Mariah's biggest fan gets the surprise of his life

It all started when Marcus Tipton, who grew up in Nevada, and his friend Will Hudson secured tickets to a Sept. 1 taping of an Oprah Winfrey show via Oprah.com.

Show tickets are popular and hard to get, so Tipton was sure it would never happen; but it did. So, the two rearranged their schedules to join the audience, along with two other friends, Charles Ludeke and Brian Knox. They traveled to Chicago and viewed the show, which happened to be about "heavy" topics that Tipton can't share until after that show airs. The topics of the day didn't personally interest Tipton very much, but "it was cool. We were glad to be there."

After the show, Oprah talks with the audience about this and that, and it was during this talk the friends enthusiastic appreciation for Mariah Carey shone through.

"Everyone who knows me knows that I LOVE Mariah Carey," and the friends let Oprah know they were "obnoxiously huge" fans. Mariah Carey was to be a guest later that month, in a live show on Sept. 18. Oprah first asked if they were from New York, but when they responded they were from Missouri, she told them they could come to New York. They agreed, even before learning Oprah planned to foot the bill for all four friends to visit New York. "We were ready to go, anyway," Tipton said.

The four flew to New York, where they stayed at the Parker Meridian Hotel and enjoyed two days in New York prior to the live show.

On the day of the show, a car came and picked them up, but producers told them that although they still may get to meet Mariah Carey, they didn't have time for a segment including them. They'd still have front row seats, but they shouldn't expect too much.

"We were still happy to be there. But then, Oprah was standing maybe six feet away, talking about something that happened in a prior taping, then they showed it on a screen and it was us. They played the whole footage. It was kinda funny, kinda embarrassing." Tipton said. But then, Marcus and Will from Missouri were called up to introduce Mariah.

"Afterwards the producer was yelling at us, 'get up there now,' and Oprah introduced us to her and we got to meet her -- she smelled incredible -- it was such a surreal experience," Tipton said.

That would have been a fantastic experience for any fan, but what came next was even better. Mariah Carey was about to tape a music video and asked Hudson and Tipton to be in it. After the live show, Sharay, from Real Housewives of Atlanta, asked for a picture with Tipton. "A lot of people asked for pictures with us. They said, 'oh, you're so lucky,' we said, 'we know.'" Tipton said.

So, once again, the two friends were rearranging their schedules for another trip to New York, another posh hotel and more star treatment, and the video was created. But still more lay in store for Mariah's biggest fans. They're going to Las Vegas, Nev., in October, to a concert. They'll go both days to the two-day engagement. "I'm glad it's two days. The first day I'll probably be caught up in the surrealness of it. The second day I'll get to really enjoy the concert," Tipton said.

Tipton said he had some photos, but they're not currently available for publication.

Back in Nevada, Tipton's dad, Wayne Tipton, shared the excitement. "He called me and told me he was going to be on Oprah, and I thought, well, they're going to pan across him in the audience, something like that," Wayne Tipton said, "But I was just completely blown away," so much so that he told all his friends and relatives, who told all their friends and relatives. One aunt, a teacher, even watched the show with her students.

Tipton is the son of Wayne and Lorie Tipton, and currently resides with his mother near Fort Dodge, Iowa.