She made a presentable return effort with the album Charmbracelet three years ago but did not completely recover lost ground. So for a while there, it looked like Mariah Carey has become an icon of the ’90s, a name and a voice by which we will remember a past decade.
Now, Mariah has also had a good rep for having an excellent head for business, particularly in marketing herself. She is more than an artist. She knows what will sell. She has packaged a sound and a look that remains widely imitated. She knows that her fans like to listen to her sing a single syllable across several notes. She knows which artists to collaborate with. She is, however, not infallible and has made some wrong choices. But she can certainly put all that she has learned to work again and win. And won she has with her new album The Emancipation of Mimi.
Mimi is probably a nickname she has picked for herself. Emancipation means freedom. And as she triumphantly puts it by quoting Psalms 30:5 in the liner notes, "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning," joy has returned to Mariah’s career. She has another No.1 selling single with We Belong Together, over 200,000 downloads at last count, another No.1 selling album, Mimi is up from four to three again after 19 weeks in the Billboard 200 where it was also at No.1 and the prospect another number one seller in Shake It Off.
The process of how Mariah came out of Glitter and the mediocre Charmbracelet to produce something like Mimi should be in every music industry handbook. In fact I can imagine a documentary film or even a TV series, something like The Apprentice but focused on record production and marketing. Should be quite interesting and commercial too what with Mariah’s knock-out looks and singing style present in every show.
I like the fact that Mariah decided to forgo pushing her notes up and down and sideways or whatever in the sweet ballad We Belong Together. Take note of how she zeroes in on a note and holds it for emphasis in a tugging give and take with the music. I also like the mellow grooves of Shake It Up. As for the singing contest wannabes, there is Mine Again to impress the judges with.
The other cuts are It’s Like That, Say Something featuring Snoop Dogg; Stay the Night, Get Your Number, featuring Jermaine Dupri; One and Only featuring Twista; Circles, Your Girl, I Wish You Knew, To The Floor, featuring Nelly, Joy Ride and Fly Like a Bird.
Halina Sa Parokya ni Edgar by Parokya ni Edgar; Side A Gig Live by Side A; Versions & Beyond by M.Y.M.P.; Hale by Hale; Live by Nina; When Love is Gone by Martin Nievera; Jagged Little Pill Acoustic by Alanis Morissette; American Idiot by Green Day; God Bless the Child by Mishka Adams; The Look Of Love by Various Artists;
The Singles by Barbie Almalbis; Steady Lang by Brownman Revival; Half Empty, Half Full by Cueshé; Light Peace Love by Bamboo; Raymond Lauchengco by Raymond Lauchengco; By Request by U-Turn; Strike Whilst the Iron is Hot by Orange & Lemons; Kitchie Nadal by Kitchie Nadal; Chillout Project Acid Jazz by Various Artists; and Monkey Business by Black Eyed Peas.