Mariah Carey may be hailed as the Queen of Pop, but she refuses to call herself a “legend.”
In a new Billboard interview, the “All I Want for Christmas Is You” chart-topper, who has 19 U.S. #1 songs, addressed the label ahead of being honored as MusiCares’ 2026 Person of the Year 2026, which took place this Friday, January 30th. Carey remained humble about how she believes the public perceives her.
Speaking with Billboard, she said, “Everybody has their own little meanings for what things they say. But I don't call myself a legend. I'm just still working, still trying hard.”
The 56-year-old singer explained she has “always” maintained a strong work ethic, and she insisted the key takeaway is to “be true to yourself”.
She noted, “I’ve always worked really hard, because I knew [from the start] that I wanted to be here for a long time. The one lesson I’ve learned is to just be true to yourself. And I was fortunate enough to be able to do that. There were some things along the way that weren’t ideal, you know, but here I am.”
The Queen of Pop will be recognised by MusiCares alongside the likes of Grateful Dead, Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson, Joni Mitchell, Gloria Estefan, Billy Joel and Dolly Parton.
She has shown support over the years for disaster relief efforts and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, as well as backed causes like education and HIV/AIDS. She said, “All of us should do what we can to give back something. And it’s also important to do more than that. I get caught up with my schedule sometimes, so it’s not as much as it should be. But it’s still an important part of my life.”
This comes as Carey addressed her long rumored collaboration with the late Michael Jackson, which has not yet been released.
Speaking on The Big Tigger Morning Show, she said, “I did a record that Michael has already done. It’s one of his old classics, and it’s so good, and I just added, we made it into a duet, and they’ve got a lot of things coming out on Michael, so they didn’t want me to use it on the album.”
When asked whether her work with the King of Pop would ever see the light of day, Carey said, “I really hope so because I love it.”