Earlier this year the Bahamian Tourism Board bypassed scores of talented international Caribbean artists to pen a deal with Def Jam record label. The deal was to co-sponsor Mariah Carey’s latest project, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel.  Island Fuse suspects that the undisclosed sum was in the early six figure region. The deal enabled the Bahamian Tourism Board to print a collection of glossy promo pictures on Carey's album booklet, featuring Carey in the Bahamas.

No doubt Mariah Carey is one of America’s most celebrated international artists, whose career has proven longevity. To-date Carey has sold over 175 million albums, singles, videos and received 5 Grammy Awards. Her latest single Obsessed is her 12th platinum single, reinforcing her record as having more number one hits than any other solo artist including Elvis. She has also outsold the Beatles.

Recently Carey has been creating a lot of hype on her publicity tour, which she is also using to push her new fragrance, Forever, and her latest film, Precious. But apart from album sales with a few glossy images of the Bahamas its hard to see where the Bahamian Tourism Board is benefiting from this deal. The Bahamas has barely been mentioned in interviews or press statements, apart from the fact that Mariah owns a home there. In any case there seems to be very little means of measuring the success or failure of what appears to be a frivolous investment.