Mariah Carey Says She Can't Be Called a 'Diva' After Returning to Crowd to Greet Rihanna at Brooklyn Show (Exclusive)
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12/21/2024 01:30 PM
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the Queen of Christmas also opens up about whether she has plans for future Christmas shows
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Mariah Carey in October 2019; Rihanna in October 2024Mariah Carey had a lot of "fun" seeing Rihanna at her final Christmas Time tour concert
On Tuesday, Dec. 17, the pop icon, 55, wrapped up her Christmas Time tour with a star-studded crowd that included the Fenty founder, 36.
When it came for "Always Be My Baby" during Carey's set, she left the stage and went into the audience to greet fans and take selfies. But just as she was walking up the stairs back onto the stage, a security guard spoke to her, and she once again descended back into the crowd.
Kevin Mazur/Getty
Mariah Carey in November 2024"I was like, 'You cannot call me a diva again because I'm literally backing down the stairs,'" Carey tells PEOPLE of the moment during the concert.
As it turns out, she was heading back to the pit to see none other than Rihanna, who ended up getting her breast signed by the singer.
"That was hilarious," Carey tells PEOPLE of the interaction over the phone from Aspen. "I had heard that Rihanna was coming to the show, but I didn't think she was going to be in the actual crowd. She was fun."
The "We Belong Together" performer also discussed whether or not she's "sick of" Christmas music yet. (Spoiler: she's not.)
"I'm in Aspen, and right now 'Oh, Santa' is playing over the speakers, and I'm like, 'I guess I'm not sick of it,'" she says.
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Mariah Carey in April 2024Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
While she's covered a lot of older Christmas songs like "Joy to the World" and "Silent Night," she hopes to cover "another slow, sad song" for the holidays in the future.
Carey also reveals she has no plans to stop doing her Christmas shows any time soon — but she might make some changes.
"It's probably something that I'll always do. I just need to schedule it a little bit differently because this year I'd gotten sick just from being out there too long," she says after canceling three recent shows while recovering from the flu.
Carey also opened up about whether fans will ever hear her once-lost grunge album, which she found in 2022.
"People have been asking me about it, and it's something that I love so much," she says. "And we might see it in 2025, probably a little bit later than that."
