Mariah Carey fans rejoiced in 2015 when it was announced that the elusive chanteuse had signed with Epic Records; a move which not only reunited her with Sony Music, but also saw her re-team with L.A Reid
The latter was greeted with particular glee as it was Reid who served as the force who engineered Carey’s career-reviving ‘Emancipation’ in 2005.
Fast forward to today and, after a slew of image denting moves, the climate looks markedly grim.
So much so that a new report suggests Reid may be gearing up to let Mariah go.
Details below…
Roger Friedman of Showbiz 411 writes:
Yesterday — Monday– I caught word that Epic Records is very unhappy with Mariah. That recent single, called “I Don’t,” was a total failure. It was also a total surprise to Epic. They were sent the track all completed, with no forewarning from Carey’s camp that it was coming, I am told. They hadn’t heard it. “We were just told to put it out,” says a source. So they did. And it flopped.
Now my sources say Epic chief L.A. Reid is considering dropping Mariah from the label. In the time since she signed with him, Carey has had two singles– “I Don’t” and “Infinity.” They were not sellers, and didn’t get played on radio. There is no work being done toward an album, and no conversations are taking place between Epic and Carey’s team.
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We’ll be the first to keep it 100 when it comes to Mimi. And contrary to belief, that isn’t always a bad thing.
Sure her career mismanagement has been off the Richter of late, but we’d be surprised if she were indeed let go.
It’s hard to believe she’s costing the label “much” by releasing momentary singles and otherwise sitting dormant on the roster pending the arrival of an album.
What’s more, if she’s on a 360 deal (which is anyone’s guess), it’s plausible Epic are taking a cut of her TV deals and Vegas income.
Even if – like many older acts – she’s shunned the 360 route, it’s difficult to digest that she’s that much of a liability to warrant severing ties so early in the (re)union.
Saying that (and unfortunate for Mariah), it’s plausible the dismal performance of her singles since signing highlights to the label that there’s little commercial value attached to making a full fledged album with her.
Viewed this way, a “drop” from the roster in the manner the report outlines suddenly doesn’t sound as far fetched.
Time will tell, but we certainly hope it’s not the case.
For, we can’t see other labels queueing up to sign her and independent Mimi sounds like the birth of more problems rather than a problem-solver.
At this junction, she needs to be shepherded in the right direction – sonically and aesthetically. Hopefully L.A Reid manages to do so.
Enough of our ranting, though. What are…