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About nikki from usa:

Emancipation to anticipation (37,631) by nikki from usa I can't wait to hear the new track. I can tell by the sound of Mariah's laugh that her vocals are going to be smashing. I'm all ears. However, I can't stop laughing from all these Idol rumors. J.Lo's PR people must be working overtime because her appearance on the show has never helped ratings nor stopped their steady decline. The concept of AI is great, but it's bogged down by too much unneccesary chatter and not enough music. We don't need your backstory until you've made it to finals, period. Note to Ryan: stand up, speak up, shut up. We don't need you to prattle on for half the show or the other 20 minutes of random filler. Audiances don't want to see J.Lo crying because she has to do the job she was paid for, nor do we want to see obnoxious comments, or feuding judges. We want to see playful interaction and enjoyable music. Quite frankly, after listening to the talent the judges should be choosing songs for the contestants to be singing based on their vocal skills, styles, and what they need to work on. You're trying to find stars, so some expertise would go along way, rather than having the contestants choose from a random list of music given by AI. If these kids knew what worked than they'd already have careers. (Saturday 27 April 2013; 4:31)

Stacey/subliminal messaging (37,472) by nikki from usa Eric, I'm impressed. You caught all of my run-on sentences. Thank you Stacey, I knew I wasn't the only one who felt that way. Except about the dressing, I loved the boob episode. You know how guys puff out their chests? That felt like Mariah's Aries vibe coming to the forefront to proclaim, "I'm the tits around here and don't you forget it!" Sort of a subliminal message. Her secret power source. I noticed Nicki was less verbal during that episode. Check that crap out. Since that night, Nicki's kept her chest continually covered. Mariah's working on a whole new level. Apparently, talk is cheap, but MC has her own way of speaking volumes. (Saturday 23 March 2013; 7:24)

What is Nicki's problem? (37,465) by nikki from usa Nicki is good for ratings, because people love to see someone animated or being obnoxious. It doesn't require any talent to chew someone out. I appreciate Mariah trying to give the people singing something to shoot for, even though it appears as if her mind wants to say 100 things and her mouth can't keep up. Today, both Randy and MC told a girl she's versatile, but mentioned her strength in Rock and they wanted to hear more of it. Then, Nicki goes off saying she doesn't "have to" do Rock. She can do Broadway, this, that, or whatever she wants. Then turns around to her "little marshmellow" and tells her she's country. Can't the marshmellow do Broadway, this, or that? Every judge does their job without Nicki trying to trump those who, quite frankly, have more experience than she does. I also noticed Mariah really walking on eggshells everytime she commented. "This is just my opinion." " I know not everyone may agree with this." You're a judge, girl. Your job is to give your opinion while you critique, or mentor, or whatever. In that moment no one else's matters. Nicki needs to get some respect and check the attitude at the door. You don't have to agree with anyone, but no one's paying you to critique the other judges. The judges say their piece, you say yours and move on. Mariah will never show her real personality on this show because she has her guard up, which is a damn shame. (Thursday 21 March 2013; 4:06)

In the spirit of positivity (37,457) by nikki from usa I gotta acknowledge the unrealistic expectations here. Yes, Mariah will have future hits, apparently fans/critics alike didn't learn from the folly of counting her out the last time around. Will it be right now? I don't know only time will tell. Hitting success is hard, sustaining it nearly impossible. But, that's exactly what Mariah did for a decade. Whitney, Celine, Madonna - all of them have had ups and downs in music. Mariah never did, so the first time it happened everyone counted her out. By CB, she was already back in form rivaling the sales of Emotions. So, when she "poww-ed" back in '05 everyone (except a few of us) were surprised. She kept the ball rolling in '08. Since then, she's released exactly 2 albums, and 1 of them was seasonal, a second Christmas album. Not something you'd expect to be a huge hit, yet its ringtones alone sold over a million copies. Triumphant went to #1 on the Dance Chart and she did a song for Disney. These are good things, and whether she's achieving the "kind" of successs you think she should, she's still racking up creds. It's ok for Mariah to have some "down" times like every other artist in between her major successes. Just because every album isn't a mega seller doesn't mean she's over. This isn't the '90's anymore and the "kind of 90's success" never did exist for any other artist but Mariah. (Wednesday 20 March 2013; 7:11)

Being realistic (37,416) by nikki from usa I don't know how anyone could expect promotion from a decade ago. The sales aren't the same anymore in the industry all around, no one gets the promo from 10 years ago, most of the platforms don't exist anymore. MTV is nothing but reality shows and record stores are virtually non-existent. The only promotion these days is by the artist being seen and social media. Cross promotion is the way to go. Realistically, Triumphant couldn't have been a "success" to the degree fans here are indicating, because it was released to urban radio only and made immediately available to download. But, that didn't stop it from ruling the dance chart. This new one was a bit weird, because it was a Disney production, which is known for building momentum for their productions months in advance. For some reason this was rushed. They didn't even announce it coming out until 3 weeks before it was supposed to premiere. The music video is usually a promotional tool and it makes no sense to hold off the release until the movie's out. Disney seemed to drop the ball on this, but that has nothing to do with Mariah's album. All Mariah's top selling albums have one thing in common besides the covers, they all took over a year to make. So, this is promising. I have to say, since MCArchives came out, we go through a loop on how much Mariah's changed, her dressing style, her career being over, her personality, if her boobs are real or not. It's been a long time since we discussed that last one. (Sunday 17 March 2013; 23:46)

Mariah live on Idol (37,345) by nikki from usa Mathew, I think you're going to have to prepare to get your scared-y cat on, because according to Idol and Disney, Mariah is going to promote the song by singing it live on Idol. She could always change up the song to make it easier for a live showing, you never know. But, MC is a professional and I'm sure she'll make it fabulous. No offense to TJ, but I believe even during the height of her fame, Mariah wasn't ever really "big" over in Europe. Was she? After America, I think Asia is next in line for being Mariah crazy and she fairs well even in Australia. As far as Europe goes, she's sold millions but is more of a top 20 artist, isn't she? Obviously, I'm not from there, but I recall whenever looking for stats back in the day from singles, cds, and concerts, she seems to sell the least over in Europe on average. Ironically, over the past few years, she's been at her least successful worldwide, yet over in Brazil she blew up huge. (Thursday 7 March 2013; 0:37)

Style (37,330) by nikki from usa I'll give Mariah this: she's honest. She said she'd be more of a mentor than a judge and she's brought that. Even if she thinks a performance sucked, she won't say it, she'll tell them where they shined the best in the past and gives advice. If all else fails she just talks about how their high points made her feel. You can tell she's not okay with critique as much. I've tried to give Nicki a shot, but she's too green. Nicki's value is for entertainment and nothing more. Mariah's helpful but most people view that as boring. Actually doing the job would come across that way I guess. Nicki seems more interested in who acts like her or prowling for her baby daddy then being useful. I don't even find her criticisms constructive. This is supposed to be about vocals, not performance, and her "favorite group" is the one who couldn't harmonize or remember the lyrics. She did the finalists a huge injustice. By constantly insisting on "performance", they started to concentrate more on performing than their vocals. That got too many talents sent home early. I don't really get Randy's judging style, Nicki is too green, but I give Keith and Mariah the medal for most constructive and helpful of the judges. (Saturday 2 March 2013; 21:49)

Fans can "push", but not make success (37,314) by nikki from usa I disagree, nothing's changed. If American Idol is anything to go by, Mariah's still the music staple. There are still kids in their teens and 20's who support her and her older fans grew up to have kids of their own who are fans. This doesn't change the fact that Mariah Carey has never had any success without the general public backing her up. Mariah can have 10,000 hardcore "lambs" buying 10 copies of everything she puts out, and that will still be only 100,000 sold. That doesn't even put a dent into Mariah's sales. The only thing that can do is "push" her sales over the gold, platinum, or multi-platinum line if she's already almost there due to the general public. Triumphant wasn't released to pop radio by Def Jam, only Hip hop stations. Yet, it topped BET for several weeks and still went to #1 on the Dance Charts due to the remixes. Memoirs had a top 10 hit and her second Christmas album had 2 #1 seasonal hits as well. She's still racking up #1's. I think everyone's jumping the gun with this Disney song, because it was leaked early and wasn't originally intended to be out this soon. Any promotion for it wasn't scheduled until later. The general public knows MC's coming out with a new song, but so far the media only hinted toward a clip of it. So, I doubt the majority know anymore than that for right now. Relax. (Monday 25 February 2013; 20:59)

Really? (37,289) by nikki from usa This song is not "her first single", this isn't a Mariah Carey/Island Def Jam production, this is a Disney production. The point of the song is to promote the movie, not Mariah. If it does well enough, it may be put on her album, but other than that this is a separate project. Most movie theme songs these days are rarely heard of, so I'd wish people would quit acting like this will make or break her. It's not that deep. People keep saying Mariah's past her prime... since '98. Do we keep having to go through this song and dance every year no matter how much that thought process is proven wrong? Great music doesn't have a prime, it simply has to be 1 of 2 things: universal or catchy. Mariah Carey didn't have a decade of hits by luck or accident, therefore as long as she continues to make music there will be future hits. The only question is how much time that will take. Mariah's formula for musical success has always been by doing well on several music formats. Since releasing E=MC2, she released "Memoirs" and a second Christmas album. Did anyone seriously expect these to be groundbreaking blockbusters? (Saturday 23 February 2013; 5:45)

Oz/covers (37,172) by nikki from usa Wow, a movie directed by the guy who made Xena under Disney with the colorful photographer of LB. Sounds like a visual phenom already. Has anyone else noticed that Mariah's most successful albums have all had the same cover formula? The album will only be successful if the cover follows this formula of 3 rules: 1. Mariah must be looking at the camera/her eyes must be visible, 2. her face must be at/have some sort of angle but must not have her features covered, 3. her lips must be parted but not smiling. Mariah Carey followed this formula, Emotions didn't, Music Box did, so did Merry Christmas, Daydream was artistic using cropping and light/dark to create angles that otherwise wouldn't be there. Butterfly followed, as did #1's, but Rainbow, Glitter, and CB didn't, both versions of TEOM did, E=MC2 not so much but close, and MOIA had 3 Mariah's with 2 breaking rules, and MC2Y broke all 3. Just an observation. (Thursday 7 February 2013; 4:48)

Pearls before swine (37,062) by nikki from usa Back in the 90's, I always thought it was weird that whenever Mariah was mentioned, so was Tommy for "finding" her. She showed up in front of him with the hits in her hand - how hard did he look? But, Clive wasn't mentioned everytime Whitney did something, why isn't Mottola after Celine for signing and promoting her? This doesn't happen to anyone else, just Mariah. Now, Mottola isn't mentioned anymore. Mariah showed up at the right time when Sony was near bankruptcy. They hadn't had a hit in years. He needed her and she saved his ass. She could've gone to Warner and been just fine - they also thought she'd be the next big thing. He even admits Mariah went against him in '95 and on, so he had nothing to do with those hits. After Mariah leaves Sony, she continues to sell millions and get #1's. Tommy spent millions trying to get Thalia to crossover including a magazine called Thalia! that went nowhere. Now, he's using Mariah's name for sales. Tommy's career is gone and forgottoe about while Mariah Carey's on. (Wednesday 9 January 2013; 6:45)

Re: Bob (36,757) by nikki from usa That's a little creepy. Is this a father-daughter relationship or husband/wife? Being married to your boss is quite the dynamic, but you can't be in a marriage ordering around your wife. Dictating to someone isn't "maturity". Listening to each other and compromising is. Statistically speaking, older men are known for caging their younger brides. Not all, but it is a common problem. Especially where paranoia of fidelity is concerned. They know their wives are young and attractive. Mariah's been on interviews and mags stating that she needed to be home at a specific time every night. That Tommy had what he called "bodyguards" that had to follow Mariah around wherever she went. Even a few producers from the mid 90's said Mottola would call them to make sure Mariah was there and would tell them how much time they'd have left because he expected her home soon. Being controlled at work and at home is what Mariah referred to as "suffocating", "controlling", and she had no time to be herself. Luckily for Thalia, Tommy couldn't be this controlling if he wanted to, he's no longer the boss. No one's on his payroll. (Friday 16 November 2012; 18:00)

Mottola's over hyped, it's a two way street (36,756) by nikki from usa Mottola signed Celine Dion and Shakira. Clive Davis signed Whitne, yet I don't hear anyone thanking the signers for the girls' success. That strange phenomenon seems to be reserved for Mariah. After Mottola backstabbed a friend to get his position, he found out what trouble CBS records was in. They had legends on their roster who hadn't made music in years and all the acts currently out weren't that successful. With Madonna and Whitney, the new success trend was solo female singers and they had none. Mariah is what Mottola was looking for. CBS became Columbia and their survival depended on how well Mariah succeeded. That's the reason Mottola was so controlling. Many artists, including Brenda, were kicked off the label to focus on Mariah. Columbia even went on record stating they didn't see MC as an artist, but a pop franchise. "Sing, sing" indeed, her success saved jobs and she became the new prototype. Columbia is well known for being rigid, they lost both Katy Perry and Alicia Keys for it. Both Celine and Shakira had sold millions and had fanbases on 2 continents before Mottola "signed them". Mottola can take credit for opening up exposure for their talent to be heard, but the only artist that can thank Mottola for making them a star is J.Lo. He modeled her after Mariah. He thinks he's responsible for MC's success as well, which is why he went to such lengths to destroy her career and give it to J.Lo. That's why he got fired. (Friday 16 November 2012; 17:32)

No Mottola? What a fun game (36,742) by nikki from usa You're a record producer. A young goddess walks up to you with a voice that touches the angels yet can go low enough to make the devil cream himself. Exactly how hard is that to promote? If it weren't for Mottola, Everything Fades Away and Slipping Away would be on an album and be singles. I don't know if they'd reach #1, but I think they're top 10's. If Mariah had more creative control and wasn't put into a "love song only or bust" box, I'd really like to hear what she'd put out. I love the grittiness of songs like Prisoner and You Need Me, There's Got To Be A Way - I think she was far more well rounded in the beginning before she was put into a 1 dimensional box. If TM wasn't there telling her she had a big forehead and only half her face was good, how would she have been received differently by the media? I don't think she'd have as many #1's here, but I think she'd have more worldwide. It doesn't matter what label put out VOL or Someday, those would've done what they were gonna do. Being the Christmas queen she is, I think AIWFCIY would still have come to being. Honestly, if Mottola weren't in the picture and she'd signed to Warner Bros. as intended, I think she'd still be successful (perhaps not quite to this degree), but be a more versatile artist, and more respected by the public at large. (Thursday 15 November 2012; 5:56)

What is this? (36,730) by nikki from usa Interestingly, Nicki's side of the story doesn't actually say anything about the "feud", she's only mad that Barb didn't call her. Nicki keeps saying Mariah phoned Barb when on The View, while Barb stated clearly that she called MC after hearing rumors. Mariah had told her the only reason she took the threats seriously is because Idol producers told her they overheard Nicki too. You're not that bright if you're allowing the producers play one off the other. Nicki has had opportunities to say her piece, instead she's constantly talking about why more people aren't talking to her about it. And c'mon, you were happy that day? You're caught on tape cussing Mariah out, so everyone was sent home early. You have a rap on Alicia's new song Girl on Fire - "not cold like Carey". You're on twitter claiming MC's jealous of you being the best judge since Simon Cowell. Now, you love Mariah and don't want a rift? You wanna sing with her again? Nicki, are you bipolar? (Tuesday 13 November 2012; 6:09)

Glitter deprivation (36,669) by nikki from usa Virgin dropped the ball the whole way around where this soundtrack was concerned. The Glitter project was an interesting debacle. Initially, the movie was promoted well, but there wasn't much news on when it was debuting. By the time I found out it had been out for 2 weeks. Then, I went to go see it 2 weeks later and it was gone. What movie is there and gone in a month? I had a store in the mall back then, I played the Glitter album on repeat all day. You wouldn't believe the amount of people who asked me about the music that was playing, most didn't believe that it was Mariah. I had 5 ask me where they could get it and 3 of them came back to tell me they'd been to 5 music stores and couldn't find the Glitter soundtrack anywhere. So, I went out and looked - they were right. If Virgin is only going to release half a million copies, then only half a million copies can get sold. Most people don't know Virgin only had rights to US and Europe. Sony still had rights to it over in Asia which is why it did so well over there. Sony actually promoted it. (Monday 5 November 2012; 5:16)

Re: RadChad/Will's recycling (36,659) by nikki from usa You heard right, I remember that too. Between him thinking that the public hearing him sing with Mariah Carey wouldn't be good for his career, and than that debacle at half time with Janet, I've had it with that guy. I can't believe he did that then left JJ to take all the heat for the incident. Then, the following year Mariah's on fire again and now he wants her to release a 3 year old duet because it would "be good for his career". He dissed two legends. I don't know if MC influenced Aaliyah's singing style, but I've heard both of them in interviews saying they were fans of each other. If she lived, they would have done a duet, it would be amazing. I honestly believe R&B would be different today if she had. Will, MC's always worn her same clothes to other countries. Most didn't get to see that in times before the internet. Back in the day, I paid lambs from other countries to tape her appearances there and we'd exchange tapes. She'd wear something here and a month later be rocking it somewhere else. (Friday 2 November 2012; 21:47)

Duets that never were (36,609) by nikki from usa I'd be interested to hear Mariah's duet with Luis Miguel of After Tonight before her duet with Justin Timberlake on Yours. Yuck, like listening to hurricane vocalist Mariah whipping mosquito Justin in the wind. That song should remain solo. I'm just bummed she never got to duet with Aaliyah before she passed. (Friday 26 October 2012; 7:16)

I love Memoirs (36,558) by nikki from usa Most people write theirs, but Mariah sang hers. She made all the songs bleed into each other and flow like the chapters of a book. I think this is a severly underrated album that's truly a masterpiece. I must be the only fan here who can't stand E=MC2. First time ever I skipped tracks on a MC record. Although, I do agree about Migrate is hit plus silver platter, hello? Memoirs is fun to try to decipher. With comments from MC like "I wish someone would kidnap me", "No one saw me crying running down the beach", "It wasn't a physical relationship, it just wasn't", I can't help but think Betcha Gon Know might be about Mottola hitting some Hawaiian booty on their honeymoon night. More Than Just Friends could've been a radio hit, it was cute and catchy. I think this one is about dating Nick. Wanna hit it like the lotto? Flip her like a channel? And people thought TMB was freaky. I don't understand why anyone would diss Memoirs for sales while praising her 2nd Chrstmas album when it sold half as much. Ususally, if you sell a million copies of a book, it's considered a good thing. (Saturday 20 October 2012; 7:16)

Mariah's money (36,525) by nikki from usa I read that Mariah has a net worth of 500 million and crunched the numbers, that's really accurate. The amazing thing is, this is off music sales alone (albums, singles, videos/dvds), not even including concert tours or anything else she's done. Assuming the info is correct, an exec said a vocalist of Mariah's caliber earns $2 per album sold plus .50 cents for writing and another .50 for producing. That's $3 per album sold. So, Music Box earned her 72 million in album sales alone and Daydream 60 million. Then take into account songs she's written for others: Faith Hill, Allure, Trey Lorenz for MIB soundtrack. On top of tours, beauty lines, ringtones, and unknown to most people in the West - Mariah's been doing commercials over in Asia since '91. If Mariah never made another dollar again as long as she lived, she'd still be earning over 8 million a year in interest. As rich as MC is, by comparison, she really doesn't spend a lot. So many celebs buy a bunch of houses or huge mansions with lots of cars. Mariah's most expensive space was a $9 million apartment. Think of that compared to Micheal Jackson's Neverland and MC's penny pinching. Even with a full makeup crew, properties, vehicles, traveling, and shopping sprees, Mariah spends less than 3 million a year. In music, even MC's "flops" are still worth millions to record companies. No matter what she does, how she ages, or who's promoting her - this woman will always be able to make music. (Tuesday 16 October 2012; 7:44)

Re: Scott (36,437) by nikki from usa I remember that girl, I'll never forget her. Her name is Samantha Cole and she was Mariah's personal stalker. MC had a restraining order against her, Samantha even harassed her mother wanting Patricia to "teach her how to hit the high notes". She's the reason Mariah and Walter fell out, because he was dating her stalker. Cole was in the tabloids for almost 8 months talking about this feud she was having with Mariah until pictures started to show up of Mariah in other parts of the world while these so-called "confrontations" were happening. One of those "ice throwing" incidents (of which there were 3) Cole said happened at a nightclub in New York was the same night Mariah had posted pics up of herself in a recording session in LA with JD. Mariah's an Aries from Long Island, I have no doubt she's opinionated on how she wants things done in her own camp and pushing for her way, but I've never seen any "diva" behavior in a group setting where she's not the primary. I don't believe in this stuff that Mariah wants to be the only female either, because she could've had that as a clause in her contract if it was that important to her. (Sunday 7 October 2012; 4:00)

Re: JBfly (36,417) by nikki from usa Actually, I do remember Bedrock - that was a big one in '09. But, Nicki wasn't even mentioned on the track because she had a 10 second cameo - it just says ft. lloyd. Kinda like Ashanti was backup for Ja Rule with "Always on time" and she did eventually become big for awhile, but then there are people like Olivia from 50cents Candy Shop and has anyone heard from her since? That's why I didn't count that - it was too small and there was no name mention on the track. On Mariah's it was more of a duet and MC's fanbase reaches a larger demographic. Nicki got lots of face time, name mention, and a few months later Nicki's first song came out. Boards were ablaze with, "hey, that's the girl from the Mariah video" - it was a good stepping stone. According to the TMZ transcript, Nicki was bent outta shape because Mariah keeps talking about her resume. Which is why I think this is staged because if you've only been out a couple years, why would you be dogging a legend for bringing up her experience? I can't imagine Christina screaming at Aretha Franklin. And over the possible talent of a contestant? I think this is staged, it's just too stupid. (Thursday 4 October 2012; 19:30)

Why? (36,412) by nikki from usa I don't get this. I agree with Natalie, I think this is a publicity stunt. Clearly that video person wasn't supposed to be there because the audio is crappier than the footage. Where in the world did TMZ get a transcript? You certainly couldn't tell all that from the audio, it's guessing at best. TMZ has been trying to make catfights since before they ever met up for panel. If any part of the transcript is true, then Nicki flew off the handle, because MC keeps bringing up her "resume". Well, that's a fact, Mariah has an impressive resume, one that Nicki used to look up to. Not to mention MC was the first to introduce Nicki to the world with her music video before NM ever debuted. If MC has to bring up her "resume", one can only assume that Nicki isn't giving MC respect for her opinions. If this wasn't staged, then that was a pretty big tantrum for someone who's only been out 3 years. (Thursday 4 October 2012; 5:51)

Mo' Mariah (36,358) by nikki from usa I don't think I want to hear music that sounds "like" anything else. I have to give MC kudos for trying different things, even for her, but I really did like her jazz performance. I'd like to hear somethings sung in her lower register. It's soulful and sexy. As long as it's catchy - no belting required. More melody and rhythm experimentation and less volume. I'd like an all acapella song, maybe even a lullaby. A few songs with signature vocals would be appreciated, I just hope she plays more with the music. She has such a versatile voice and yet with each album it's almost like she sticks with one version. All belting, all soft singing. Lately, Mariah sings more externally - about topics going on around her. But, I think her internal songs are far more classic - UTS, CME, MB, Inside, Outside, EFA, even Slipping Away. She owns such an array of musical genres, the albums where she incorporates them all the most are the albums that sell the best. Variety and Versatility is Mariah Carey... and Mariah Carey sells. (Friday 21 September 2012; 4:08)

Nobody knows (36,349) by nikki from usa I can't believe these reports I'm reading about so-called experts in the entertainment industry. Is TMZ so dense that they don't realize that Nicki and MC have already worked together, because MC thought she'd be the next big thing before anyone knew who she was? And NM was a big fan of hers? MC replaces J.Lo? Please. Mariah's last "hit" was last year with Beiber, while everyone and their brother did a remake of her classic Christmas song. Since then she's been fulfilling offers from HSN lines to Jenny to nailpolish. Mariah's going in with a full swing career, J.lo went in to get one. Both MC and Nicki would be representing the urban/R&B element. My guess is they will be far more highlighted this year. Gospel may have a better chance too. If MC gets comfy enough, she may show some of that "chatty man" action she does for the UK show. Then things will get really interesting... (Monday 17 September 2012; 21:47)

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