While Mariah Carey has remained in the media-scrape by way of babies, weight-loss, and live shows, the diva of divas has been on a musical hiatus for more than two years.
That all looks set to change, for it appears the 42 year old is gearing up for a return to the charts.
Details after the jump…
The ‘We Belong Together’ songstress has been on social media over-drive this week, touting the image above. Taking to Twitter today, she also wrote:
So.. Summer 2012.. Been in the lab, mixing up some concoctions for you, hope you like it!! #MCSummer2012
*********
Needless to say, we’re cautiously amped for this one. Mariah has seemed musically lost since 2005’s ‘Emancipation of Mimi’; however as that very album proved, a “comeback” is wholly plausible if the material is on-point.
We have our cups at the ready; here’s hoping Mariah pours out that qualitative goodness. No nursery rhymes about being ‘Obsessed’, getting ‘Up Out My Face’, or wanting folk to ‘Touch My Body’. No, no.
The industry age bias, as well as the point-blank “need” for Mimi to return to solid and image-appropriate material, means she has to do away with the aforementioned. Put simply, the industry is a very different place to what is was during the periods of her last releases. No longer can artists throw out a generic Pop hit and hope for album sales (just ask Usher). There exists a clear division between the acts selling singles (Rihanna, Flo Rida, and the like) and those who shift albums (Adele, Beyonce, and Lady GaGa). Mariah’s best bet at renewed relevancy is ensuring she stick to the latter group. As such, a re-branding of sorts is a must.
That said, bring on the summer!
![New Song: Nicki Minaj - 'FTCU (Sleeze Mix)' [featuring Sexyy Red, Chris Brown, & Travis Scott]](https://thatgrapejuice.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/nicki-minaj-thatgrapejuice-2024-ftcu-remix-sleeze-sexyy-red-chris-brown-travis-scott-464x260.jpg "New Song: Nicki Minaj - 'FTCU (Sleeze Mix)' [featuring Sexyy Red, Chris Brown, & Travis Scott].")
No longer can artists throw out a generic Pop hit and hope for album sales (just ask Usher). There exists a clear division between the acts selling singles (Rihanna, Flo Rida, and the like) and those who shift albums (Adele, Beyonce, and Lady GaGa). Mariah’s best bet at renewed relevancy is ensuring she stick to the latter group. As such, a re-branding of sorts is a must.
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I Agree, 10,000% … I like the little logo Mariah has as well.
http://www.thepagewithroyalkev.com
I’m excited for this era of Mimi! but i hope that the first single is sort up tempo or mid tempo being that it is summer and we need mariah to get her 19th #1 single on billboard! Lets go! -#MCSummer2012
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssss
i see all the anticipated ladies of POP coming outta the woodworks ahead of the VMAs. who’s next? Lady Aguilera?
Haha artists who shift albums?! Born this way and 4 were the most over hyped flops of 2011 that went away with NO grammys this year! Loud was a grand success and TTT about to be platinum (it has already out sold FAME) and had 2 hit singles.
Back to Mimi if she comes out with something mature she’ll be alright.
dead at a rhitard bringing up grammys
Gaga has 5 grammys like rihaha except they are for her own songs and albums not just a latch-on. girrrl Queen Bey has more grammys than rhiyodel does no1 singles
Now about TTT outselling The Fame…girl no. Please do some research before just posting random s***. Fame has 15mil WW, whereas Rihanna is just under 3mil with TTT. As much as I’m a Rihanna fan, I don’t deal with this kind of blatant fuckery. Sit
Just LOL @ this post!
Gaga’s last album has sold over 2 mil though, Rihanna’s has yet to reach the mil mark. Gaga is hardly a flop.
Sam, leave Usher alone ! Other than than, I liked those songs you just panned.
BTW OUTSOLD BOTH LOUD AND TTT. 4 OUTSOLD TTT. SO IF THOSE ARE FLOPS SO ARE RIHS ALBUMS.
First Kelly, Pink, now Mariah. I can’t take it! Now if Christina would get off the f****** Voice and get her new s*** together and release it already, all 3 will put these lesser b****** in their place.
Preach!! Xtina needs to exit The Voice already
ARE YOU CRAZY? Mariah has sold more records than all these chicks combined TIMES 2. Have you heard Christina Aguilera’s Loving me 4 me??? that’s the best Mariah copy-cat vocal…she is a vocal beast but Mariah has the RANGE and Vocal Control and the SONG WRITING SKILLS……MARIAH CAREY/WHITNEY/CELINE/MADONNA/JANET are icons…….pink, christina, kelly, beyonce blah blah are NOT in the same league as those legends. You sound totally Stupid.
@Ty ty Mariah is a vocal beast b/c she’s so technical and artistic with it. Christina just runs obnoxiously and screams.
How dare you! put Beyonce in the same league as pink, kelly and Christina… She belongs with Whitney coz she’s more talented than Celine, janet and Madonna #Plz sit down
Ok I see Mariah is Back!
No Doubt
Pink
Mariah Carey
Nelly Furtado
Missy Elliott
Alicia Keys
Christina Aguilera
Shakira
Nas
D’ Angelo
Solange
I can’t wait for their releases!
what a useless information!!! hatin all does f***** commercials the popping up as soon as im entering the website 🙁
People are so quick to think THEY know what Mariah should stick to or do musically. She proves naysayers wrong over and over. She is a musical genius. Her voice is an instrument unlike no other. She writes all her own songs. And she is able to adapt to current times and remain relevant in any decade.
And the song u slammed ‘Obsessed’ was a top 10 hit, her 27th. And who else but Mimi to put Eminem in his place and even mock and portray him in a music video?
And ‘Touch My Body’ only became her 18TH #1. So clearly a lot of people loved it.
Finally someone with sense in here!! Im so sick of people trying to act like they’re music critics or professionals…. Mariah Carey has nothing to prove anymore, she is a LEGEND just like Michael or Whitney were, but I guess once again we’re gonna have to wait until she dies so that people finally recognize she was, like u said, a musical genius!
TRUTH!!!
Right, I was so confused reading the comments to this article.
”Needless to say, we’re cautiously amped for this one. Mariah has seemed musically lost since 2005′s ‘Emancipation of Mimi’; however as that very album proved, a “comeback” is wholly plausible if the material is on-point.”
Even though (in my opinion) I felt ”touch my body” & ”Obsessed” were below Mariah Carey, her last two albums after ”The Emancipation Of Mimi” we are also great albums, but they were slept on, why…. I don’t know. I still bumps ”Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel,” it is a really great album, it just didn’t get the recognition it deserved.
I sure hope she is working with LA Reid on this one, he is the executive producer behind EM=C2. That said, I think depending on the material, she’ll have a solid album and relatively good sales. It all depends on the material with Mariah Carey.
LA Reid is not what she needs, th E=MC² era was one of the worst eras Mariah ever had… No promo, no good single releases, only one #1…
it is too early to talk about Usher’s Album and analyze it’s sales ………………..
i’m XD and do not expect much at the same time , i hope people are as excited as you @sam , but her latest album didn’t ….
Ugh ….. another BIASED stanning-filled stan-war-igniting POST from @sam
how the last Xmas CD of the diva of divas who don’t mind collaborating with JustinE beaver for relevancy did tho ?
No longer can artists throw out a generic Pop hit and hope for album sales (just ask Usher). There exists a clear division between the acts selling singles (Rihanna, Flo Rida, and the like) and those who shift albums (Adele, Beyonce, and Lady GaGa)
i don’t think Beyonce belongs to that category not even Gaga because this is her moment so it is assumed that she should sell 20 million or more just like all the biggest artists in their moment did, you know, MJ, Madonna, Whitney, Celine, Mariah, Britney ect..ect… hell even usher with Confessions, so he don’t have to worry about sales anymore, back on topic i just hope this new album is better than her 2 previous records, just go back to 2005 Mimi, we belong together…..
Beyonce, Gaga and Adele do belong in the same category when it comes to albums! Music industry today ≠ music industry 10 and more years ago!
Miao.
I don’t think so, Mariah has the ability to take her crown every time she fall, Beyonce not, Gaga is falling before reaching the top. “Charmbracelet” sold 4 million WW, “The Emancipation of Mimi” sold 12 million WW, this is how the public can call you Queen, the old way, earning your crown. Bows to Mariah!.
Who says that Beyonce’s next album won’t outsell (her best quality album to date) 4?
Gaga’s in the game for like 4 years and b**** is on her STADIUM tour! That says all!
I don’t know why, but in ur every Gaga related post u sound little pressed. And don’t get me wrong, i want great album from Mariah too. So, it’s all good..
Miao.
i like Gaga but let’s be honest, this is her moment , her sales must be the same of adele, that’s it, about Beyonce in my world, her name and the name of Mariah Carey not exist.
i mean, MARIAH and Beyonce together not exist in my vocabulary.
It´s obvious Beyonce doesn´t belong to the group Mariah belongs. Who doesn´t know that? The girl didn´t do it the massive way true huge acts in music history did, mariah one of them
That is what i’m saying, why is so hard to understand for some people?.
Thank you! That’s what I’m saying. Considering the amount of hype around Gaga and Beyonce their albums should have gone diamond!
@Sam. You stan for flops like Kelly R, yet you constantly dog Mariah out for her last couple of underperforming projects. When was the last time Kelly had a BB #1 hit, or smash album? Mariah wouldn’t be Mariah without the fun tunes.
I’m sure her next album will be mature, do to the birth of her twins. However, that doesn’t mean she can’t release the fun uptempos she love so much.
I don’t see this blog talking trash about the crap J.Lo releases.
B**** Do Not End your life early and come for J.LO , she is a goddess you H**.
@Nichole is right. J.Lo releases crap (she can´t do it any other thing though, it´s not her fault) and we don´t read negative things on TGJ each and every time like they do with Mariah, one of the huge ones in music world
LMAO
What is you definition of goddess?
*due to the birth of her twins.
“No longer can artists throw out a generic Pop hit and hope for album sales (just ask Usher). “<– OUCH!! Did I miss he post about Usher's 1st week sales? Were they really that bad ppl?
Anywho, I would be interested in seeing how MC returns. That snowsuit "camel toe" incident hopefully gives her a hint that she might have to pull her old s*** ways in a bit or face horrible criticism! The times in the music industry certainly are changing. I wish her luck!
Why do your hating a** always have to write a damn essay when it comes to Mariah. It’s the same tired shyt over and over. Shut Up !!!!!! Mariah scored hits with her last few singles. Musically lost? Her last two studio efforts were platinum plus & gold. She is hardly musically lost. Nothing was wrong with her image. She is a one of a kind artist so she’ll really be all good. She is amazing. Beyonce’s last effort did not shift many units. Stop trying to squeeze her into everything. Also, this could possibly be for something else. This doesn’t sound like it’s strickly for music.
You’re just a hater of Mariah’s Sam. It’s funny how u talk about flops, but you gloss over all of the other r&b bombs or albums that flop. All of Mariah’s albums are certified. Kelly Rowland whom i like had a huge r&b hit, but her album completely underperformed. If you wanna be taken seriously stop being an idiot. Mariah’s lowest selling albums outsell your favorite artists albums. Bottom line….
I can´t wait!
But I have a feeling maybe it is not about music still (this summer)
How Sam always finds something negative to say about Mariah Carey (apart from good things cos obviously it´s impossible to elude her greatness) is beyond me? Does he do it with Beyonce, Kelly, Michelle and Solange? What are those girls?… the biggest music makers in history or something? LOL He needs to leave the bubble in which he entered more than 10 years ago when Destinys Child were at their peak, cos all that ass shaking is not memorable or something, and they kept doing it as solo acts later on (either that or just flopping) So please!!!
Again, as a 14 year MC fan, I’m cautiously optimistic about what she has in store. Unlike the stanbases of these newer singing ladies, stans of Mariah, Whitney, Celine, Janet, and Madonna are of a different breed. We’ve been doing this so long and have been invested in the diva ups and downs so long that our expectations of our divas are high on fronts that aren’t sales related. See, we’ve done the record-breaking sales thing, the classic hits thing, the tour dominance thing, the awards show slaying, the press manipulation thing, and etc. At this point, we want our icons to push themselves artistically.
With Mariah, she has become spotty at best. I hated MOAIA, but then MCIIY dropped and I was enamored. My biggest concern is her live performances though. I simply will not continue to abide/understand her blatant and nearly 90% lip-synching of songs. This stance gets me “dragged” by the rest of the lambily online, but I just wont do it. Too many Mariah stans indulge her with too much flattery and praise to the point that she thinks she is actually giving us what we want. I don’t want to hear the same tired set list every show/concert I go to (“Obsessed”, “My All”, “Honey”, “Heartbreaker”, “Touch My Body”, “Hero”, “I’ll Be There”, “Always Be My Baby”, “Dreamlover”, “Fantasy (RMX)”, “Shake It Off”, and “We Belong Together”).
Even worse than hearing these same songs for the last 4-5 tours, is the fact that she has been increasingly lipping more parts of them and singing the live parts less impressively.
I wish I could tell Mariah we don’t want nor expect that her voice will be in 1995 condition, but we want to hear her sing live. I’d pay $500 to hear her sing “I Don’t Wanna Cry” 100% live-lower keys, cracks and all-but I won’t pay to hear/watch her insult my love for her by miming to 10 year old or newly recorded track vocals. She is so concerned with maintaining an image of the flawless diva (much like Bree from Desperate Housewives) that she resorts to uncomfortable posing on stage and obvious lip-synching.
I know that Whitney often didn’t sound pleasant (she had some good moments), but I can respect her more for always singing live because it shows an attempt. We can’t even get Mariah to try.
Amen!
This is a wonderful critique!!!!
We share the same sentiments, so here’s my input:
I think Mariah is more aware than we think she is. She knows when she sounds hoarse, or when she didn’t hit the right note. She said herself that she is her toughest critic with regards to live performances.
So, why the lip-synching?
She has always maintained a distinct division between personal scandal and talent. She accepts criticism of her personal life (and is very self-depricating in that respect), but when the line is blurred and the criticism approaches the talent, then she takes issue. She rarely-to-never speaks of the voice, and whenever she does, she’s short and quick. She strikes me as one who prefers that the individual interpret a humble and quiet opinion of what they see and hear, rather than having to explain herself. My take is that she would rather avoid the criticism altogether. She perhaps would hate most if critics were to climb over the walls that shields her talent. I’m pretty sure that she (like us all) witnessed the decade-long lambasting of Whitney Houston.
And that is my analysis.
Moving on, she really is among the small number of women who have endured a maze of brick walls throughout the years, so credit granted where credit due.
You two with these essays. In case you haven’t noticed she has been singing live lately. Most of it has been live and great. Obviously y’all can’t hear or must be out of the loop.
Well said. I agree with most of what you said. I was going to speak to the lambasting of Whitney as possibly part of her rationale for lip-synching. You’re right when you assert that Mariah is much more aware than she lets on. I always thought that Whitney was unaware, but her vocal coach’s commentary on her road to vocal recovery indicates that she, too, was aware of her vocal issues.
I guess the dissonance Mariah creates is what makes her situation so confounding. The albums come out with a 5 octave range and long notes on full display. Then the live performances come, and she isn’t even in the same key as the recorded performance. I feel like I’m being gypped on both fronts-the studio voice must be technologically enhanced and then the live performances are heavily mimed and/or dubbed. I’m always asking what does her “real” voice actually sound like anymore?
I firmly believe that if she creates songs that use her available range and skills at that time, she’d be in a much better place when on stage singing the songs. It’s why I like songs like “Right To Dream”, “It’s A Wrap”, “I Wish You Well”, and most of the songs on MCIIY-they sound less processed and more doable in a live setting.
Much in the way Whitney “came clean” to Oprah, I think it’s time Mariah did a similar interview where NO questions are off-limits and she actually provides real insights into her increasingly predictable and legacy-damaging artistic choices.
Ah, but there is an explicit difference between the two situations. There was a compelling story that affected WH’s chords. We knew what it was. Her public discussion of that subject was in no way a revelation.
So, if I were thinking in Mariah’s perspective: why “come clean about something if I don’t need to?” Mariah never had such a scandal/ailment to plague her (as we know her now). People still associate Mariah with an image of a big-voiced diva. Wasn’t it Cheryl Cole who just recently commented that she is “no Mariah Carey” (or something to that effect).
And this is where it becomes tricky: after WH admitted to it, it somehow signalled a tolerance for everyone else (famous) to comment too. And she was never seen the same.
(Sorry to keep referencing the dearly departed. I think it would surprise even the most devoted fans how much the the lives of these two are paralleled and yet at the same time completely opposite.)
And if I am to be completely frank, I don’t even think she enjoys performing. I don’t even think she has ever said that she enjoys it. Though I do think she enjoys connecting with the fans, as proven by the continuous onstage bantering. But that’s no big deal. Streisand doesn’t consider “performing” and “enjoyable” a package deal – she dreads them and has made no secret of it.
Yeesh, I rarely comment on this site, and I never thought I would be one of those commenters that for some reason leave college-length essays, but this was fun!
You must be under a rock. Mariah has sung plenty of her newer performances live. Just open your ears and you would hear it.
I’ve already had to battle what seemed like the entire Twitter lambily, so I’ll not repeat myself.
The Austria, Morocco, and Monaco shows did contain live singing-the glorious”Underneath The Stars” comes to mind-however it also contained a lot of lip-synching. We’re not going to get into the “what was live and what wasn’t” specifics-the usual parts of the same old songs she sang were lipped. The notable difference was the seemingly new track she used for the last chorus of “We Belong Together” that had actually fooled some long time fans into thinking she was singing live, especially at the Morocco show. That is, until the same track was heard at the Monaco show.
Now if we look at these last couple of shows and assess what songs were from-beginning-to-end, 100% live they would be “I’ll Be There” and “Underneath The Stars”…there are some questionable parts of “Hero” imo.
Feel free to generate a similar list if your opinion differs.
For the record I am in NO WAY spreading hate. Mariah is by a wide margin my favourite female pop artist. In fact, the only few times I comment have been on Mariah-related articles.
And to be truthful, I really was impressed by her recent performances in Morocco and Monaco. I thought she looked AND sounded great! (somehow the two became antonymous the last few years)
I am genuinely excited head to toe for these upcoming projects. As a musician and artist, she is in top for now more than ever. I can’t think of a single other who has endured and adapted to the times as much as Mariah.
#MCSUMMER2012
*in top form
The comments from you all were kind of interesting. I only want to add one thing. Mariah sang like 85% live in Morocco and Monaco. The criticism about the lipsyncing thing is a bit tired. Celine does it, even more at times. Probably neither of them want to end like my beloved Whitney Houston and that´s fine by me
I adore the 3 of them. Nobody after them has been that huge
Glad to see all the legends coming back. Esp Mariah. It’s felt like forever. Hope she delivers this era!
I really don’t doubt mariah at all. In a generation where singers from the 90’s have not prevailed as well as their prime, MC has beat the odds. She has put out a little less than 10 albums and all of them have been successful up until 2009? Not only is she a talented singer she really has the smarts to know what will be catchy and marketable to the average teenage listener. She does hiphop/pop/ballads. She really does it all. While she isn’t a dancer like beyonce, she is STILL about the voice and the image and that’s why she is able to sell as well as she does. There’s no barriers for her.
I don’t doubt her at all. She’ll do fine. If madonna didn’t flop as bad as ppl thought she would, then MC definitely wont.
how come then all her albums after the “the emancipation of mimi” flopped?
Mariah will do great things. She’s so versatile……
Love my Mimi and cant wait!
Emancipated Honey 2.0!
There comes a time in a diva’s career when she should retire, even though she might be a comeback queen she should give it up now
Retire? Yeah uh sure. Smh! Well I’m looking forward to some new music from MC. I liked E=MC2 and Memoirs more than TEOM. TEOM had bigger/better singles. The label seemed to be lost and slooow with single choices for the other two albums.
Now if only Janet would drop some new music. {^_^}
E=mc2 sold over 3 million copies world wide, so how was that a flop? Why come on a page with your neagativity when you clearly don,t care for the artist being discussed? Don’t hate people who have done more in years than you will do in your life time!