Latto Says It Felt 'So Emotional' Working With Mariah Carey On 'Big Energy' Remix

On March 28, 2022, Latto released the remix of her hit single, "Big Energy," which featured Mariah Carey and DJ Khaled. It also contained samples of Tom Tom Club's 1981 tune, "Genius Of Love," equally sampled on Carey's 1995 hit song, "Fantasy."

This hit song came on the heels of "777," Latto's follow-up album to her debut album in 2020, "Queen Of Da Souf." "777," at the time, also featured "Big Energy" and appearances from Lil Wayne, Nardo Wick, Lil Durk, Childish Gambino, and Kodak Black.

Recently, the singer opened up to ET about the remix and why she decided to bring Carey on to the project.

Read on for more details.

In her interview with ET's Cassie DiLaura, the 23-year-old singer shared that she was performing on the Billboard Music Awards stage for the first time, adding that she felt so emotional about the thought.

"I keep telling myself, don't cry. don't cry. I did a dress rehearsal and I was watching my footage, and I was already about to cry. I'm like, 'Girl, you better not. You better not.'"

She also shared that she had to tell herself not to cry as she had always prayed and worked for this moment.

She also mentioned that she would be performing "Big Energy" on stage, which may include some guest appearances.

"I think they gotta watch and see."

While she spoke on Nadeska's show on Apple Music, she revealed how she felt when she discovered that the "Honey" singer would join her on the remix.

"Really big, really big. Huge, like fall out your chair, get back in the chair, fall out your chair, get back in the chair," Latto said, per Complex. "When we started talking about a remix originally, I was like, 'Mariah, but let me be realistic, that's just a sidebar. I'd love to have Mariah on it, but anyways.' And Mariah's actually on it. That's crazy."

Initially, she had reached out to Carey a long time ago but didn't think she'd get a positive response.

"I originally thought of Mariah for the remix back in like November when it first started going up but didn't think I could get her realistically," she told a fan. "Fast fwd I said f–k it and reached out. She was down." 

Latto admitted that when her team reached her with the news of Carey's agreement, she had the sharp reaction to tell them to stop playing with her.

She concluded, "When she got on the song, I feel like nowadays, like when people do remixes, it be like a little open first, come in and speak and dip for the rest of the record. This felt like a nostalgic remix to me. I was like, she came in and added to the song, she made the song way better. So I was like, I got a real remix. Period."

Although she never thought she would ever work with Carey, she revealed that she had a great experience working with her. She also admitted feeling so nervous before the recording session.

"I was so nervous," she wrote, adding laughing emojis. "I was like what do I say y'all lol but the conversation just flowed and she was so genuine and I definitely was overthinking. We was sipping on her liquor Black Irish and just kicking it fr."

She admitted that it was unlike any other recording she had done before. "We didn't even start shooting til 3am lol, we was shooting content till 10 am. Mariah is a night owl dahhlinggg."

Latto also added that the best part of the experience was hearing Carey do her signature high tones. "It was so natural for her. I'm like, 'Girl, are you a human?' Like, what? But she was so cool and so humble."

She also spoke of what it felt like to have Carey support her. "Mimi is a legend, and my mom and my aunts are superfans. Growing up, I remember seeing her posters on their wall and physical CDs. Mimi is that girl, and I got a song with her so it's all up from here."

The "Big Energy" remix became chart history after hours of its release. The song topped No. 1 on the US iTunes chart. It was also reported that Latto became the first woman in 12 years to top both US Pop and Rhythm Charts simultaneously. Other artists who were able to achieve that feat were Alicia Keys for her "No One" single, Mary J. Blige for her "Be Without You" single, Beyonce for her "Irreplaceable" single, Rihanna for her "Rude Boy" single, and Mariah Carey for her "We Belong Together" hit.

Latto took to Twitter to celebrate her win. "Don't talk to me about being humble God know [sic] my heart but he also know [sic] I'm from Atlanta and ima pop it EVERY TIME. I USED TO PRAY FOR TIMES LIKE THIS!!!!!!," she wrote, adding a prayer emoji.