Carey's publicist, Cindi Berger, said Wednesday that the singer is feeling better and is under a doctor's care at an undisclosed location. Mother Patricia Carey, who is there with the singer, added, "[Mariah Carey] is fine. She's in a very positive place right now. . . . She is finally taking care of herself for the first time." Patricia Carey also dismissed rumors that her daughter had attempted suicide: "She respects life far too much."

In May, Carey had a spat on the set of Wise Girls with co-star Mira Sorvino, apparently over Carey's lateness. Three weeks ago, in an appearance on MTV's Total Request Live, Carey gave out popsicles to audience members, then ripped off her T-shirt stripper-style and, flaunting an ultra-snug tank top, flirted with seemingly baffled host Carson Daly. Days later, speaking in a record store, the singer supposedly began complaining about Howard Stern's jokes at her expense, prompting Berger to pull a microphone out of her hand and order a camera crew to stop shooting.

Privately, and in some interviews, Carey has revealed a more complex and troubled side. She has described a financially and emotionally unsettled childhood, and acknowledged lingering feelings of insecurity and alienation stemming in part from her multiracial heritage. (Carey's father is a black Venezuelan; her mother, who essentially raised Carey and two siblings on her own after divorcing him, is Irish-American.)