Pod Insights Baby, this is Keke Palmer Here For It All: Motherhood, Love & Legacy with Mariah Carey About this episode Today I’m sitting down with a Living Legend: Mariah Carey. The best-selling female artist of all time, the Elusive Chanteuse, and the Queen of Christmas, is back with her first studio album in seven years, Here For It All. We talk about how motherhood has transformed her, whether she’d ever get married again, and who she’s dating now—plus the stories behind her biggest hits and the moments that made her a cultural icon. From the soundtrack of our lives to the memes that broke the internet, Mariah opens up like never before. Baby… this is Keke Palmer.
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Transcript 10,531 words · 6 speakers
Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:05 Keke Palmer? Today, I'm sitting down with a living legend. She is the best-selling female artist of all time, five Grammys, over 200 million albums sold, 10 American Music Awards, and three Guinness World Records. Oof. Plus, she was Billboard's Artist of the Decade and an inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. She is the elusive Chanteuse, the queen of Christmas, and the moment, Mariah Carey. She's out with her first full-length studio album in seven years called "Here for It All." And let me tell you, it was worth the wait. We have lots to get into with Mariah, so let's not waste another minute, because, baby, this is Keke Palmer.
1:10 Speaker 01 A dark night, a quiet house. But inside, danger was lurking.
1:14 Speaker 02 Oh, not really. We have Xfinity Shield, so we're not worried.
1:18 Speaker 03 What if protecting your home and devices could be drama-free? Xfinity. Imagine that. Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas.
1:26 Keke Palmer? This episode is presented in partnership with Airbnb, where the best end-of-summer memories are made with your closest friends. Now, let's get on with the show.
1:37 Keke Palmer? Mariah, the icon, the forever moment. I don't even really know what to say. I'm so happy and I'm so thankful that you came on "Baby, This is Keke Palmer." This was like a moment to remember.
1:49 Speaker 04 And I'm going to be remembering a moment with "Baby, This is Keke Palmer," forever.
1:56 Keke Palmer? Oh, my gosh. Well, I'm so excited because you did the pre-show pull-up questionnaire.
2:00 Speaker 04 Yes.
2:00 Keke Palmer? I'm excited to see what you're coming with.
2:02 Speaker 04 I was a little with that, but...
2:07 Keke Palmer? Okay, let's see why, let's see why it was a little mm. Okay, today I'm giving it girl with a side of pow. I mean, that's period. That's what we accept and, and, and expect at every moment with you. It girl with a side of pow. That's that Aries fire energy.
2:20 Speaker 04 That's that side of pow that brings it.
2:23 Keke Palmer? Today's mood, in one word, sleepy. I mean, divas get tired.
2:28 Speaker 04 Sleepy.
2:29 Keke Palmer? Working, being fabulous all the time.
2:31 Speaker 04 I'm a night person, like, I'm not.
2:33 Keke Palmer? Wow, what, what time would you say you get up when you don't have anything to do?
2:39 Speaker 04 Like 5pm.
2:42 Keke Palmer? You, that's why you're so beautiful, because you're getting all that rest.
2:45 Speaker 04 Oh, well, I love you for saying that, as are you.
2:47 Keke Palmer? I need to get more rest. Thank you.
2:48 Speaker 04 You're doing great.
2:49 Keke Palmer? Oh, indeed. Okay, what did you listen to on the ride here? This is like, I mean, an amazing answer. Rest in peace Prince.
2:55 Speaker 04 Rest in peace Prince.
2:56 Keke Palmer? Oh, my gosh, we love Prince. What's your favorite Prince record? If you have one.
3:00 Speaker 04 Album or song?
3:02 Keke Palmer? Album.
3:03 Speaker 04 Purple Rain.
3:04 Keke Palmer? So good. And you know we got the Purple Curtains.
3:06 Speaker 04 Yes, that's why I'm like, loving.
3:10 Keke Palmer? Okay, one thing that instantly makes you laugh, this made me laugh because this makes everybody laugh. The video of Justin Bieber talking about, "It's not clocking to you, that I'm standing on business."
3:18 Speaker 04 Oh, my gosh.
3:19 Keke Palmer? Is that video?
3:20 Speaker 04 It's not that video, because I was, I was talking about James Brown and the Donkey Sean video.
3:26 Keke Palmer? Girl, I'm on the floor. I literally saw JB, if, uh, Justin Bieber, "Not clocking to you."
3:32 Speaker 04 I figured I'd be handing it to you and reading it to you, so. That's a good one, though. It's a classic.
3:38 Keke Palmer? Now, what is this video of James Brown? What does he do?
3:39 Speaker 04 He's talking on, was it CNN? Was it one of like a, a news situation? And he's talking about, he's going on tour, but he was having problems with his wife, so.
3:50 Keke Palmer? Ooh.
3:51 Speaker 04 Yeah, it was a whole thing.
3:52 Keke Palmer? He was giving all the tea on the morning show.
3:54 Speaker 04 Well, I don't know, he was being hilarious. You just gotta watch it.
3:59 Keke Palmer? And then the last screenshot of your phone, no deleting. My kids.
4:03 Speaker 04 My kids.
4:05 Keke Palmer? Twins. I told you, I have twin siblings.
4:08 Speaker 04 Yes.
4:09 Keke Palmer? They're crazy. My mom's a twin, my dad's a twin, and they had twins.
4:13 Speaker 04 And you're lucky you're not a twin.
4:15 Keke Palmer? Girl, because if you had two KKKs, it would be too much.
4:17 Speaker 04 There's not enough room on this planet for the personality that'd be coming out.
4:22 Keke Palmer? Are they a lot alike, your twins?
4:24 Speaker 04 Um, they have their own personalities.
4:26 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
4:27 Speaker 04 Yeah.
4:27 Keke Palmer? Close, or go through phases?
4:29 Speaker 04 They go through phases.
4:30 Keke Palmer? Yeah, isn't that funny?
4:32 Speaker 04 Yeah.
4:32 Keke Palmer? When my twins are in a good place, they're bullying everybody.
4:35 Speaker 04 Oh.
4:36 Keke Palmer? Yeah, it's crazy. They gang up on everybody, including me. It's a terrible time. I'm so happy that you're here. Thank you for answering these questions. I mean, what's been going on in your life lately? What would you describe this era of your life?
4:49 Speaker 04 Hmm, how long are we thinking an era is? Because I don't acknowledge time, so I don't know.
4:55 Keke Palmer? By the way, was that your whole life, or did you one day decide time didn't need to be a focal point?
5:01 Speaker 04 I think that was when I was like 18, I decided that. Because I cried on my 18th birthday.
5:06 Keke Palmer? Why?
5:07 Speaker 04 And I didn't want to have birthdays anymore. Because I just, nothing happened, but I was waited to get my record deal, and I was just, that was it.
5:14 Keke Palmer? Wow, so you're like, time is no longer meaningful, and now we just have vibes?
5:20 Speaker 04 We just have moods, we just have vibes.
5:23 Keke Palmer? Okay, so without the thought of time, how would you express this new project, your new project, Here For It All? What is that era?
5:30 Speaker 04 It's in the moment.
5:31 Keke Palmer? It's in the moment.
5:32 Speaker 04 The moments that we're having.
5:34 Keke Palmer? It's in the moments.
5:36 Speaker 04 Yeah. It really is, if you think about it.
5:39 Keke Palmer? Yeah. It is. It is in the moments, but then it's like, where has time left us? Like, there's something, like, how do I know when I'm showing up when I'm showing up? What if I have a deadline?
5:49 Speaker 04 You'll be late.
5:54 Keke Palmer? I'm howling. Okay, so one word to divine your vibe, would you say, right now? Different than any of your other vibes or eras or moments in time?
6:03 Speaker 04 I think it's like a mystery of all of those moments in time, putting them together, and kind of just like, just emanating what that feels like.
6:14 Keke Palmer? Hmm, so you grew up? In Long Island.
6:19 Keke Palmer? Now, what do that mean?
6:21 Speaker 04 I had a tough time growing up.
6:24 Keke Palmer? What would you say was the toughest thing about growing up there?
6:29 Speaker 04 Just maybe some of the kids and the people that were around.
6:34 Keke Palmer? Being biracial? I know you've spoken about that before.
6:36 Speaker 04 Yeah, and I wrote about it in my book.
6:38 Keke Palmer? Yes, which I have.
6:39 Speaker 04 Did you actually read it?
6:40 Keke Palmer? I did.
6:41 Speaker 04 Really?
6:42 Keke Palmer? Yes.
6:45 Keke Palmer? What was the hardest part about writing that book and kind of going back to those earlier times in your life? Things that people may not really know about you?
6:52 Speaker 04 Yeah, I mean, it wasn't, I wasn't like, oh, I'm scared for people to know. I, I wanted people to know because then people would stop asking me, like, you know, stuff that to me is just like obvious. But that's obvious because that's the way I, I grew up. I grew up around people that didn't accept me because of being biracial and things that happened that were upsetting, to say the least.
7:15 Keke Palmer? You say in Close My Eyes, "I was a wayward child with the weight of the world that I held deep inside. Life was a winding road and I learned many things that little ones shouldn't know." And I really relate to that. Um, I'm curious for you because I definitely think it's this way for me. Like, how was music or your artistry a way to either explore or transmute some of those difficult things?
7:41 Speaker 04 Well, I always knew, like, this sounds, whatever, very arrogant, but I'm just telling the truth. I always knew from the time I was a little, little girl that I was going to make it. I, I just believed it and my mother actually told me, um, you know, don't say if I make it, say when I make it. And so I took that advice and I just always believed, like, you know, strongly believed.
8:11 Keke Palmer? Yeah. How did you find writing? Because I think that's one of the, I mean, not only do you have an incredible voice, but you've always been an incredibly gifted writer. Uh, was that something that you did before you started doing music? Poetry, journaling, or how did writing find you?
8:24 Speaker 04 I started with poetry when I was like six years old. I have the, it's on the back cover of. Where is it? It's on the cover of either one of my albums or the it's not the back cover of the book, but it's a picture that I drew. And I was, I was like, I think like six years old. And it's just me with little, what are those called? Pigtails?
8:48 Keke Palmer? Mm-hmm.
8:49 Speaker 04 And just like in, in the flowers. And at the top of it, it says, "Me, period. I am Mariah." And that's my first bit of poetry and art.
9:01 Keke Palmer? Do you have a favorite song that you've written?
9:04 Speaker 04 Hmm, well, you mentioned "Close My Eyes" before. And not everybody knows that song, so thank you. Um, I love that song because it, it's really telling a story sequentially. Like, you know, I'm, I'm explaining what has happened. Like, at, at that point in my life, that was the Butterfly album, so.
9:24 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
9:24 Speaker 04 Yeah, so that became like my way of, of releasing.
9:29 Keke Palmer? Yeah. One of my favorites from you is "Break Down."
9:33 Speaker 04 I love "Break Down."
9:34 Keke Palmer? I love that song so much because there's something about it when I'm listening to it that makes me feel empowered in the breakdown. Does that make sense? Like, we're talking, it feels heavy and there's something heavy that's happening and going on, but something about it feels like I feel empowered to release.
9:52 Speaker 04 Yes, yes.
9:53 Keke Palmer? What was happening in your life when you wrote that song? And how did you decide to put Bone Thugs on it?
9:58 Speaker 04 I was releasing.
10:05 Speaker 04 I was.
10:05 Keke Palmer? I'm calling. I want to know what the, I can only imagine what the vibe is for you in the studio. Is it different every time when you're releasing?
10:14 Speaker 04 Yes. Um, but that moment with Bone Thugs was incredible. Like, so good. There's a lot of moments happening here and there. You know, Greenery was coming out.
10:28 Keke Palmer? Okay. Well, we had to set the vibe.
10:31 Speaker 04 They definitely set the vibe. And, um, it was, it was so great being with them.
10:38 Keke Palmer? Oh, my gosh. I can only imagine what it would have been like being in that room, in that era.
10:43 Speaker 04 Yeah.
10:43 Keke Palmer? Very special time. And you, you are a big part of what made it so special for all of us. At eighteen, this is crazy to me because we always hear these stories about as artists, you know, not knowing the value of your work. But at eighteen, for you, you were offered five thousand dollars for all the songs you had written.
11:00 Speaker 04 Yes.
11:01 Keke Palmer? And you said no. What, how did you know to do that then? Because obviously after that point, you still had to deal with crazy industry stuff.
11:09 Speaker 04 Mm-hmm.
11:10 Keke Palmer? But that was a pretty big thing for you to know even then.
11:13 Speaker 04 Yeah, well, I just had seen like some documentaries and a couple of things and saw that it was like, don't sell your publishing like that.
11:22 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
11:23 Speaker 04 It made a very big point of that, like it happened to even the Beatles. Um, so I was like, wow, I don't want that to happen to me because I believe in my songs and that's what I'm, you know, gonna be, that's gonna be my, what I have to offer to the world.
11:38 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
11:39 Speaker 04 You know, so, um, I just, I just kept going.
11:44 Keke Palmer? So when you did finally, obviously, get, you know, your, your big deal and, I mean, pretty much took over the nineties, there was still things you were up against in terms of having to make your image palatable.
11:55 Speaker 04 Mm-hmm.
11:56 Keke Palmer? One of my favorite, uh, clips of you is when you, I wish I could remember the exact year, but you were winning an award and this is obviously later after a lot of transitions for you and you were saying, "It feels so good to finally be able to be myself." Um, so I want to know that journey leading up to that, like what it was that wasn't being yourself and how was that even presented to you at that age where, I mean, how did they tell you, "Hey, tamper this down, or don't be this, or don't do that"?
12:23 Speaker 04 Yeah, well, they definitely did that. Uh, but, yeah, yeah, they did. But I'm trying to think of the exact moment that you're talking about and if, did I have like
12:34 Keke Palmer? It was straight, nineteen ninety-nine Billboard Awards, you were winning the award and the speech was so remarkable. You were giving, you were so gracious to your fans.
12:42 Speaker 04 Mm-hmm.
12:43 Keke Palmer? It was so honest and you were, you seemed so happy and you seemed so free. And what, it was interesting to me was like, damn, I wonder. What she felt like before, because you had already been a star for many years by that point.
12:57 Speaker 04 Yeah, it, it, what I felt like before was I was in a very, um, what's the word for the type of relationship, controlling.
13:05 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
13:06 Speaker 04 And so I, I dealt with that and, you know, wished I could fly away. I couldn't, it was really difficult to live in that world.
13:18 Keke Palmer? How did you get the courage and how did you get the, the business savvy to get out of all that stuff with Tommy Mottola and, and what was that label at that time?
13:28 Speaker 04 CB, Sony.
13:29 Keke Palmer? With Sony, yeah. How did you? I mean, that was tough and that was everything, your success was tied to that.
13:35 Speaker 04 Mm-hmm.
13:35 Keke Palmer? Um, so, I mean, what were those steps? How did you do that?
13:40 Speaker 04 It was not easy. I was scared a lot of the time. I, I didn't know what was gonna happen. Um, you never know who to trust. And the thing is, if he would've just let me be me and every now and then go to a friend's house or go, you know, to a spa, um, I would've stayed. But that wasn't the plan.
14:06 Keke Palmer? And do you think it was all about money, you know?
14:10 Speaker 04 I never thought that, but I, it probably was.
14:14 Keke Palmer? Just the ability to control somebody, you can control the money, you can control what the...
14:18 Speaker 04 You, they're bringing in the money, you know? Not that he didn't have his own stuff before that, but when someone's a new, you know, young artist and everything and they're writing their songs and making these albums for a huge company, you know, it, the control levels are pretty difficult.
14:39 Keke Palmer? How did you change? Meaning, what, what changed in you from that girl in the beginning that felt, okay, this is this, you know, I'm going with the flow and I trust this person and I'm having this success even though so much of it feels away from me to, I've gotta make a change. What was that switch internally?
15:00 Speaker 04 Hmm.
15:02 Keke Palmer? Or was it a moment?
15:03 Speaker 04 It was a moment, and it was a lot of moments that came together.
15:08 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
15:08 Speaker 04 Um, and, you know, I did the best I could with the whole thing. It's not an easy road.
15:19 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
15:20 Speaker 04 So.
15:21 Keke Palmer? When did you start to feel like success wasn't something that was just happening to you or for you, but something that you felt like you had an active role in, that you you felt like, okay, I'm, I can enjoy this in full?
15:33 Speaker 04 Yeah, well, that's probably around the album Butterfly, which was 98.
15:37 Keke Palmer? Yes, 98, yes.
15:38 Speaker 04 Yeah, yeah, so, um, that was, that was like a big lift, you know, up to the sky, just being able to write my own songs the way I wanted to write them. That's the era that I wrote Break Down and, um, all that, all those songs. I finally felt like, okay, I'm I'm me.
16:00 Keke Palmer? You know, I was so surprised when I was also going through things, like, I know that you did We Belong Together with Jermaine Dupri, but I didn't know he also did Always Be My Baby.
16:08 Speaker 04 Yes, that was the first song we wrote together.
16:10 Keke Palmer? Girl!
16:11 Speaker 04 Yes.
16:12 Keke Palmer? That is just too much. What is it about you guys? If y'all make the most incredible, like, Always Be My Baby, like, girl, what?
16:19 Speaker 04 And we did a lot of others, too, as well.
16:22 Keke Palmer? What was it like? What do you think the vibe or the reason is why you guys had such or have such great chemistry together with music?
16:30 Speaker 04 He's, Jermaine is like, you know, writing songs with, if you had a cool brother, and someone that's just, you know, your your true friend. That's what J D is like to me. I love him so much.
16:44 Keke Palmer? And then he dropped a crazy bomb talking to Grammy.com, saying that you guys recorded We Belong Together in an hour?
16:50 Speaker 04 It was pretty fast.
16:51 Keke Palmer? Girl!
16:54 Keke Palmer? That is absolutely insane. Did you ever, you know, being the voice, being someone that is always like, was there ever any moment in your life where that was pressureful? Just the expectations that people had, knowing your gift?
17:08 Speaker 04 Every moment is pressureful.
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18:24 Keke Palmer? After a while, it becomes so, you know, people are like, "Do the thing," and it's the thing, you know what I mean? Like, how did you handle that, you know, over your entire career? That level of expectation?
18:36 Speaker 04 It is a pretty big level of expectation, but, you know, you gotta just go through it and be yourself and do whatever you can to calm down and get through whatever your moment is that you're having.
18:50 Keke Palmer? Yeah, yeah. So we were talking about Butterfly. But also, the emancipation of Mimi is another era and moment that it just marks an evolution for you. Why do you think reinvention is so, I don't even want to say important, but it's something that you do very well. Is it something that you're actively doing in terms of your career? Or is it also just really a reflection of your life?
19:14 Speaker 04 I think it's just a reflection of my life. It's interesting because I never thought I was that type of person that did those recreating things. Other artists that I've seen, you know, definitely they do that. They're in their era of pink dresses and the, you know, era of whatever. But pink dresses was just an example that wasn't pointed at anybody.
19:37 Keke Palmer? You mean you're talking about, no.
19:42 Speaker 04 I'm howling. Purple dresses. No, but I mean, like, I didn't do it on purpose.
19:50 Keke Palmer? Right.
19:50 Speaker 04 You know, I mean, now I'm more conscious of it, like, okay, let's do this this time around. Let's do, you know, a couple of different covers and make it interesting. But, yeah, before, I always tried to keep it simple. You know?
20:06 Keke Palmer? And just tell your truth, I suppose.
20:08 Speaker 04 Yeah.
20:09 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
20:09 Speaker 04 Through the music.
20:11 Keke Palmer? Well, you're here, speaking of through the music, you're here for a very exciting reason. You're here getting ready for this new project, Here For It All, that's coming out September 26th. Congratulations.
20:20 Speaker 04 Thank you.
20:22 Keke Palmer? I mean, this is a huge treat for us that I don't even know we deserve. It's been, what, seven years since your last project?
20:28 Speaker 04 Yes.
20:29 Keke Palmer? What made you say, now, let me throw them a bone?
20:33 Speaker 04 You know what it was? I started doing, making songs, writing songs and recording songs. And then I would have like four new songs, which really isn't even close to enough for an album. Maybe some people think it is, but I just knew I needed to do like 10 songs at least and whatever. And then I said, this should be an album. Let's, let's just do an album.
20:57 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
20:57 Speaker 04 And we did.
20:59 Keke Palmer? Mean to you?
21:00 Speaker 04 Here for it all is the last song on on my album, Here for it all. And I decided to name the project after that song because it's, to me, it's definitely the best song on the album. I mean, depending on what you like or whatever, but for me personally, it's the best song on the album and it's very real.
21:23 Keke Palmer? Is there a lyric or a section in that song or the album that you think epitomizes it all?
21:30 Speaker 04 Hmm, it really goes from the beginning to the end and you just gotta listen to it. And it's a very, the ending is kind of like, I don't, I don't want to give away all the little things, but it's, it's very much like, you know, it goes into kind of like a a gospel moment and a different moments. It's kind of like Fly Like a Bird-esque, but with other songs in the front.
21:53 Keke Palmer? Yes, I can't wait to get into that because I'm definitely loving type Dangerous.
21:58 Speaker 04 Oh, thank you.
21:59 Keke Palmer? We have the Eric B is the president sample, which is dope. What made you want to lead with that?
22:06 Speaker 04 I think everybody that was involved with the project was just like, let's do this. And it, it just felt like, you know, felt like me, I'm a New Yorker, what can you say?
22:15 Keke Palmer? And I love the video. The video has that fun, that camp.
22:19 Speaker 04 Yes.
22:19 Keke Palmer? That I love, love when you get into that. You know what I mean? Because it's such an awareness, you have such an awareness around yourself. And I'm wondering, when did that become a thing for you to lean into? When did you realize, okay, like, people have this idea of me, I'm this diva or this thing. Well, let me actually like lean into the elusive Chanteuse.
22:38 Speaker 04 Yes, well, before they called me the elusive Chanteuse. Um, I was doing, what do you call it? When you're just kind of like making jokes and doing whatever. I was just being myself, like the self that nobody really knows in the public. I was just like joking around and we ended up doing the honey video. We were speaking Spanish and, you know, running away from the bad guys.
23:04 Keke Palmer? I feel like that video was forty million dollars.
23:06 Speaker 04 That video was a lot of money.
23:12 Speaker 04 Yes.
23:13 Keke Palmer? OMG. Now, well, let's talk about some of the collaborations because you've been working a lot with my guy, Anderson Paak. I love Anderson Paak. I mean, what about him? I mean, how long have you known him? Was it for this project? Or have you guys always been friends and just decided to, hey, let's collaborate on this?
23:28 Speaker 04 This was for this project. I know him from now.
23:32 Keke Palmer? Yeah, yeah.
23:33 Speaker 04 Yeah.
23:34 Keke Palmer? Now.
23:34 Speaker 04 Know him from now.
23:35 Keke Palmer? No timeline.
23:38 Keke Palmer? What is it about him you think that made you guys collab so well this time around?
23:42 Speaker 04 I just felt that his style of music would really blend well with mine.
23:49 Keke Palmer? Yeah. I see you guys hold hands a lot.
23:51 Speaker 04 Well, you know, that's how we do.
23:55 Keke Palmer? Maybe there's a little love there.
23:57 Speaker 04 Maybe a little love, who knows?
24:01 Keke Palmer? Do you have a type?
24:03 Speaker 04 Uh, type dangerous.
24:09 Keke Palmer? What does it take for a guy to get Mariah to take them seriously?
24:14 Speaker 04 Um, I don't know. They just have to be a cool person and, you know, understand that I'm just a regular person that has jokes and moments and doesn't acknowledge time.
24:31 Keke Palmer? I mean, it has to be so... I mean, I'm not you, and even I, as, you know, the perceptions that come with being an entertainer, it can make it so hard to find a way to have grounded moments. You know, I mean, you're a cultural icon. Like, you know, there's not a world that really I remember that I didn't know you. I remember being a kid and my sister having a VHS tape. She's also a huge fan. She's here watching. Hey, Lariel.
24:54 Speaker 04 Hey.
24:55 Keke Palmer? We watched this tape of all of your performances and all of your interviews. I don't know what this tape was, but we would watch it like every single day.
25:03 Speaker 04 It was called The First Vision.
25:05 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
25:06 Speaker 04 Yay, I knew something of my own.
25:09 Keke Palmer? No, girl, wait a minute. That was a big deal. That was such a brilliant, how, what made you put that together? Because that was such a brilliant thing for the fans.
25:18 Speaker 04 Oh, it really was for the fans, but I'm gonna give it up to the label from back then, the first label, they wanted to do it.
25:24 Keke Palmer? So smart.
25:25 Speaker 04 And that was their thing. And I did it.
25:28 Keke Palmer? Girl, we watched it all the time. And so, when you have that kind of impact, like, how do you create a grounded world for yourself where people aren't doing that?
25:40 Speaker 04 Yeah, I don't know. You would know just as much as I know.
25:46 Keke Palmer? I mean, after a while, it gets pretty impossible. You kind of just, um, especially with dating, it becomes very difficult, I'll honestly say for myself, because there's a gender, there's, there's like gender norms and then there's double standards. Where it's like, no matter what as a woman, you, you know, your success is always going to be an overshadowing. Even if that man is, you know, and with men, they can be super successful and they could be dating who shot John and no one cares and it's never a thing. You know what I mean? Like, no one's thinking of it or measuring them against them. But as a woman, when you're very successful, it's almost as if no one can measure up.
26:24 Speaker 04 Right.
26:25 Keke Palmer? Even if they do to you, they can't to themselves.
26:28 Speaker 04 Mm-hmm.
26:30 Keke Palmer? I mean, how did you, have you, have you lived through that? Because it's hard for me.
26:36 Speaker 04 I've lived through it kind of with different people who shall remain nameless.
26:45 Speaker 04 And, you know, you just gotta like, hold on tight and get through it. You know, I, I don't really know how I do that, but that's something that I do. I'm not really focused on other stuff, like, you know, which guy am I gonna be with this day or who, you know? I'm, I'm just not that person. I'm a very kind of shy person, so.
27:08 Keke Palmer? Yeah, would you get married again?
27:11 Speaker 04 Go for three, why not?
27:16 Keke Palmer? When you think about your first marriage and what you thought about it then, how is your concept, I mean, yeah, you'd be open to it, but how would it look differently now?
27:24 Speaker 04 Well, I did love my first wedding dress. And then I wore it in the We Belong Together video. Did you know that?
27:31 Keke Palmer? No, I did not.
27:33 Speaker 04 Yeah, it was good.
27:35 Keke Palmer? So the dress can come back?
27:37 Speaker 04 Dress can come back, for sure. Like, you know, it was my first wedding. I should just be nice about it. It was great.
27:45 Keke Palmer? But also, you could be truthful. I mean, things change. My ideas around that stuff change every moment, especially after having kids. You know, I think I always knew I wanted a son, a child. It could have been a boy, it could have been a girl, it could have been them day. I knew I wanted a child.
28:00 Speaker 04 Yeah.
28:01 Keke Palmer? And I think there was a moment in my life where I cared about marriage and all those things. But, you know, at the end of the day, I'm also Keke Palmer, you know? So I don't know that it looks the same for me the way that it looks for other people. And so that's changed, the way that I think about it.
28:18 Speaker 04 Right.
28:19 Keke Palmer? What is it like to be the queen of Christmas?
28:22 Speaker 04 Well, I love Christmas so much. People are just like, oh, yeah, that's just an act that she puts on. But really, I love it so much.
28:33 Keke Palmer? Oh, my gosh, who doesn't love Christmas? People that don't love Christmas are crazy.
28:35 Speaker 04 I know, but they don't love it like me.
28:39 Keke Palmer? I mean, how did that come to fruition? Like, what was like, obviously, you've done amazing Christmas songs, albums. But what made you say, okay, I'm gonna make this my thing? Was it just the world that did it and you leaned in? Or was it something you set out to do?
28:53 Speaker 04 I think it was the world that did it and I leaned in because there'd be like moments when my songs would be playing and I'd be like, oh, okay, people like this song for Christmas. And then I just definitely leaned into it and said, you know, this is my favorite thing. I'm so happy that people are liking this.
29:14 Keke Palmer? Yeah, yeah. I look forward to it. When You Believe is one of my favorite songs from the Prince of Egypt. It's a duet with you and Whitney.
29:23 Speaker 04 Yes.
29:24 Keke Palmer? I just want to talk about that time, you know, how did the song come to you guys? And how did you feel about doing it together?
29:31 Speaker 04 Well, prior to that moment, we had not worked together at all or done anything together. Or knew, and we didn't even really know each other at all. But that happened and that was the greatest part of the moments.
29:46 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
29:48 Speaker 04 And, yeah, it was, it was a beautiful song. I didn't, we didn't write this song.
29:55 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
29:55 Speaker 04 Um, that was Clive Davis saying, hey, do this, you know? And, um, so we did it. And we, we, you know, we each sang the song separately. And, um, it was, it was a beautiful, beautiful moment.
30:10 Keke Palmer? What do you remember about, I mean, obviously you didn't record it with her, but being with her, what did you remember about you guys performing the song together or preparing for the song together?
30:19 Speaker 04 Well, there's a few different moments that happened, like, you know, throughout the thing. Preparing for the song together, I would say, how did we actually do that? It's hard because, you know, people were pinning us against each other.
30:35 Keke Palmer? Well, that's right.
30:36 Speaker 04 Yeah.
30:37 Keke Palmer? Yeah, I mean, for a while, people were very much so. It was the whole, you know, pop divas and it, one can only be one and this and that. So that's why I was curious of what it was like when you guys found, you know, what did people not understand about your actual relationship?
30:49 Speaker 04 We don't know. And, and she, if she were here today, she'd be like, I don't know, and neither does she.
30:56 Keke Palmer? Huh, hilarious. It's kind of one of those things where the world takes and says what they say without even really any real knowledge.
31:03 Speaker 04 Yeah, without knowing. But we ended up being really, you know, friends with each other. And when she was around, I had a good time, like, that's all I know.
31:14 Keke Palmer? Yeah. Well, I love to hear that. I mean, I love you both. And it was really awesome to see you both do that song together. So you've won five Grammys and you've been nominated thirty-four times. And I hate this concept that we hear so much where people say, oh, this is underrated. And I don't really love that term. But I'm curious with you, if you feel like, you know, the women in this industry are celebrated as much as they should be, or if the accolades and the nominations and the wins reflect their true impact.
31:45 Speaker 04 Hmm. It does seem like men get more acknowledgement and all of that than women. Maybe I'm wrong, but it it just seems like that. Yeah.
31:55 Keke Palmer? Yeah, it does. I mean, and really, I don't really know what the answer to it is or what the reason would be. You know, sometimes there's randomly the rules change, and therefore the awards change. And the the goalposts can constantly keep moving. For you and your career, what has been the thing that's let you know you're appreciated? Or if that even matters?
32:17 Speaker 04 It wasn't awards. I did feel like I got jipped out of some of those awards, but that doesn't matter.
32:32 Speaker 04 But yeah, do I think women get less, they receive less?
32:37 Keke Palmer? Yeah, like if their names are kind of written out of the history of it.
32:40 Speaker 04 Yeah.
32:41 Keke Palmer? Through these systems.
32:42 Speaker 04 Yeah, I do.
32:43 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
32:44 Speaker 04 I believe in that.
32:45 Keke Palmer? Yeah, me too. Is there a way we change it?
32:48 Speaker 04 Can we, can we try?
32:49 Keke Palmer? Yeah, I mean, I'm, yeah, I mean, what board do we gotta get on?
32:54 Speaker 04 You know, that's a good question, because there is definitely is a board.
32:57 Keke Palmer? You know there's a board.
32:58 Speaker 04 There's gotta be a board.
33:00 Keke Palmer? Yeah, yeah. I know, I know I'm on a couple of them, but I don't know that it's working.
33:04 Speaker 04 Ah, whatever I'm doing is not working with that, so.
33:08 Keke Palmer? But then also, the question is like, you know, I was just saying, like, does it matter? And if it does, does it, I mean, it's like, does it matter, you know, which maybe it does, the history and the systems and making sure that there's representation? But then also, like, as an artist, value has to come from somewhere else. We can't always look for it outwards.
33:27 Speaker 04 Yeah.
33:28 Keke Palmer? So where does it come from for you?
33:32 Speaker 04 Well, you know, my life a little bit since we've been sitting here. I've been talking your ear off about it. But I do think a lot of it was from outward, you know, with me. Awards and all that stuff. But it's clearly not the right answer. It's not, you know what I mean? So, um, yeah. I think if we can have our inner selves come to the world with like whatever we're reaching for, then that would be fantastic.
34:08 Keke Palmer? In those early days, what do you think you were reaching for? If there was like a question you were trying to get answered?
34:16 Speaker 04 You know, I don't know. I need to go a little bit more to therapy to figure that out.
34:22 Keke Palmer? Yeah, trust me, I know.
34:23 Speaker 04 But, yeah, it's just, it just is what it is.
34:28 Keke Palmer? Yeah. I really do feel that.
34:33 Keke Palmer? What's inspiring you lately? Or what inspired you for Here For It All? Was there, you know, was there a moment or a thing or something?
34:41 Speaker 04 Yeah. Here For It All is definitely my favorite new song. It's my favorite new song that I've put together. And, you know, it's, I don't know that it's gonna be everybody's favorite, but it's my favorite.
35:00 Keke Palmer? How did motherhood shift your perspective?
35:04 Keke Palmer? Wow.
35:11 Keke Palmer? Baby, I just had the wildest ride with The Prophecy, Season Two, on Audible. And Kerry Washington, she's taking supernatural thriller to a whole new level. Dr. Virginia Edwards really thought she could finally breathe easy, but the universe said, "Not today." Just as she's setting in with her family, the power-hungry billionaire cult leader shows up threatening everything she's protected. On top of that, she's being hit with these intense visions, cryptic, otherworldly, and impossible to ignore. Now, she's racing. It's time with just one month to decode them before the world falls apart. And where do these visions lead her? Straight into the deep south on a relentless run. Giancarlo Esposito is locked in as the villain and he's hot on her heels and coming with full force.
35:56 Keke Palmer? But good thing Virginia's got her trusted Ally Moses, played by Dulé Hill, riding shotgun. He and Kerry Washington go way back to psych. But this time their characters are trying to stop a plan that could change the world forever. The performances will grab you and the sound design, it'll pull you so deep into Virginia's world. You'll be looking over your shoulder at every strange noise. Whether you caught the first season or you're diving in fresh, the Prophecy Season Two serves up thrills, chills and some serious what would I do moments. Ready to test your faith and face your fears? Listen to the Prophecy Season Two now on Audible. Head to audible.com/prophecy2 for your free trial. Trust me, this is one prophecy you want to hear.
36:44 Speaker 04 It's hard to say because I have different eras with my kids. Like when they were babies, that was one thing and they were so tiny and cute. And then, you know, a couple of years later, they would come on stage with me when I was, I was doing a, a Christmas show at the, um, what's the name of the theater? The Beacon Theater, that's it. Um, they would come on the stage with me and it was really like, it was just so beautiful. I loved that as a moment. And then, you know, kind of now, or there's been times in between then and now, but, um, we are just a, a family and it's a beautiful thing.
37:24 Speaker 04 Even when they want to do their own thing, even when it's like, you know, oh, I'm not going out with you to da, da, da, da, whatever. Yeah, they're, they're still everything to me.
37:34 Keke Palmer? Do they sing your music? Do they have a favorite version of you as a Mariah's and me me?
37:43 Speaker 04 I don't know, they don't really sing my music. I mean, I heard my daughter singing my song the other night, which was good.
37:50 Keke Palmer? Does that give you life? Like, would you love if they were into entertainment? I mean, both their parents are entertainment. Would you love? That or would you not?
37:59 Speaker 04 I wouldn't mind it. I would always want what's best for them in their heart. What they're gonna love doing the most. Yeah.
38:06 Keke Palmer? Yeah, I would love it if my son wanted to be in entertainment. I mean, I don't want to like be like a stage mom and push it on him, but I would live for it.
38:13 Speaker 04 What does he, what does he like to do?
38:16 Keke Palmer? Well, right now he's into cars and stuff. He's just two, but he does realize like that I'm a performer. Like he'll tell me to pull the camera up and he'll be like like he, he knows that I'm fake laughing. Like he knows to fake laugh. And it's the cute, honestly, I'm just gonna show it to you really quick.
38:33 Speaker 04 Okay.
38:34 Keke Palmer? Because I really think you're gonna live for this. It's absolutely insane. Oh, my gosh, here it goes. It's so cute, girl. My gosh, here he goes.
38:46 Keke Palmer? Even like a kiss on the forehead and you're like that.
38:53 Keke Palmer? And I found out that he does that because one time somebody was taking pictures of me and he jumped in the photo and he started being like
39:01 Keke Palmer? it's the craziest thing. So, you know, I feel that we have a performer in our midst.
39:06 Speaker 04 Well, clearly we do. Wow, he's gonna do something.
39:10 Keke Palmer? Oh, my gosh. Okay.
39:13 Keke Palmer? What do you think or what would you want your kids to say about you as a legend? Thirty years from now, years from now, when they're, you know, speaking on your behalf or, you know, what would you say?
39:24 Speaker 04 Well, hopefully they would do it.
39:29 Speaker 04 You don't know, they might be like, no, I can't come today and do this.
39:35 Keke Palmer? Hilarious.
39:37 Speaker 04 You never know.
39:39 Keke Palmer? What do you think they would say?
39:41 Speaker 04 I honestly don't know. Like, they could say many things.
39:45 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
39:45 Speaker 04 But, you know, hopefully they'd say that I always cared for them and loved them deeply.
39:52 Keke Palmer? I know that's for sure. I mean, you've done so much. Music, obviously incredible fashion. I'm literally going and buying those pants soon as we leave. Is there anything that you feel like you haven't done, you know, or that you would want to do?
40:07 Speaker 04 I'm thinking about putting something together that's like some sort of cosmetics moment. But I gotta wait a little minute for that and then try and jump into it.
40:21 Keke Palmer? I'm here for a cosmetics moment.
40:23 Speaker 04 Here for it all.
40:25 Keke Palmer? Care for it all. Yes. Okay, this has to be, I have to bring up your masterclass, right? You did masterclass. And you said something very interesting. You said, "I don't know if I have survived the music industry yet. I'm still trying." I mean, that's really powerful. And it kind of ties back to some of the things we've been talking about. But what did you mean when you said that?
40:49 Speaker 04 Exactly what I said.
40:52 Speaker 04 Like, I'm still trying to survive the music. It's a tough industry to be in.
40:57 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
40:58 Speaker 04 From such an early age. And then, you know, trying to just, even just having a good friend in the music industry. None of it's easy.
41:07 Keke Palmer? No.
41:08 Speaker 04 I mean, for me, it wasn't easy.
41:09 Keke Palmer? It ain't easy for me either with entertainment. It's not.
41:12 Speaker 04 Yeah.
41:13 Keke Palmer? I think that's why I was so excited also to talk to you because, you know, it, you know, I would, I'm hoping, and I feel like I have been in this conversation, learning how to deal with it. I think something that you do so well is you deal with it so much grace and humor. Which I know is, you know, that's kind of my language with stuff. Is I make a joke, "Oh, you know, eh." You know, but there's a lot going on underneath.
41:35 Speaker 04 Yes, yes.
41:36 Keke Palmer? And we do get that from your music, from your lyrics and the things you say. That's why I was living for breakdown, because it was helping me break down.
41:47 Keke Palmer? But for you, under, you know, when you're dealing with it, outside of the humor, outside of the laughter, what is your way to cope?
41:57 Speaker 04 It's kind of interesting because for a while, I didn't get involved in the industry. Like, I did at first, and then, you know, a couple of years went by and I was just kind of like, not really approaching that moment. It wasn't like, oh, let's all be in our, with our industry caps on and, you know, like.
42:24 Speaker 04 But now, I kind of feel like, okay, I'm coming back to it. I'm seeing people.
42:30 Speaker 04 And you know what I mean? Like I stepped away for a minute.
42:34 Keke Palmer? Just avoided it. I'm not mad at that.
42:38 Speaker 04 Maybe that's a thing we have to do.
42:41 Keke Palmer? I think so. I was just gonna say, that can also be what survival looks like. It's just. Taking a step back. Yeah. Exited, coming back, the elusive Chanteuse. That sounds good to me.
42:56 Keke Palmer? Um, when you look at the difference of the industry when you came up to now, what do you think's been, yes, lost, but what's been gained? And do you see any positives?
43:08 Speaker 04 I think people have an easier time breaking into the music business because of technology and the whole thing. Um, but, you know, what do I think that means to me? I mean, it's a totally different business than it was when I first started.
43:27 Speaker 04 And I remember, because like I told you, I was crying when I was 18 because I wanted a record deal. Like now you don't even really need a record deal, you know?
43:35 Keke Palmer? Sneak on it.
43:36 Speaker 04 It's true, true. Um, but yeah, I, back then, I was like, I have to have this record deal. I have to do this. Like it was stressful.
43:46 Keke Palmer? Yeah. So probably the fact that some of the gatekeeping has let up.
43:50 Speaker 04 Yes.
43:51 Keke Palmer? But then, you know, we also hear these comments now where it's like, there's no more superstars. Why are there no more superstars? And I was thinking on something, I'm curious what you think about it, is like, I think that a lot of times, like, when we think about the concept of what a superstar is, there were a lot of stakes that those labels had in that person being a superstar. And a lot of times it was a deal that you didn't want to be in. Like it was something, you know, that's why they pushed it because you're the product and they damn near owned 100% of you. And so it's like, to me now, I feel like the reason why we don't have as many superstars is also because sometimes the labels don't have as much of a stake.
44:26 Speaker 04 They don't have as much of a budget.
44:28 Keke Palmer? Now get into that. Because where did the budget go?
44:32 Speaker 04 The budget went to hell in a... What did they say?
44:37 Keke Palmer? They spent that budget on that Honey video. That's where the hell it went.
44:40 Speaker 04 Well, you know, they owed it to me at that point.
44:45 Keke Palmer? But it's so weird. It's like, it is. It's so true. It's like the budget's not there. And then also the control's not there. And I feel like all of it together has created this thing where they're trying to create a ceiling. And then there's only so much that you can do as an independent artist.
44:59 Speaker 04 Right. And it's not as fun to make like, just like short, like little videos. Like, I didn't do one when we did Dangerous. Everybody felt like we have to
45:09 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
45:10 Speaker 04 come to the table with that. But, um, you know, it ends up being the artist's cost now.
45:16 Keke Palmer? Yes. It does.
45:18 Speaker 04 That's what it does.
45:19 Keke Palmer? It does. It really does. And sometimes I do feel like it's better because, hey, at least you're investing in yourself, um, because it doesn't come with strings.
45:26 Speaker 04 Mm.
45:27 Keke Palmer? But it does mean that, that superstardom that we know and that we knew, it's not the same.
45:33 Speaker 04 It's vague.
45:34 Keke Palmer? Yeah, it is. Uh, when you were talking to Power 105, you said that music today feels like fast food and it's harder to create classic songs. I mean, some of that was maybe answered in what you just said in terms of just like creating and the landscape. But how do you think we change that?
45:52 Speaker 04 Well, I think I was a little bit mean saying it feels like fast food, but I guess I just also meant how it gets created.
45:59 Keke Palmer? Yeah. I mean, fast food is good. I didn't, it wasn't too shady. But it's not always
46:02 Speaker 04 That's true. I didn't say it was Mr. Chow's or Nobu.
46:08 Keke Palmer? You know, we have to have genres of food. Sometimes you do want it fast.
46:14 Keke Palmer? But we do also need, you know, like you said, Mr. Chow's. We do need, uh, you know.
46:18 Speaker 04 Yes, Nobu.
46:19 Keke Palmer? Nobu.
46:20 Speaker 04 Mm-hmm.
46:20 Keke Palmer? Little bit of a millennia. Something to be constructive.
46:23 Speaker 04 Something.
46:25 Keke Palmer? How do we get back there? Or do we care? Or should we try to get back there?
46:29 Speaker 04 I think everybody who's in the industry is trying to get back there in their own way, but they're using new school methods. And it doesn't really create the same type of, um, you know, superstar.
46:44 Keke Palmer? What's an old school method you think we need to bring back? I mean, I know I think artist development, but.
46:49 Speaker 04 Yeah, I think that should happen.
46:53 Speaker 04 But do they do that? Do they do a little bit of that, maybe?
46:57 Keke Palmer? Some smaller production companies are. I don't know that the label do, or ever did. But like, definitely smaller production companies, a lot of them, you know, they can. But when you go straight to the label and you ain't got no support.
47:09 Speaker 04 That's it.
47:09 Keke Palmer? That's it. And then if you don't hit quick enough, then it's like, develop who? You're a failure.
47:17 Keke Palmer? It's crazy. It is. You know what I mean? Develop who, they don't care about what was going on. What's the most important lesson you've learned as a businesswoman? As not just an artist, because I think there's also a big change that's happening right now, too, where it's like, no, you don't need a label and you damn near don't need to hit record, but you do need a brand. When did that kick in for you?
47:43 Speaker 04 I don't know what year it was, but I was doing American Idol.
47:47 Keke Palmer? Oh, my gosh, yes. Y'all was shady on there.
47:52 Speaker 04 Some people were.
47:57 Keke Palmer? It gave us life.
47:59 Speaker 04 But I just remember that that was a bit of a shift. That time felt like a shift in the way people were approaching their careers.
48:09 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
48:10 Speaker 04 Or other, the labels were approaching stuff.
48:13 Keke Palmer? Yeah, and did that, did you feel like you immediately started making changes? I mean, because I feel like before then, you all, I mean, you, I felt like I saw that business acumen already, you know, in your career. So what were some changes after then that you felt you went into overdrive with?
48:29 Speaker 04 Well, it wasn't that I went into overdrive with it. It was just that, you know, we were doing this thing, which was one of the, those shows shifted the culture, really. So I didn't even really want to do the show. And then I ended up doing it. People convinced me. And I got on the show and I just, it just wasn't really me. It wasn't what I, what I was used to. But I took a check and.
49:00 Speaker 04 You can never go wrong with taking a check.
49:03 Keke Palmer? Okay. Do you think an artist who's like you, who's writing, singing, amazing vocals, producing, just building an early career, could break through in the same way?
49:14 Speaker 04 Like now, someone's doing that? I feel like it depends on the artist. And sometimes we see a new artist where they'll be just ready to go and people are loving them. And maybe not a new artist from yesterday, but you know, some artists that the world loves. And they haven't been around for a really long time.
49:40 Keke Palmer? Yeah. What's the biggest trap you think artists fall into? Or what do you, what would you have hoped someone said to you coming up?
49:48 Speaker 04 You know, everything coming up was in such a tight world for me that it's hard to sometimes answer a question like a normal person would just answer it.
49:57 Keke Palmer? No, I know what you mean.
49:58 Speaker 04 Yeah, yeah.
50:00 Keke Palmer? Because it was just a different time.
50:01 Speaker 04 Mm-hmm. And for me, a very different time because of the enclosed kind of thing I had going on.
50:09 Keke Palmer? Do you feel like you went through artist development during that enclosed? Or was it literally just total non-servant sovereignty and just do this, do that? And you learned on the back end?
50:20 Speaker 04 There was that, yes.
50:23 Speaker 04 But also, like, I was growing up while it was happening. I was growing within it. And you know, things that I already had, like my curly hair, I always wore curly hair. But that's like one thing that was mine. And you know, I pretty much had the same look as I had, you know, just getting into the music industry.
50:43 Keke Palmer? Yeah.
50:43 Speaker 04 Yeah, I didn't have like gowns and things.
50:48 Keke Palmer? Well, speaking of gowns and things, I want to take a stroll down memory lane. I play a game with all my guests. And I wanted to play this game with you called Mimi Memes, where we go back and look through some of your iconic memes and you tell me what was happening in the time that you filmed it.
51:02 Speaker 04 Okay.
51:03 Keke Palmer? Okay.
51:08 Speaker 04 I can't even believe this. Nine hundred dollars, you can't even freaking go on the treadmill.
51:14 Keke Palmer? So this is during, you said MC?
51:18 Speaker 04 Oh, E equals MC squared, yeah.
51:20 Keke Palmer? Yes.
51:20 Speaker 04 The promo that they did was like a bunch of little skits.
51:24 Keke Palmer? Yes. And you on that treadmill with those heels, girl.
51:29 Speaker 04 I know.
51:29 Keke Palmer? How real is that? Would you really do that?
51:32 Speaker 04 I would do that for a picture.
51:37 Keke Palmer? And who was the little, that was your dog?
51:39 Speaker 04 That was JJ.
51:40 Keke Palmer? That was JJ? He's no longer with us?
51:42 Speaker 04 No, he's always around.
51:44 Keke Palmer? I know that's right. Yes, yes. Okay, next clip.
52:05 Keke Palmer? Oh my gosh, babe, you look so cute.
52:06 Speaker 04 There's my babies.
52:08 Keke Palmer? Look at the boobs.
52:09 Speaker 04 They were babies.
52:11 Keke Palmer? I mean, it's time, we're always waiting for it. What are we getting this year? What are you gonna, how you gonna gag us?
52:16 Speaker 04 I'm figuring it out.
52:19 Keke Palmer? I cannot wait.
52:20 Speaker 04 I am trying to get it, make it mesmerizing.
52:24 Keke Palmer? Oh, well, I'm sure you'll do nothing but. We're waiting with bated breath.
52:28 Speaker 04 Yeah.
52:29 Keke Palmer? What's the next one, guys?
52:30 Speaker 04 So we got L, legendary.
52:33 Keke Palmer? Legendary.
52:34 Speaker 04 G, gorgeous. My blush. B, beautiful, all of you beautiful people. T, tantalizing. And even Q for quality.
52:49 Keke Palmer? I mean, I love this. When you went up there, did you already know you were gonna do this? Or was that just what came to your mind?
52:55 Speaker 04 No, that was just me figuring out what I was gonna do.
52:58 Keke Palmer? Oh my gosh, that is so funny when you say like, you know, which I believe to be true, that you're shy, but then you have all of this charisma and as soon as you get on stage, you just turn into everything and more.
53:10 Speaker 04 Thank you.
53:11 Keke Palmer? You're welcome. It's really true. It's so amazing how your gift just shines through. Next one. Now, what was happening there?
53:19 Speaker 04 That was the subway, and I hadn't gone on the subway in a very, very, very long time. And we were coming from an event, and that's a Versace blue dress. And, um, yeah.
53:32 Keke Palmer? And you had to get what you were getting, so you just said, "Let me sit down real quick on the subway."
53:36 Speaker 04 Yeah.
53:37 Keke Palmer? Still fabulous.
53:40 Keke Palmer? I love it. You smiling.
53:42 Speaker 04 Yeah.
53:44 Keke Palmer? And those gloves. What a nice little touch.
53:46 Speaker 04 I think that had to do with somehow when my hand got hurt, but you don't want to hear that story. We'll tell it in private.
53:52 Keke Palmer? That's exactly what we...
53:54 Keke Palmer? That's exactly what we wanted to know. Okay, next one.
53:59 Speaker 04 Oh, that's Aspen.
54:01 Keke Palmer? You were in Aspen. I've never been there. I've always wanted to go.
54:03 Speaker 04 Oh, I love it. Go to Aspen this year. I'll be there.
54:05 Keke Palmer? Oh, my gosh. That sounds so cool. I just hear stories about it. Like, what's the vibe in Aspen?
54:10 Speaker 04 It's...
54:11 Keke Palmer? Are we really snowboarding? Are we skiing?
54:14 Speaker 04 I mean, we could.
54:19 Keke Palmer? And really, it's the, like, the landscaping. That's the vibe, like?
54:24 Speaker 04 It's the mountains.
54:25 Keke Palmer? Mountains. Are we eating good?
54:28 Speaker 04 We're eating amazingly.
54:30 Keke Palmer? Really? What's your favorite food?
54:33 Speaker 04 In Aspen? What's my favorite food?
54:35 Keke Palmer? I feel like you probably have a chef. They could whip up anything.
54:37 Speaker 04 I do have a chef in Aspen, babe.
54:39 Keke Palmer? Period. See what I'm saying? So whatever, whatever you feeling.
54:42 Speaker 04 But I, I cook when I'm in Aspen, because it's for, in honor of my father. And, um, he made linguine with white clam sauce, and it was so good, and he left me the recipe when he passed on.
54:55 Keke Palmer? Oh, my gosh. Linguine with clam sauce. I'm about to give you a little clue.
54:59 Speaker 04 It's not for everybody, but I love it.
55:01 Keke Palmer? I feel like I need a little taste.
55:03 Speaker 04 Yes.
55:05 Keke Palmer? I didn't even realize you cooked.
55:08 Speaker 04 Here I am, cooking. This is last week or something.
55:14 Keke Palmer? And this is the one you have with Kehlani and Shansia.
55:16 Speaker 04 Yes, yes.
55:17 Keke Palmer? Oh my gosh, love them both. And Shansia, her new little track that's Shake It To The Max? I love her. How was that, doing that record with them?
55:26 Speaker 04 It was good. I mean, we're still trying to get all together in one place at the right time. Um, I was with Kehlani la- was it last night? Yes, last night. Um, and so we're all trying to come together and make it work, but we got them on the record.
55:41 Keke Palmer? Got them on the record, we need a little video, for sure.
55:43 Speaker 04 We're making a little video.
55:45 Keke Palmer? Yes! I can't wait.
55:50 Keke Palmer? Okay, next one, guys.
55:52 Speaker 05 Mariah, is it true you don't acknowledge the passing of time?
55:55 Speaker 04 That is true.
55:56 Keke Palmer? What do you mean by that?
55:58 Speaker 04 I just don't believe in it.
56:01 Speaker 05 Do you mean time zones?
56:03 Speaker 04 No, no, just time.
56:05 Keke Palmer? Just time.
56:06 Speaker 05 If we were to meet up later, how would we know when? We would just, it would just happen. On Mariah's time.
56:13 Speaker 04 Yeah, I would have somebody call you and figure it out.
56:17 Keke Palmer? I love somebody call you and figure it out, that means never. Oh my gosh. I mean, we're laughing, we're joking, but there actually is something so superior and specific about no time. Like, I think actually time is, you know, being the curvature of time, having it all in your hands. That's how we all should be living. We all should be. We're too focused on time, because really, what is 2 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 4 o'clock, 5 o'clock?
56:39 Speaker 04 3 in the morning.
56:40 Keke Palmer? You know?
56:42 Speaker 04 Yes.
56:42 Keke Palmer? Who cares?
56:43 Speaker 04 Sometimes I wake up at, I guess it's what we call, people call 2 in the morning, and think it's 2 in the afternoon and I'm still asleep.
56:54 Keke Palmer? It is what it is. Is that all we have? So, I just have to ask, because, you know, as a person that gets memed, I be getting memed. How do you feel about your memes, your current ones, the ones from years ago? Do you love them? Do you laugh? Do they take you back to a time? Like, what do you feel about the virality culture, as it's continued to grow?
57:14 Speaker 04 Hmm, I think it's going to continue and continue. Um, and I don't mind memes, like depending on what it is. Sometimes you see one you don't love, well, sorry. That's what it is. And then sometimes I'll see ones that I'm like, oh, that was so fun.
57:31 Keke Palmer? Oh, yeah, cuz they're taking those moments in time. And it's so funny when they flip the context.
57:37 Speaker 04 Yes.
57:39 Keke Palmer? Well, thank you so much, Mariah, for coming on the show. Seriously, I mean, it's been such a blast to talk with you and hang out with you. And for you reminding me of the vision tape. I need to find that vision tape. It's so good.
57:52 Speaker 04 Oh, thank you so much for having me. It's been amazing talking with you. And it's hard to find good people in the industry. So I'm glad we got to talk about that.
58:03 Keke Palmer? Oh, me too.
58:04 Speaker 04 Thank you. Thank you for having me here.
58:06 Keke Palmer? Thank you, and here for it all. We are here for it all since December 26.
58:10 Speaker 04 Yes.
58:11 Keke Palmer? Period.
58:11 Speaker 04 Darling.
58:17 Keke Palmer? Let's be real. Mariah Carey's influence is beyond words. For more than 30 years, she's been the blueprint for artists, creatives, and honestly, for women, period. She gave voice to vulnerability and power. She made glamour look effortless and resilience look divine. From penning some of the most iconic songs in pop history to redefining what it means to own your narrative. Mariah has done it all with the grace of a butterfly and confidence of a pop diva. So today, we're not just celebrating her catalog. We're celebrating her, the artist, the icon, the woman, the one and only, Mariah Carey. I hope you guys enjoyed this one as much as I did. See you next time, cuz baby, this is Keke Palmer.
59:11 Keke Palmer? Baby This Is Keke Palmer is hosted and executive produced by me, Keke Palmer. Lucas Segal is our post-producer. Our producers are Lauren Hampton and Molly Nestor. Hilary Esty McLaughlin is our executive producer. Production services provided by Evolution Media. Our original theme song was written and performed by me, Keke Palmer. For Team Kiki, my producer is Sharon Palmer. For Wondery, our managing producer is Olivia Fonte. Senior managing producer is Nick Ryan. And our executive producers are Emily Feldbrake, Aaron O'Flaherty, and Marshall Louie.
59:49 Speaker 05 Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat and Fish are back for a whole lot of wonderfully whimsical fun. What happens when you switch bodies with your best friend? Discover a caveman frozen in ice? Or make an alien so angry, he threatens to destroy the planet? Find out in season two of the Cat in the Hat podcast. The Cat and Fish are traveling the world in the great catastrophic cacophony cruiser, meeting genies, clown professors, cave trolls, and extraordinary characters along the way. With clever wordplay, imaginative rhymes, original songs, and stories celebrating curiosity, empathy, and creative problem-solving, every adventure brings something new to discover.
1:00:31 Speaker 05 It's a world of wonderful words, big imaginations, and plenty of heart for the whole family. Listen to the Cat in the Hat podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge all 20 episodes early and ad-free right now.
1:00:49 Speaker 01 There are books that change how you see the world. And there are books that change how you see yourself. In a new podcast series, a great book with Barack Obama. President Obama sits down with a series of surprising and sharp guests to explore six books that have shaped his life and perspective on the world. From Song of Solomon and the Fire Next Time, to All the Pretty Horses and Gilead. The president is joined by guests like Tom Hanks and Ta-Nehisi Coates to reflect on how these timeless stories shaped his thinking on everything from fatherhood to leadership. And discover together what they tell us about the world we live in and the world we want to create.
1:01:32 Speaker 01 Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of A Great Book with Barack Obama ad-free right now. Plus, access each audiobook discussed in the series. Download the Audible app today.
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