And the beat goes...

Something about the combination of chillier fall weather and my recent love of throwback muzak is making me nostalgic these days. I had a long conversation with a random bodyguard at an event I was covering today, and he was telling me about all the artists he used to work for. We started chatting about who we thought were arguably today's biggest music moguls, and we came to the consensus that Mariah Carey still tops the charts both Stateside and internationally. Britney Spears has garnered some pretty hefty points in that department, but whether or not she has the same staying power is yet to be seen.

So I started thinking about just what it is about Mariah that's made her such a staple in our cultural consciousness. Voice? Well, eight octaves can't be a walk in the park. Image? She's gone through her low points (Glitter, anyone?) but has somehow always managed to rise above it all. So I think, glamor and tabloid fodder aside, it's simply hard work - but making it all look effortless in the process.

I mean, the reason why today's flash-in-the-pan celebs seem to just rotate in and out of the spotlight is because they're all capitalizing on their looks, their connections or their antics. But how much of it is based on simple hard work? The way the entertainment sphere works, with so many people constantly buzzing around you, helping you with your schedule, your makeup, your hair, your car door - how easy is it to become dependent on all of that, and to let your work ethic slide?

Random thoughts, I know, but I was thinking about this in these terms: Mariah's at the top of her game at 40, having just launched a new fragrance line and released a new album that critics praise as a throwback to the "old Mariah." She could have easily dropped out of the upper circles of celebrity after Glitter, or her meltdown, or a million other things. And yet she's managed to pick herself back up and recreate the kind of career she always knew she wanted to have - by no less than knowing what she wanted and going for it.

Strange to think that you can draw life lessons from someone as glam and notoriously diva-esque as Mariah, but I think there's something to be said for her concern over every meticulous detail of her career. She might have a million people handling her, but she knows what's going on. She knows how to see the big picture and work hard for what she's got.

Hmm. HANYway. End random thoughts.