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'Empire' TV Series, Season 2 premiere, After Party, New York, America - 12 Sep 2015

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Mariah. Carey.

The name bears so much power, from vocals to global adoration, that it doesn’t take much explaining to define why she’s considered one of the greatest entertainers in music history and pop culture overall. However, for those too young to know, or who just need a reminder of her decades-spanning reign, MC is hard at work on developing a biopic series set to be directed by longtime friend and colleague, Lee Daniels.

The as-yet-untitled project was announced just under a year ago, and now it seems that a lead actress is finally being sought-after by the Songbird Supreme herself no less.

 

RELATED: 10 Best Music Memoirs By Black Women

According to The Jasmine Brand, Carey and Daniels are currently casting the film and are expected to go with someone with more acting skills as opposed to a vocal goddess. Daniels told Andy Cohen during the book tour for The Meaning of Mariah Carey, the “Honey” singer’s best-selling memoir which the series will be based on, that her story is “bigger than a film.” He sees it more as an “epic limited series” that, in his words, is “as big as Aretha’s story.”

 

 

“I didn’t know really how her mind ticked until I read that damn book and realized that she is what defines a diva — what really defines a diva,” Lee proudly stated to Cohen (seen above) of the singer/actress, who he’s worked with on films like Tennessee, The Butler and Precious. He went on to add, “It’s a complicated life that she’s had, and every song that she’s had was written from a traumatic or a powerful experience; she doesn’t get credit for that either. So, I’m excited about exploring that story. We just got to find somebody that’s going to be right to play her, which is going to be impossible, but you know — we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

It seems like we’ve now reached that bridge if the recent reports are true, and we can only pray they do justice in casting the right lead star that can captivate all that Mariah has meant to us over the years.

 

 

 

On the chance that Mariah Carey and Lee Daniels are having trouble choosing a lead actress for her upcoming TV biopic, we went along and put together a short list of ladies who could probably step up to the challenge. Let us know if you agree or if it’s “a no no” for them all:

 

1. Malia Baker

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2. Madison Pettis

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3. Antonia Gentry

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4. Shelby Simmons

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5. Sofia Wylie

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6. Zendaya

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7. Jordin Sparks

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