Carey Sings for Troops in Kosovo

CAMP BONDSTEEL, Yugoslavia (AP) - Mariah Carey sang her hit "Hero'' on Tuesday for U.S. peacekeepers, who snapped pictures of the blonde star, clapped and cheered, and joined her in singing.

Many of the soldiers held up pictures of the 31-year-old singer, who first appeared in a glittering white dress, then changed to a blue one before donning an all-red outfit.

Others in the NATO-led force in Kosovo held aloft U.S. flags and joined her in singing. Some shot pictures of the entertainer, who in September released her first movie, "Glitter,'' along with the soundtrack.

Staff Sgt. Jerry Jerome, 31, of Columbus, Ind., who has spent a little more than a month in Kosovo, said: "After Sept. 11, (our) way of life was infringed upon, and she is here thanking us for what we do and that's why it has meaning.''

The commander of the U.S. troops in Kosovo, Brig. Gen. Keith Huber, introduced the singer. Carey then kicked off her one-hour show blowing a kiss to the soldiers, and ended it by signing her pictures for the troops.
"I have such an appreciation for what you are doing for our country and appreciation for the fact that not everybody does what you do,'' she told the peacekeepers.
She then dedicated a song to them - a combination of her previous hit "Hero'' and a song she wrote shortly for her new movie: "Never too far.''
"Remember that when you are out here freezing,'' she told the soldiers. "Know that everybody (at) home loves you.''

Carey's concert was organized by the United Service Organizations and Armed Forces Entertainment. Other stars, including Salma Hayek, have visited the camp.

The United Nations and NATO took control of Kosovo in 1999 after Western airstrikes forced then-Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to end his crackdown on independence-minded ethnic Albanians, who are a majority in the province.