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Mariah Carey
has no trouble topping the charts or winning Grammys. But one arena she's yet
to conquer is the film world.
"
Tennessee,"
will open for a limited screening in December in Los Angeles. And the pop star will be getting
an Oscar push from the film, but for what she does best: singing.
For "Tennessee's"
"Right to Dream," with a Dec. 2 digital retail release date, Carey
got a little help from a surprising source. Rather than producer/regular
collaborator
Jermaine
Dupri, Carey turned to country legend
Willie Nelson.
"I
was humming different melodies while I was on the set and stuff," Carey
told Pop & Hiss. "I was just thinking that Willie Nelson would be
somebody fabulous to collaborate with. I reached out to him and we met after
one of his concerts, and he did some guitar for me.
"I
went to his concert with my mom," Carey continued. "She’s a huge fan
of his. We watched his show, and went back to the trailer afterward, and had a
nice long talk about writing and the style of the record I was going for. It’s
so heavily guitar-driven, and I was just thinking his sound would enhance the
record."
The
resulting song is one of the more low-key and elegant turns from the singer in recent
memory. Dressed with delicate, finger-picked guitar embellishments, Carey's
vocals are direct and sturdy, and go for determined optimism rather than
late-night desperation.
The
song, says Carey, is from the perspective of her "Tennessee" character Krystal, an
aspiring singer. "The song has its own arc," Carey said. "She
begins by telling us where she started, like she lays in bed and wonders where
she left herself. A lot of people go through that sort of thing. It’s kind of
about empowerment."
Directed
by Aaron Woodley (2003's "Rhinoceros Eyes") and produced by Lee
Daniels, whose company has produced such films as "Monster's Ball"
and "Shadowboxer," "Tennessee" tells the story of two
brothers who go off in search of their estranged father. Along the way they run
into Carey's Krystal, who is fleeing an abusive husband.
Next
year, Carey will have a role in another Lee Daniels production,
"Push," an adaptation of Sapphire's novel of the same name. But Carey
will have no music in that film: "I
just showed up as an actress," Carey said.
-
Los Angeles Times