After being abruptly dumped by her longtime p.r. rep this week, Mariah Carey’s quickly moved to find a replacement — and is assembling a whole new management team ahead of what she hopes will be a career comeback.
Page Six exclusively reported that publicist Cindi Berger parted ways with Carey on Tuesday — and we’re told the “Emotions” singer has now hired the Chamber Group’s Chris Chambers, whose clients have included Drake, Lil Wayne and Quvenzhané Wallis.
Carey has also hired TV producers/managers Stella Bulochnikov and Brian Sher to represent her after severing ties in August with her former manager Jermaine Dupri.
“Mariah is creating a whole new team around her,” an insider said. “New life, new relationships, new label, new management, new publicist, new residency, new, well, everything.”
Earlier this year, Carey exited Universal Music Group to sign a new deal with L.A. Reid and Sony’s Epic Records, which reunited her with the execs who oversaw her previous comeback album, 2005’s “The Emancipation of Mimi.”
The departure of Berger after more than 15 years comes just weeks before the May 6 launch of Carey’s residency at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, where she’ll sing 18 of her No. 1 hits. An album of the chart-toppers will be released later this summer.
Berger has most recently guided divalicious Carey through a messy divorce from Nick Cannon as well as a highly publicized, epic holiday meltdown at Rock Center, during which Carey kept fans waiting in the cold for hours, then never showed to a taping of NBC’s “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” holiday special. She instead performed live a day later — but fans panned her pipes.
Despite the drama, sources said Carey’s “more focused” as she starts rehearsals for Vegas next week. “Mariah’s done a lot of soul-searching . . . and when she went into the studio to start work on her new album, she felt more happy and free than she ever had and realized she wanted a fresh start.” She’s also reportedly working on a Christmas movie with her pal Brett Ratner.