Brenda K. Starr (on "Discovering"/Friendship w/ Mariah Carey, Tommy Mottola, Wendy Williams & New Music!)

Brenda K. Starr steps Behind The Rope. Brenda chats with us about what it was like to find success and hit it big in the late 1980’s with her most well known song “I Still Believe”. We chat about some of her contemporaries at the time, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Cyndi Lauper, Paula Abdul, Tina Turner and Debbie Gibson. Speaking of contemporaries, a little known singer named Mariah Carey used to sing background for Brenda. One day Brenda handed a demo to Columbia Records Executive Tommy Mottola at a party on behalf of Mariah and, as they say in the biz, the rest is history. Brenda opens up about what Tommy was really like both as a person and as a Record Exec who helped launch her career. Brenda also discusses how she really feels about Mariah covering "I Still Believe”, which has now become one of her biggest hits, breaks down where Mariah’s “diva” and “difficult” reputation originates from, and discusses how true she feels those monikers are. She spares no detail in explaining exactly why her and Mariah no longer speak and what she would say if she crossed paths with her today. Why does it not shock us that the name Wendy Williams comes up in this conversation. There was also Mariah’s wedding and being seated at a table with both Gloria Estefan and Barbara Streisand. Of course, we delve deep into Mariah’s “The Meaning of Mariah” book which hit shelves last year - Brenda shares her thoughts, discusses what is accurate and what she would like to rebut, Mariah’s short lived reality docu series “Mariah’s World” - Stella, Bryan, Nick Cannon, and the many misconceptions in the media about Brenda’s relationship past and present with Mariah Carey. In other news, Brenda’s daughter made it to the Top Ten on American Idol and we needed all the back stage secrets and thoughts on Ryan Seacrest and JLO. Finally, Brenda chats about new projects, new music, her newfound success on TikTok, her love for and thoughts on Demi Lovato and her recent tell all documentary and all she has going on in life now. @officialbrendakstarr @behindvelvetrope @davidyontef BONUS EPISODES Available at - https://www.patreon.com/behindthevelvetrope Brought to you by NOOM - http://www.noom.com/VELVET (Sign Up for Your Trial Today) Brought to you by UNIDRAGON - https://www.unidragon.com (10% Off First Purchase - Use Code “VELVETROPES”) Brought to you by BETTER HELP - https://www.betterhelp.com/velvetrope (10% Off First Month - Use Code "velvet rope")   MERCH Available at - https://www.teepublic.com/stores/behind-the-velvet-rope?ref_id=13198 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices