“From what I’ve been told, this is something Mariah is very proud of. Why not bring some rock and roll to this event?”
Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Twenty-six years ago, Taylor Momsen sang “Where Are You Christmas?”, a song written by Mariah Carey, in one of the strangest and most endearing holiday films ever committed to screen. But you by no means need to know this trivia in order to enjoy the fantastic tribute Cindy Lou Who — excuse us, Momsen — did for Carey at this past weekend’s MusiCares Person of the Year gala. Accompanied by the Foo Fighters as her backing band, Momsen performed two songs from Carey’s secret alternative-rock album, Someone’s Ugly Daughter, for the very first time on a public stage. Released under the name Chick in 1995, Carey wrote and produced the album as an escape during the Daydream sessions with the help of a friend. (“I wanted to break free, let loose, and express my misery,” she wrote in her memoir. “But I also wanted to laugh.”) Momsen lent the grit of her voice to “Hermit” and “Love Is a Scam,” achieving the impossible by the time the first verse of “Hermit” hit: Carey was beaming with appreciation and glee. Trust us, Mimi generally prefers to not endure such a torture.

This is the second time Momsen, the front woman of the hard-rock band the Pretty Reckless, has put her stamp on such an impressive tribute. She was also on hand to induct Soundgarden into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last November, performing “Rusty Cage” with all of its members. (Her relationship with the band started in 2017, when the Pretty Reckless opened for what became Chris Cornell’s final tour.) Doing covers wasn’t something that Momsen necessarily thought much about prior to this one-two grunge punch, but the experience taught her a few things. “At the end of the day,” she says, “it’s friends playing music together, and that’s what it’s all about.”

I feel like the Mariah and Soundgarden tributes have solidified a transition in your career to where you’re on an equal, respected footing with the artists you grew up admiring. Have you thought about it in similar terms?
I don’t know if I think that deeply about it, but, yes, it’s quite cool and I’ve done some reflecting. Playing with musicians that I respect never gets old. To be able to call both Soundgarden and the Foo Fighters friends of mine at this point in my life is a little surreal if I step back from it. I’m honored that those bands have asked me to play with them and to be a part of such amazing events. The reality of it is covers aren’t something that I generally gravitate towards. I like writing my own songs and singing my own music. That’s why I do this.

What made these the exception to your covers rule?
First off, it’s easy when friends call you and ask for a favor. It’s a simple yes. Covers aren’t exactly a struggle for me, but I don’t love doing them in general. In order to sing something honestly and truely, I have to believe what I’m saying. It has to feel like a piece of myself. Soundgarden always does that. They’re such an influence to me and my favorite band in the world. And with the Mariah tribute, the whole situation was kind of kismet. Pat Smear left me a voicemail and said, “I have the weirdest request and it involves Mariah Carey. You have to call me.” He filled me in on the whole situation and also knew I had just put out Taylor Momsen’s Pretty Reckless Christmas. Mariah has a strong connection to Christmas, of course, and she also has this secret grunge record. The whole thing seemed aligned and the songs were very fun in an opposite way of what I’ve done for Soundgarden. It was a complete 180 degree turn from the Rock Hall. I loved it.

Did you know about Mariah’s grunge background before Pat called you?
I actually did know about it because she had mentioned it a few times in the press. But I hadn’t listened to the songs or looked into them further. So Pat tells me, “Let me send you what we want to do and get back to me. We should do this.” I listened and I was like, Oh yeah, I can totally rock these. From what I’ve been told, this is something Mariah is very proud of. Why not bring some rock and roll to this event?

This is a unique situation for tribute. Both the audience and Mariah herself had never heard these songs performed live before, and there’s such strong mystique surrounding Someone’s Ugly Daughter. How did that influence your approach to the material?
My approach is always the same: Listen to the original and take its quality. My big thing is trying to get inside the head of the artists that wrote it, find the intent behind the song, and capture that in my own way. I don’t want to change it, because I don’t think it works if you do a full reimagining. But that’s not what either of these events were meant to be — it’s honoring the legacy of an artist. So I want to be as pure and true to the original as possible, but with my own feeling behind it. I find something in the song that relates to me and equate it to myself to really believe what I’m singing. In my opinion, that’s the only way to do a cover well.

THANK YOU @MariahCarey @MusiCares!!! It was an honor performing “Hermit” & “Love Is A Scam” with @taylormomsen. pic.twitter.com/4xwk9vX0WV

— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) January 31, 2026

How did you relate to those two songs in particular?
In “Hermit” there’s this line: “Antisocial / so unhopeful / antisocial.” I definitely relate to that feeling. I’m a New Yorker and every time I come to Los Angeles, it blows my mind a little bit with the world out here. I definitely relate to that mentality. And “Love Is a Scam.” I mean, what girl doesn’t relate to that? You’re in a relationship and it just feels like a fucking joke. There’s a tongue-in-cheekness to Mariah’s lyrics that are so enjoyable to sing. There’s a coyness to what she wrote in both of those songs — a wink and a smile. That was a really fun side of her music to explore further.

Have you rewatched your performance? It’s pretty telling that Mariah was singing along and enjoying herself, which wasn’t the case with all of the songs. I mean, this diva banned “We Belong Together” from being covered because of how much she disliked a certain take on it.
I sure have. I’ve seen the snippets that have come out online. It was a relatively private event, so there’s not a ton of official footage of it. It feels great to get her approval anytime. She’s so fantastic and iconic. To have the blessing of someone who’s so judgmental of covers feels great.

Would you implore her to rerecord or rerelease the album?
She should. Any artist who’s proud of something they’ve made should see the light of day at some point. The world would really love it. I hope that she does. Maybe now that we’ve debuted the songs and gotten them a little more visibility, it’ll encourage her team to finally pull the trigger.

There’s a passage in Mariah’s memoir where she discusses the motivation for recording Someone’s Ugly Daughter, which was to get out her rage amid the difficult process of recording Daydream. She writes: “It’s always been a challenge for me to acknowledge and express anger.” Do you relate to that sentiment when it comes to your own music?
Good for her. I don’t think I struggle in expressing anger. I thrive in it. I think rock and roll is certainly an outlet for that. It’s the main thing in my life that keeps me together, on track, and sane. I don’t know where I’d be without rock-and-roll music.

I know people hold the Rock Hall in differing levels of esteem, but Soundgarden very much wanted that honor and made a big show of being there. Did you drop hints that you wanted to help celebrate them or was it a given?
We’re past the point of dropping hints. I’m very close with all of them and have been for a while now. I’ve made it clear to all of them over the years that I love them so much. It’s hard for me to even put into words how much their music means to me and how much I love those guys as people. They’re just the absolute best. Anytime they need me, I’m there for them, and I’ll clear my schedule.

Why was “Rusty Cage” selected to represent one of the two songs at their induction? What does that song mean to you?
“Black Hole Sun” is an obvious choice for the other song, obviously, because of its popularity. “Rusty Cage” is the opposition to that, in a way. Soundgarden has such range in their music, and they wanted to capture both sides of the coin of their depth. “Rusty Cage” accomplishes that. It’s so, so complicated. The time signatures alone are mind-blowing. It makes them feel powerful to perform that song.

How did you not get invited to perform at Back to the Beginning for Ozzy? You literally got bit by a bat onstage. That’s a prerequisite enough for me.
There were talks about doing it, but we were on tour with AC/DC at the time and the schedule was slammed. It was one of those “couldn’t make it work” situations.

You were so kind to the bat. It was inspiring.
I love animals and, particularly, macabre animals. He was very cute. So it was a surprise that he decided to bite me, but it was all fine. The only thing terrible about it was the rabies shots afterwards and trying to get that sorted in every country. We were on tour, so I had to continue this process over the course of six different countries. It’s two weeks of a very, very strict regimen, and if you mess up or miss a time, they don’t work and you still have rabies. So that part sucked, and they made me incredibly sick. But the bat was otherworldly. I don’t know what that means yet, but it means something.

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