The Mad Professah Lectures

Mariah Carey is in the news this week because she has announced that she is engaged to an Australian billionaire, James Packer. Packer, 48, is the 4th richest man in Australia, worth at least $4.7 billion. Mariah is 45 years old and has two 4 1/2 year old twins (named Moroccan and Monroe). She is recently divorced from her second husband, Nick Cannon.

Hat/tip to People

Mariah Carey has revealed that she will be dropping a new album on the world on May 27, 2014.
It has the curious name of "Me. I Am. Mariah" based on a self-portrait that Mariah made of herself at age 3!

Hat/tip to Wonder Man

This photo of Mariah Carey playing a slave working in the fields in openly gay director Lee Daniels' latest movie, The Butler, is causing a stir on Twitter and other social media online. Carey and Daniels have worked together before, in the Oscar-winning (and controversial) Precious, for example, where again Mariah played against her  image as a diva, to good reviews. The Butler is about the story of Eugene Allen, who was a butler in the White House serving 8 presidents of the United States.

Actually, I am happy about the controversy because it alerted me to the existence of the film, which has a jaw-dropping cast including Oprah Winfrey, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Forest Whitaker, Terence Howard, John Cusack, Vanessa Redgrave, Robin Williams, Melissa Leo and many more. It also has a pretty strong trailer:


This looks like it might be a must-see next Fall!

Mariah Carey's 43rd birthday was Tuesday March 26th. She sent out the above picture on Instagram, presumably to show what the mother of nearly 3-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe looks like without make-up.

Pretty impressive, I'd say!

The official diva of MadProfessah.com is Mariah Carey. Mariah has a new music video out today for the song called "Almost Home" from the movie Oz The Great and Powerful starring James Franco, which opens today.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

Donna Summer, the longtime Queen of Disco and gay icon, has died at the age of 63 after a long fight with cancer. Summer was well-known for her string of chart-topping hits  in the 1970s and 1980s like "Hot Stuff," "Bad Girls," "Last Dance," "She Works Hard For The Money," "MacArthur Park"and her duet with Barbra Streisand "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)."

25 years ago (on June 30, 1986) Madonna released her masterpiece, her 3rd studio album True Blue, which contained 5 Top 5 singles including 3 #1 singles (Papa Don't Preach, Open Your Heart  and Live To Tell) and the op 10s La Isla Bonita and True Blue. The album eventually sold over 24 million copies worldwide and 7 million in the United States alone

On Tuesday July 5th, 2011 Beyoncé released her 4th studio album, titled 4. It immediately debuted at #1 on the Billboard Album chart and includes the monster single "Run The World (Girls)."

Do you think 25 years from now people will remember Beyoncé's 4 album in 2036 like we remember Madonna's True Blue today? Somehow, I think not.

Recently I told you all about the fabulous news that British-Nigerian sultry songstress Sade will be releasing her new album Soldier of Love on February 8, 2010. Now, the first single from the album is streaming on her website.

Sade is back! This is huge news in the Black and gay community: the Queen of Quiet Storm will be releasing her next album entitled Soldier of Love on February 8, 2010. The last two albums from the British-Nigerian diva was 2000's Lovers Rock and 1992's Love Deluxe. Sade first debuted in 1984(!) with Diamond Life and will turn 51 on January 16, 2010.

What are your favorite Sade songs? My top 5 (don't make me rank them!) would be:

By Your Side
Smooth Operator
The Sweetest Taboo
No Ordinary Love
Siempre Hay Esperanza

This list is just from on the top of my head, and that doesn't even include "Lovers Rock" and "King of Sorrow" from Lovers Rock or "Your Love Is King" and "Is It A Crime" from the first album. Hmmm, maybe it should be a Top 10. Post your favorites in the comments.

The first single from Whitney Houston's comeback album, I Look To You, is called "Million Dollar Bill" and was written by Alicia Keys. The single will be released next Monday August 17th, the album comes out two weeks later on the 31st of August.
hat/tip to Wonder Man

In the queer blogosphere one of the high(!) points of Tuesday's inauguration was Aretha Franklin's hat. Joe.My.God's post on the subject was his most searched for item ever in the 5 years of his blog. He also posted multiple Photoshopped images in which the hat has been added.

Now comes word that many other people would love to get their hands on Aretha's unique headgear.

DETROIT – The calls began to flood Luke Song's hat shop not long after Aretha Franklin finished belting out "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" at President Barack Obama's inauguration.

[...]

The hat worn by the "Queen of Soul" was hand-molded and would cost upward of $500 — if it were for sale, the 36-year-old designer said. Customers instead were offered a satin ribbon version for $179.

"They want the same hat, but they understand it's for the 'Queen' only," he said. "Ninety-nine percent said, 'That's fine. I'll get the next best thing.'"

[...]

The design for Franklin's hat came from two different hats at the store.

"She walked through the shop and said 'I want that bow (put) on that hat,'" he said. "She had the coat already, but she needed the hat to set it off."

There are no words.

When I was a young queer I used to listen to Mariah Carey's music every day and she still remains my "diva" no matter how messy she gets. But I can see how the young 'uns may have moved on to Leona Lewis, the 2006 winner of the British version of American Idol and the singer of "Bleeding Love," the #2 pop single of 2008. Below is her (overly faithful) rendition of Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You."

Aretha Franklin is 66 years old today. The New York Times reviewed her weekend New York City concert on Monday.