Pop diva Mariah Carey [ tickets ] has dumped her plans to do a set on CBS's very first "Early Show" because CBS couldn't get a city permit to shut down part of Manhattan's Fifth Avenue in time.

Carey told CBS that if it didn't secure the permit by the end of Wednesday, Oct. 28, she wouldn't perform at the show's premiere on Monday, Nov. 1. At 5:45 p.m., she canceled, and within an hour got a slot on NBC's ''Today Show,'' according to The Associated Press. NBC's show will compete with the CBS show, but ''Today Show'' spokeswoman Allison Gollust told AP that they weren't trying to burn their rival by snatching Carey away from them.

''I don't think it's a chance to stick it to the 'Early Show,''' she said. ''There's no question a Mariah Carey concert would be a lot of fun, not only for guests of our show but our viewers. We would be silly to pass it up.''

The CBS show was not supposed to be publicized until producers had the permit, but the show was listed on Carey's website Wednesday morning, along with an upcoming appearance on the ''Oprah Winfrey Show'' the week of Nov. 8. An exact date for the latter has not been announced. Carey will also perform at the MTV Europe Music Awards on Nov. 11 in Dublin, where she has been nominated for Best R&B Act.

The irony for CBS is that shortly after Carey dropped them, they obtained their permit. But Steve Friedman, the ''Early Show's'' executive producer, was nonplussed.

''Life goes on,'' he told AP. ''This is not some major thing that's going to change the face of Monday morning. It's our premiere, people will watch us to see what we're doing. If we're good, fine. If we're not, Mariah Carey couldn't have saved us.''

Carey is going on national television to promote her new album ''Rainbow,'' which hits stores the next day. She will also make three record store appearances that week in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

While she won't be performing at those appearances, she will greet her fans at Coconuts in Manhattan on Nov. 2, the Virgin Mega Store in Chicago on Nov. 3 and Tower Records in West Hollywood on Nov. 5. At the Tower show, however, there's no free lunch: to attend, fans have to buy the album at Tower on Nov. 2 and pick up a bracelet.

Carey had her fourteenth number one single with ''Heartbreaker,'' which went gold on Oct. 21. She is chasing the record for number one singles set by the Beatles, who had twenty. She is also closing in on Elvis Presley's record for most weeks spent at number one. Carey now has sixty, compared to Presley's 79.

Thirteen songs--including ''Heartbreaker,'' a remix of that track with Da Brat and Missy Elliott--will appear on the ''Rainbow'' album. Carey has not announced a tour.