She said: “Growing up, I was a humungous Mariah fan. She was also able to use her experience from her day job as an administrator at a university specialising in degree courses tailored for the entertainment industry – which has given her “behind the scenes insight” into how things work.Īnd with a YouTube channel boasting more than 4,000 fans who are eager to see her lip-sync to the diva’s hits, once consumer confidence returns, her new show looks destined to be a hit.Ī diehard Mariah fan growing up, since recognising her likeness to the star, Jessie has appeared in a documentary and on US talk shows after her lookalike videos went viral.īut, while her performances before Covid were extremely lucrative, she says she is “not a natural performer” and her Mariah impersonating was only ever a ‘side hustle’ to her job as a university administrator. Just before the pandemic, Jessie had joined forces with a friend who works in showbiz marketing to devise a plan for a festive extravaganza. “Seeing people’s faces when I come out and sing Mariah as part of the festive celebrations would be a really nice Christmas present for me.”

“But the dream is to pick this up again and hopefully put my plan for a Mariah Christmas show into action for next year. “I love doing Mariah at Christmas, so it would be perfect, but Covid came along and killed it dead. “Mariah’s all about Christmas, but I don’t think people are ready to spend all that money on parties, when they can’t be sure how many people are going to turn up.

Mum-of-one Jessie, who lives with her partner in Orlando, Florida, USA, said: “People are booking me for a few weeks ahead now, but I still don’t think that by this Christmas it’s going to be like it was before. Undeterred by the slump, former military policewoman Jessie Castro, 40, is determined to fulfil her ‘Fantasy’ by designing an entire Mariah Carey Christmas show – with fir trees, backing dancers and festive decorations to win back fans. A Mariah Carey lookalike who was raking in more than £1,500 an hour impersonating her idol before the pandemic says Covid killed bookings, adding: “All I want for Christmas is parties!”

Mariah carey hero live 2010