Wednesday 22 May 2013

Mariah talks raw ballads, hot collabs

Mariah Carey is back at it, this time with a new single featuring Miguel. Called #Beautiful, the track has already exploded on radio and is set to become her record-breaking 19th No 1 hit single. "It's a lot to juggle, but I'm handling it," Carey says while driving to an evening studio session in Las Vegas for her new album. In town for the Vegas Week segment of American Idol, the judge was on her way to meet producers Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox after having put "dem babies" to bed.

"It's about making sure I have tons of good music, because at the end of the day, that's the most important thing," says Carey, who had worked with the pair ("We have our own chemistry," she adds) until 6am that morning from the night before. She's also enlisted producers Big Jim Wright, Hit-Boy, The-Dream and Rodney Jerkins for tracks on the set.

Declining to reveal the album's title, or date, she does allow that there are a "lot more raw ballads than people might expect". There are also up-tempo and signature-type songs that represent her different facets. "Wherever we go with this project, I've tried to keep the soul and heart in it," she says. According to Dupri, "One particular song is definitely going to be a huge fan favourite, in my opinion."

Carey's last non-holiday studio album, 2009's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, debuted and peaked at No 3 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the hit Obsessed. She's excited about collaborations with her No 1 Honey cohort Q-Tip and DJ Cassidy this time around. The singer didn't specify if her collaboration with Q-Tip and DJ Cassidy would be for the new album.

"I was and still am in a very prolific space," says Carey, who recently released the single Almost Home for the Disney film Oz the Great and Powerful. She co-wrote and co-produced the song with Stargate and a David La Chappelle-directed video is coming soon.

Whether it or her 2012 single Triumphant with Rick Ross and Meek Mill will appear on the new album remains to be seen. In the meantime, Carey says she's enjoying her creative streak. "I could say, 'Let's stop now.' But that's not who I am, and that's not what I want this record to be. I really want the fans to love this record."

And as for Miguel, who is featured on #Beautiful, Carey has nothing but good things to say. Speaking of him during a press conference, Carey said "he's the truth". "I'm a huge fan of his music and I think everybody is just, like, so blown away by him right now. Sometimes when you haven't worked with somebody, you don't really know what they do in the studio and if they have the same kind of love for music that I have," Carey told On-Air with Ryan Seacrest.

Speaking about #Beautiful, Carey said she wanted something unique and different and Miguel helped to make that happen. "We just wanted to do something different with a texture that feels fresh," she said.

It also isn't the only collaboration in the works. The Grammy-winning singer also revealed that her two-year-old daughter, Monroe, will sing on a track on her upcoming album. "My little girl is going to be appearing on the album, I will say that. She can't really put a complete sentence together - she was two years old when she started - but she did a good job," she said.

(Sunday Tribune / Independent Online)



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