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Mariah explains how the album came together
Friday 22 April 2005
It's Like That is a song that to me is just very much like, it's all about
having a good time, and really just a fun, party record. I went to Atlanta and I
was working with Jermaine Dupri. We wrote "Always Be My Baby" together and we've
been friends for a really long time. He's just a great person and a great, great
producer and writer. I just wanted a record that was really fun, really like for
the clubs and just for the people who were getting ready to go out at night; one
of those really let-your-hair-down, just have a good time, this is my night type
of thing, like this is my song when I go out to have a good time. And that's how
we came up with the song "It's Like That", we were just having fun.
We Belong Together is my second single from "The Emancipation of Mimi",
and it's probably one of my top three favorite songs on the record, because it
was a situation where I went back down to Atlanta to work with Jermaine after we
had already written two songs for the album. And I didn't think we could top the
songs that we wrote, cause I really liked them a lot. And then I got there, and
we started going back and forth with concepts and ideas and we came up with "We
Belong Together". And I feel like the end result was just a really heartfelt ballad
that I think people can really relate to, even though it's like a very specific
story, I think that everybody can probably apply it to their own lives.
Shake It Off is definitely one of my favorite songs from "The Emancipation
of Mimi". It was the first time that I went down to Atlanta to work with JD and
it was just like, I don't really know how to explain how the song happened, but
Jermaine is just incredible with the beats. And we started singing different
melodies, and coming up with different lyrics, and at first Jermaine was singing,
"I gotta get away" and I was like, that's a cool concept and stuff but I feel like
we can do something more specific. And we were just sitting around, and "shake it
off" just came out of the blue, like happens when you're writing, and to me it
just says so much cause it's like, when you're going through some drama, and you
just wanna get through it, you put that song on and it just takes you out of whatever
mood you're in.
Mine Again is a song that I wrote with James Poyser who is from The Roots,
and he's an incredible, incredible musician and a really good person. We sat down
at the piano, the first time we met, and he just started playing and he's one of
those musicians where you can go back and forth and just riff off each other. And
I was singing him, kind of like what ended up being the main piano riff of the song.
And he's so talented that obviously he can just pick that up in two seconds and then
you know, he would lead me in one direction, I would lead him in another direction.
And we came up with a song that I feel is definitely like the power ballad of this
record, and I feel like it's gonna be a lot of people's favorite. Cause it's a very
big vocal moment, a big vocal performance. And it's one of those kind of like, break
your heart songs, make you get together with your ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend.
Say Somethin' is a song that came about when I, for the first time, went to
work with the Neptunes. And obviously I had never worked with Pharrell before, but
it was just a really cool experience because he just, musically, he's very, he's
got a lot of diverse influences and it was cool that he took me to a different
place than I would naturally go. And it was just a great session, because I mean,
Snoop was in the other room working on his record. And Pharrell was like, "I really
think it'd be hot if we put Snoop on this". And I love Snoop, we've worked together
in the past, we did a song called "Crybaby" that's one of my favorite songs. And he
came in and he did his part, and it just took the song to a new level. And that's
a lot of people's favorite song on this album.
Stay the Night is a collaboration between myself and Kanye West. We've wanted
to work together for a really long time, and I was really glad that it happened on
this record. It was one of the first songs that I recorded for "The Emancipation of
Mimi", and it was a track that he had, that I just like fell in love with when I
heard it. And we started going back and forth with some ideas, melody stuff. And
then I went away and sang it and I didn't realize when we were coming up with the
concepts in writing, that it was in a really high key. And it was, the way I wrote
it, it was like a belting-out song. And when I did it I was kicking myself, like
"hy didn't I think about this?!" But then after I finished it, I was happy because
it's very much a vocal performance... but it's organic to the song and to the nature
of the feeling we were going for. It's kind of like giving you an old-schoolish,
Jackson 5-type vibe, so I was happy with that.
So, Get Your Number is a song yet again that I did with Jermaine Dupri, only
this time Jermaine is actually singing on the record, which I never would have
expected in my life that that was gonna happen. But he was using it for his album,
and he had sung the hook and it is a loop of the song "It's Just An Illusion" by a
group called Imagination. And when I heard it he was like, you know, Jermaine was
like, "I want to hear you singing over a loop!" And I was like "Well OK people
always criticize me for singing over loops, but there's no other loops on the record,
basically, so all right, let's do it." And when I started to resing the hook, it
just didn't have the same quality as when Jermaine was singing it, because obviously
we have very different voices. So I kind of made it into a duet with Jermaine singing
his part on the hook and I do the verses. And a lot of people like it cause it's very,
giving you kind of like a "Fantasy" type-feeling.
One and Only is featuring Twista. I got the track from a really, really hot
producer named Traxster, who had actually initally made that beat for Twista to
rhyme on. And I didn't even know that when I got the record and I just started writing
it and it happened to be in that kind of you know fast singing, rythmic style,
whatever you wanna call it, just natually cause that's kind where the beat was taking
me. And I happened to run into Twista backstage at a show in LA, and I was like "Oh,
I have this beat" (cause Traxster produces for Twista a lot) I was like and I love
it, it would be so great if you could get on it, I'm a big fan. And he was just so
cool. I mean, I was so happy that he's on it cause I'm a really big fan of his. I
think his style is amazing.
Circles is a song that I did with Big Jim Wright, who is an incredible musician.
He worked with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and he also does outside projects like Sounds
of Blackness and a lot of different gospel things and he's just very very talented.
Basically we were going for like an old-school type vibe, it's all live musicians,
and I feel like it has that organic kind of feel, like basically we were going for a
somewhat retro, urban record that wasn't overly produced that gave you the feeling of
you know like something from maybe like the 70s, you know, very soulful kind of record
and that's how I tried to produce the background vocals, to kind of give you that vibe
of like just a really basic soul record.
Your Girl is a record that I did with Scram Jones who is a hot producer that
I just happened to run into when I went to the studio with N.O.R.E, when I went to
visit N.O.R.E at the studio, and Scram Jones was there and I didn't know who he was.
But he was playing beats and they were hot, and I was with my nephew-slash-cousin
who got Scram Jones' number for me, cause he was like, he saw me really loving that
beat, but there was nobody that worked with me there, so he just took his number and
we got together and I did this song. And it's like, most of my friends who are
singers really love that song, like it's one of their top favorite songs because of
the style of the singing, the background vocals, and that whole thing. So it's one
of those happy, uptempo records but it's still giving you kind of, very thugged out
moments cause that's kinda, Scram Jones' thing.
I Wish You Knew is a song that I wrote with Big Jim Wright, one of the songs
I wrote with Big Jim. Yet again we recorded it with a live band, and I sang with
the band as they were recording it, as they were laying down their track so they
could feel where I was gonna go, and you know just the nuances and stuff. And it
was a really good experience, even just singing parts to the guitar player or the
whatever, whatever instruments were going on, the keyboards, you know, just having
the entire moment, the live moment. And I added the live audience in there, there's
like a spoken section and I know that I'm gonna do this song live, and it's gonna
be fun, because it's giving you old-school kind of Diana Ross moments, of like a
live concert where she'll just break down a song and start talking. And I was kinda
joking when I did it in the studio but then my friends were there and they were
like, "you should leave that". And I was like, alright whatever. Anyway, it's one
of my favorite songs off of the record.
To The Floor is a song that features Nelly. I was working with the Neptunes,
and Snoop was in one room; Nelly was in the other room. And Nelly came in at one
point and Pharrell was like, "you guys should be on this record together". Cause
he had this really hot beat. And I was like, "Wow, that'd be incredible." And we
all wrote the song together and it was just very much like, you know, I'm a fan
of the Neptunes and obviously I'm a fan of Nelly's, and I just wanted basically
like a club track. You know, I think it's a little bit more unique than your average
club record, because... I think the combination of us kind of duetting without
making it like, I wasn't trying to oversing or anything like that with him, as a
duet. It was more about the vibe of the track. That's a lot of people's favorite
song off the record, as well.
Joyride is a song that almost didn't make it on the record, and I'm really
glad that it did because the original track was produced by a 15 year old named
Young Genius, and I think it's really cool that, you know, to be 15 and to have
done that track is pretty amazing, and then there was this whole thing cause we
didn't have, we kind of lost part of the track or something like that... Ee had
to mix it to basically two tracks, not to be too technical but it's not the ultimate
way to mix a record but it really didn't matter because.. it was so well done the
first way so I was happy just to like mix the vocals and call it a day. But it's
a ballad and it's kind of like one of those, they call it the baby-making song of
the record. I don't use that terminology, but they can call it the baby-making
song if they want.
Fly Like a Bird is my favorite song on the album, "The Emancipation of Mimi",
mainly because it's very much a spiritual message. It was, I wrote it with Big Jim
Wright. We had already written "Circles" and "I Wish You Knew" and I kind of thought
we were done writing for the night. And I went upstairs and the melody for "Fly Like
A Bird" and the words for the chorus kind of like came to me at this moment, and
I was like, "What do I do? Should I finish working tonight? Should I just like record
this and do it tomorrow?" And I was like, let me run downstairs. We were in Anguila,
working on having this writing session. So I went downstairs and I wrote this song
with Big Jim. He layed down the chord structure, and stuff like that, And I later
took it and wrote the lyrics and put the choir on it and sang it. And I sang it
in Capri, which was just like so inspiring to sit there and sing this song looking
out the window, just like at the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. And actually my pastor,
Pastor Clarence Keaton, is featured on the song. He opens the song and he says a little
something in the middle of the song. And I just felt like the message was really
important to include on the album and that's why it's the final song on the album.
It kind of sums up everything. It kind of leaves you on a spiritual high moment.
(America Online)
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Mariah leaves a new voice message
Hiiii. [high voice] Yeah, I know I haven't left a message since 1802 but basically I'm here in Tennessee and I'm working and I know you guys understand 'cause you know... you know that... when we get into my working schedule it's a lot darlings, it's a lot.
(Friday 2 March 2007) |
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Carey regrets marriage to Mottola
Singer Mariah Carey regrets marrying Sony Music boss Tommy Mottola and would not do it again, even though he helped make her a star. The 37-year-old was discovered by Mottola and the couple were married for four years before finally splitting in 1997.
(Thursday 1 March 2007) |
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(Mariah) Carey Street
It's Mariah Carey. She's here to prove once more that so much Glitter does not equate to so much gold. Carey is opening up her heart and the doors to her 12,000-ft triplex apartment in Manhattan. "In life there can be ups and downs," she opines.
(Wednesday 28 February 2007) |
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Mariah: "I can only sell my lavish home to a true star"
Mariah Carey would only sell her lavish apartment to another diva. She says only a true star could live in such plush surroundings. Mariah insisted to Britain's Hello magazine: "If anyone ever buys this place, they had better be a diva."
(Wednesday 28 February 2007) |
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Where does Britney rank in the history of flameouts?
Britney Spears is certainly not the first celebrity to go off the rails in full view of her once-adoring public. But hers is one of the most spectacular falls from grace in recent memory, meticulously documented by paparazzi and bystanders.
(Wednesday 28 February 2007) |
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Jukebox joy for Roy?
Confusion has arisen over a report that a man has been barred from the Gordon Arms pub in Portswood for constantly playing Mariah Carey songs on the jukebox. BBC South Today, The Daily Echo and even the Daily Mirror have covered the story.
(Tuesday 27 February 2007) |
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Mariah Carey says she's in no rush to have kids
Mariah Carey is "more or less" in a relationship right now, she reveals in a new interview - but doesn't name her beau, saying: "I don't talk about that anymore." The 37-year-old singer does reflect on her ill-fated marriage to Tommy Mottola.
(Tuesday 27 February 2007) |
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Mariah Carey at work on new album
Mariah Carey has started prep work on her next album. She's keeping mum on who she'll be working with for this follow-up to her monster comeback, The Emancipation of Mimi, but has dropped a few hints.
(Tuesday 27 February 2007) |
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Movie filmed at Sequatchie County High
A Tennessee high school turned into a Hollywood sound stage Monday night. Filming began at Sequatchie County High for a movie starring actor Val Kilmer and Mariah Carey. Filmmakers are using the school's auditorium and football field for the movie.
(Tuesday 27 February 2007) |
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Mariah Carey has four closets
Mariah Carey has confessed that she has so many clothes and accessories she needs four closets to store them all. She recently showed off her lavish New York City apartment for MTV's Cribs, but she was too embarrassed to show viewers all her closets.
(Monday 26 February 2007) |
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Mariah Carey says "cheeks look fat when I smile"
They may walk around with an air of confidence around them, but even so-called divas admit they don't always look their best. Mariah Carey, for example, says has a complex about her looks. She has always been paranoid about how she looks.
(Monday 26 February 2007) |
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Mariah Carey filming movie here
Mariah Carey will be in town this week filming the independent movie Tennessee. She's picked up a Southern drawl to play a waitress/singer who flees her controlling husband to join two brothers on their journey from New Mexico to Tennessee.
(Sunday 25 February 2007) |
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Neil Sean's scoop
Mariah Carey is the latest diva to sign a mega deal with a fashion giant - she's now the new face of Pinko. On the subject of size zero fashion models, Mariah balked at the issue and told me she had no idea why girls would want to look like that.
(Saturday 24 February 2007) |
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Mariah Carey's beauty complex
Mariah Carey has a complex about her looks. The sexy singer, famed for her curvaceous figure, admits she has always been paranoid about how she looks and doesn't believe she has a "best" feature. She said: "I'm not sure I have best features."
(Friday 23 February 2007) |
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Mariah interviews with Hong Kong TV in London
Here is a nice interview with Mariah Carey. In the interview, Mariah greeted all the Chinese fans a "Happy Chinese New Year" ("Kung Hei Fat Choy") and also talked about shopping, her legs, new movie, and the cancelled Hong Kong concert.
(Friday 23 February 2007) |
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Young soprano mixes music with managing money
Singer Sara Botkin, of North Strabane, Washington County, will perform at 7 p.m. Sunday at Hiland Presbyterian Church in Ross. A soprano soloist who dreamed of a recording career, Sara Botkin followed a path taken by many musicians.
(Friday 23 February 2007) |
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Mariah hooks up with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Mariah is just getting started on her new album. And although she hasn't said yet who she'll be working with, if some of her recent collaborations are any indication, we could be in for surprises. First, Carey recorded a track with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
(Thursday 22 February 2007) |
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There's nothing that a new Brit hit can't fix
July 2001: Mariah Carey, in the messy aftermath of the disastrous movie "Glitter", goes on MTV's "TRL" to say, "I just want one day when I can go swimming and eat ice cream and check out rainbows." She does a striptease on the show.
(Wednesday 21 February 2007) |
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Jeter on A-Rod relationship: Who cares?
I was listening to Derek Jeter's take on the whole Alex Rodriguez affair and I couldn't help but flip back to 2001, when I was working on a Jeter magazine profile and considered broaching a topic with him that I was told was taboo: his dating of Mariah.
(Wednesday 21 February 2007) |
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Mariah and Bone Thugs collab
Mariah Carey is currently jet setting around the world, having just wrapped up "The Emancipation Of Mimi" tour, promoting her new role as the face of Pinko in London, and filming the independent movie "Tennessee" in New Mexico.
(Tuesday 20 February 2007) |
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Carey confronted by priest
Mariah Carey was taken aback at the recent opening of designer clothing store Pinko in London, when she was confronted by a Venetian priest who told the star he was praying for her. Friar Nasr was flown out to the UK to deliver a special message Mariah.
(Tuesday 20 February 2007) |
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They're sported by Britney and Janet
Today they're worn by dozens of celebrities. And with their midriffs and thongs showing during television appearances and within the pages of a plethora of magazines, the craze over low-riding pants may seem like the newest passing trend.
(Tuesday 20 February 2007) |
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What you mean by "that certain something"
This basic difference between men and women explains why we can look at Mariah and wonder why no one noticed that one of her eyebrows is bigger than the other, whereas our male counterparts might be more interested in the size of things lower down.
(Monday 19 February 2007) |
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Mariah even when swimming always wears high heels
Mariah Carey always wears high heels - even when swimming. The singer, known for her diva demands, says she can't wear flat shoes but can do anything in heels. She told Britain's The Times newspaper: "I guess I'm a heel girl. I can run in them."
(Monday 19 February 2007) |
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Mariah Carey's pooch is the king of her world
If there's one male that can make songbird Mariah Carey dance to his tune, then that would be her pet pooch Jackson P Muttley. Carey's Jack Russell terrier not only flies first class, but is also so famous that Japanese fans have set up a website in his honour.
(Sunday 18 February 2007) |
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