Mariah Carey went through a rather infamous breakdown in the early part of the decade, which included memorably-crazy appearances on the MTV shows "TRL" and "Cribs" and culminated with a trip to rehab for exhaustion in 2001.
Carey recently told Interview Magazine that the meltdown helped her turn her life around.
Said Carey:
I consider the breakdown a breakthrough. I needed to hit rock bottom. I needed to understand the cost of pushing so hard, fighting so hard against the system. But was I out of control at that moment? Yes.
I'm far from perfect. I'm still learning. I overworked myself, and I paid the price.
Oddly enough, this is yet another area in which Mariah was ahead of the curve. These days, every pop star goes to rehab and suffers from "exhaustion." But back in 2001, the exhaustion excuse was pretty much unheard of. Yes, Mariah Carey is a trendsetter.
