Love her or not, Mariah Carey's one tough act
Trying to defend Mariah Carey's music is kinda like trying to defend a really nice drug dealer. They may be OK people, but they're both infecting the world with evil, vile stuff. This is the attitude I'm up against when I try to say anything nice about the pop singer. I can say that Carey has sold millions and millions of records. I can say that she is one of the most popular female singers of all time, with dozens of No. 1 hits and platinum-plus records. I can say that she has won Grammys, American Music Awards and just about every other music-industry trophy under the sun.
And you will still turn your head, make throwing-up noises and dismiss her as vapid and insincere. You'll say that, yeah, she's got a nice body, but it starts and ends there. Curves, yep. Nice legs, definitely. But talent? No way, you'll say. I can say that she's got a five-octave voice, a knife in her throat that, like a Ginsu blade, can slice through bricks. You'll just call her voice annoying. I can say that she writes a lot of her own material, as she did on her new album, Charmbracelet. You'll call it dreck.
I can say that she's a survivor, that she has overcome professional and personal setbacks, that she's a person who won't let anything stand in the way of her artistry and making music. Her nervous breakdown? A mere, momentary problem. Her record company woes that found her getting paid to leave a label? Well, she got paid, didn't she? And that awful Glitter movie? Hey, everyone makes mistakes. You'll boil it down to "rich, bad actress weirdo".
I can say that, after years of refusing to tour, Carey is finally hitting the road, bringing herself and her show to intimate theaters around the globe. I can say that she wants to reach out to her fans in a way she hasn't reached out before. You'll say, "Girl needs the cash." I can say... oh, what's the use? (Star Telegram)
|
