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Carey intends to use her new independence to move her career beyond music, as Whitney Houston and Brandy have done. She has hired Hollywood manager Sandy Gallin to help her break into film and television and has begun taking acting classes.
She is discovering that being on her own has downsides she didn't have to worry about when she was the wife of a record mogul. Carey became a tabloid target earlier this year when she accompanied Q-Tip to a New York City nightclub. One columnist wrote that they were dating and that Carey was spending her time partying with gangsta rappers. Neither item was true. A few weeks later, however, the board of a luxury co-op building turned down her application to buy an apartment. "It was ridiculous," Carey says. "There were rumors and lies about me being the next queen of gangsta rap, which did not help."
Still, she could not have chosen a better time to go out on her own. She may be separated from the boss, but right now Sony needs Carey more than she needs Sony. Although the company has the new Oasis record and a new Celine Dion album coming this fall, it ranks fifth in market share among the top six record companies. Which means that as long as Carey keeps turning out hits, she will be free as a Butterfly.