saying goodbye to those who have inspired her so much has been more than a little difficult for Mariah.
"When we have lost some of our greatest, it's really taken a toll on me, as someone who grew up watching them and being inspired by them," she mused to Pitchfork. "You mentioned George Michael. I remember before my first album, even in high school, the Faith album, I looked at that and said, 'I want to make an album that crosses all these genres.'
"We had a lot of things in common in terms of record company political stuff. I remember this one dinner that we had. We were both talking about really difficult stuff that we'd been through. And when he passed away on that Christmas, I couldn't believe it because I thought he would be able to be OK."
Mariah added that "stress is really a killer", seemingly implying it may have had something to do with George's demise. Accordingly, when it comes to her own stress levels, the mother-of-two does her utmost to keep her life calm and hassle-free.
"I mean, there's always stressful stuff, but I love being in the studio," the Hero hitmaker smiled. "It's my favourite thing... There's a person in me that still needs to be true to that little girl who had so much faith, and hope, and belief, and ambition. A need to remain a kid. And I have to love what I'm doing."
