Mariah Carey

A list of upcoming concerts across the Southland, with on-sale dates in parentheses. Gibson Amphitheatre: Celtic Woman, May 6 (now); Mariah Carey, Feb. 23; Experience Hendrix Tour, March 5 (Sat.) Hollywood Palladium: Justin Bieber, Feb. 14; Alice in Chains, Feb. 13 (Fri.) Wiltern: Killswitch Engage, March 6 (Thurs.) Avalon: Jamie Cullum, March 25 (Fri.) Grove of Anaheim: Straight No Chaser, May 12 (Fri.) House of Blues: Kreator, March 23 (Thurs.

When pop stars Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Nelly Furtado and 50 Cent recently said they'd renounced millions of dollars they'd received for performing for members of Libyan strongman Moammar Kadafi's family, they drew attention to a growing and controversial cultural phenomenon: celebrity artists being hired by rich, powerful and sometimes disreputable clients to play at private or semi-private functions. From flashy hotel openings to wedding receptions, upscale bat mitzvahs and Caribbean bacchanalias, brand-name musicians, Hollywood actors and other celebrities are increasingly renting out their talents, or simply their crowd-drawing presence, for under-the-radar engagements.

You'd be forgiven for not recognizing Mariah Carey in her role as a dowdy welfare caseworker in the urban drama "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire." The legendarily high-maintenance pop diva underwent a soup-to-nuts physical transformation, checking her glossy celebrity patina at the door in order to convincingly portray the film's Ms. Weiss: a drab but deeply empathetic soul helping a troubled teenager in '80s Harlem. Far from the image Carey has cultivated for years, the character is no oil painting of music-video pulchritude, with her lank hair, a wardrobe of rayon sweater-coats and, yes, even a sparse mustache creeping across her upper lip. "I had to lose all vanity," Carey said.

Movie stars, TV actors, rock singers, fashion models and professional athletes need a vacation just like everybody else. But when you're more famous than Mickey Mouse, it's not as easy to blend in with the crowd -- even at Disney World. Photos : See celebrities at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom To navigate the vast resort and avoid hassles from overzealous fans, celebrities trade front-of-the-line VIP treatment from Disney World for a few snapshots inside the Orlando theme parks that show up in celebrity magazines and on entertainment shows.

Shania Twain's "Up!" continues to top the nation's album sales chart, but Mariah Carey's new "Charmbracelet" debuted third -- a respectable start considering the woeful showing of her "Glitter" album last year. Now in its third week at No. 1, "Up!" sold 317,000 copies last week, bringing its total to 1.8 million. Carey's album sold 241,000 copies, less than the 323,000 debut of her 1999 CD, "Rainbow," but better than the 116,000 for "Glitter." The latter's poor sales (less than 600,000 in the U.

Pop diva Mariah Carey is currently involved in contract negotiations with Columbia Records, but is expected to leave the label that she has been signed to since 1990, sources familiar with the situation said Thursday. A spokesman for Columbia Records, a unit of Sony Corp.'s Sony Music Entertainment, declined to comment. Details of her contract were not available.

Pop star Mariah Carey, dumped four months ago by EMI Group after a disappointing album, on Wednesday signed an estimated $20-million, three-album deal with rival Universal Music Group, the world's biggest record company. It's been a stressful, yet extremely lucrative, year for Carey. She was paid $30 million by EMI to buy out her contract after the fall release of a poor-selling soundtrack album and last summer she suffered a breakdown.

Vanilla Ice, the Billboard magazine pop-album chart leader for the 15th week with "To the Extreme," continues to hold off the surge of Mariah Carey, whose debut album is a solid No. 2. Her "Mariah Carey" is making a strong run at the top, fueled by her latest hit single, "Someday," which jumped from No. 13 to No. 5 on the pop singles chart and is a shoo-in to reach the top. Sting's "The Soul Cages" is the hottest new album on the chart, bounding from No. 30 to No. 10.

Three years ago, singer Mariah Carey was sleeping on the floor of a shared apartment. Now, with five Grammy nominations, she has moved into a one-bedroom Manhattan apartment. At age 21, she seems to have hit it big early in life, but Carey told People magazine in its Jan. 28 issue that it took years of work to become successful. "Some people don't find out what they want to be until they're 35. I knew when I was 4," she said.

C+C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat" is locked into the runner-up spot on the Billboard magazine pop album chart, unable to topple longtime leader "Mariah Carey." After several weeks at No. 2, C+C may run out of steam without ever reaching the top. Carey's album, however, should have at least a few more weeks on top. The lastest in her procession of Top 10 singles--which are helping to keep the album on top--is "I Don't Wanna Cry," which leaped five places to No.

Perry wedded to success Tyler Perry is doing just fine without 3-D, thank you. The writer, director and producer's latest effort, "Why Did I Get Married Too?," took in a most impressive $30.1 million in its first weekend. The sequel to his 2007 hit "Why Did I Get Married?" not only beat the opening of that movie by almost $10 million, but it was also Perry's biggest start for a movie that didn't feature his Madea character. With nine hits in the last five years, none of this should come as a surprise.

Halfway through her highly entertaining show Tuesday night at Gibson Amphitheatre, Mariah Carey stood onstage in a sparkly gold cocktail dress and waxed nostalgic for a (more) gilded age. "Remember the video with the jet skis?" she asked wistfully, referring to the James Bond-inspired clip for her 1997 hit "Honey," which the singer's seven-piece band had begun playing. "They don't make those anymore." Nor do they make pop divas like Carey anymore. In an era of high-tech performance-art opacity (think Beyoncé or Lady Gaga)

MUSIC Mariah Carey Hot on the heels of her award-winning performance in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," and in anticipation of next month's remix album, the R&B chanteuse demonstrates her vocal range with her Angels' Advocate Tour. This marks the seventh concert tour for the 39-year singer and actress. Gibson Amphitheatre, 100 Universal Terrace Parkway. 7:15 p.m. $250.75. (818) 622-4440. www.citywalkhollywood .com . > > Read the Times Review of Carey here The Rescues and Lucy Schwartz The indie supergroup makes a stop in Los Angeles on its way to the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, next month.

A list of upcoming concerts across the Southland, with on-sale dates in parentheses. Gibson Amphitheatre: Mariah Carey, Feb. 24 (Sat.) The Wiltern: A Day to Remember, April 30 (Fri.) Avalon: Crystal Method, Feb. 12 (Thu.) King King: Sloan, Feb. 21 (now) Bootleg Theatre: Alec Ounsworth, Feb. 11; the Low Anthem, March 25; Jarrod Gorbel, March 6; West Indian Girl, Feb. 13 (now) Canyon Club: English Beat, April 17; Stars of Beatlemania, May 9 (now)

In his native country, Finnish director Klaus Härö is part of a tiny film community. There, he said, even a successful movie won't attract a massive number of moviegoers. And if someone is a fan of your film, they typically share their enthusiasm by offering a polite "thank you." So when Härö first attended the Palm Springs International Film Festival four years ago, he was shocked by the number of people lining up to see his independent movie "Mother of Mine" -- many of whom later approached the director crying, saying how much his film moved them.

Update: Fashion photographer David LaChapelle has sold his 1920s Spanish-style home in the Sunset Strip area for $1.6 million, the Multiple Listing Service shows. The multilevel house with a view of the Chateau Marmont has three bedrooms and 1 1/2 bathrooms in an open floor plan of 1,912 square feet. There is a remodeled kitchen, a living room fireplace, dark hardwood floors, a blue-tile swimming pool and a spa. LaChapelle, 46, who has published books, directed videos and made documentaries, is known for his portraits of celebrities, including David Beckham, Lance Armstrong, Britney Spears and Mariah Carey.

EMI Group is expected this week to drop pop star Mariah Carey, less than a year after signing her to a blockbuster four-album contract worth more than $80 million, sources said. The termination of the pact, which sources say will cost EMI an estimated $30 million in exit fees, follows a difficult year for Carey, who suffered a nervous breakdown last summer before releasing her debut album for the British music giant.

This powerful story of an illiterate, abused, pregnant, obese Harlem teen in the '80s has captured the imagination of moviegoers with standout performances by Mo'Nique as Precious' nightmare of a mother, a dowdy Mariah Carey as her social worker and remarkable newcomer Gabourey Sidibe as Precious. It doesn't take much more than an alternative school and an attentive teacher in Paula Patton's Ms. Rain to start turning things around for a teenager most of the world had written off. For those who worry that the story is too dark, director Lee Daniels has built in a safety valve for both Precious and for us -- fantasy sequences that are as funny as they are telling.