How Mariah Carey’s Glitter Soundtrack Saved a Fan’s Life on 9/11

MARIAH CAREY SIGNS HER NEW ALBUM 'GLITTER' — Source: Steve Azzara / Getty

September 11, 2001 will forever be remembered as one of the most tragic, fateful dates in American history. Nearly 3,000 lives were lost when four planes were hijacked by terrorists and crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. But in the middle of that devastation, one woman’s life was spared in an almost unthinkable way… thanks to Mimi.

That morning, Sara Botkin was running late for work at the South Tower of the World Trade Center, where she had a job on the 105th floor. She should have been upstairs with her coworkers when the first plane hit. Instead, she was still in the lobby.

Why was she late? Botkin stopped on her way to work to pick up Mariah Carey’s brand-new Glitter album.

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“I would probably tell [Mariah Carey], ‘You saved my life,’” Botkin told The Messenger in 2023. “I believe it was mostly good luck, and I do think that album may have saved my life.”

Watch the 2021 interview here!

When the first tower was struck, Botkin was about to get on the elevator. At first, she says she thought it was just the sounds of the city (New York) until she saw men running and yelling. Security urged everyone in the lobby to head upstairs, insisting the building was secure. But something told her not to listen. She followed a small group who pushed their way outside instead.

Sara Botkin survived that day. Though, 176 of her colleagues at Aon Corporation did not. Not long after, she received a signed Glitter CD and photo from Carey in the mail, with a simple message: “God bless.”

In the years since, Glitter has gone from flop to cult favorite. But for Botkin, it will always mean something deeper…