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About Matthew from USA: Old school lamb here. From FL, hoping Mariah comes back here on tour soon.

Letting go of bad ensembles (39,786) by Matthew from USA Mariah, if you are going to wear a barely there dress, then wear it honey. It annoys me when she wears these ensembles, and then she has to fidget and turn to a certain angle and grab a cushion and open a fan to hide herself. It just makes for an uncomfortable moment. If you can't strut confidently in it, then you probably shouldn't wear it. Other than that, Jimmy + Mimi = good times. I loved when she surprised the fans and the snippets we had of her singing live were awesome. (Thursday 14 November 2013; 0:00)

A good direction (39,719) by Matthew from USA The good: Lyrically, this is all Mimi. I wouldn't be surprised if she was the only writing credit. The vocals are good, especially at the end. It has a very subdued retro feel. She should definitely be able to sing this live. The bad: The song has a weak hook. Her other introspection songs have much stronger hooks (Looking in, Outside, I Wish You Well). Usually when the melody is so sparse, the singer uses her voice to create the pacing (My All). Instead, the pacing is all over the place, and it gives the whole song a kind of spoken word feel (non fans will say she's doing her Idol rambling ). Finally, this is definitely not a chart friendly song. As a guy who loves melodies and choruses, this is a 6/10 for me. But I think the direction she is going in is great. (Monday 11 November 2013; 19:49)

Mariah has let go, Jaker (39,687) by Matthew from USA Jaker20, I think Mariah has moved on. She has learned to let go. If she sings some of her older material at a concert, it's because the fans want to hear it, not because she is not willing to let go. She has stated multiple times that she is kind of tired of singing Hero and such, but how can she not? If she is giving a mini concert, there's definitely going to be a couple of throwbacks in there. So your argument that Mariah is the one that won't let go because she keeps singing her older hits makes no sense. By that logic, every artist who has been around for over 5 years is also living in the past. MC has shown time and again that she is willing to move on and experiment with her sound. If anything, it's some of the lambs that seem to want her to go back to her early 90's sound, which would put her squarely in Adult Contemporary genre today. And you can see how well that's working out for Celine. My point is that the lambs need to enjoy the classics, but also look forward to new and exciting things. The stuff she did with Walter was great, but let's not hammer her with questions about him. Here's to new sounds. The live orchestra and jazzy snippet we got was pip. (Thursday 7 November 2013; 20:33)

No Walter questions, please (39,681) by Matthew from USA Sometimes I think Mariah's fans are the most nostalgic fans ever. The lambs are forever looking back. Back on "the glory days", back when Mariah's voice was perfect, back and back and back. And it's fine to look back. We all have our nostalgic moments. But what I don't get is when the lambs want to relive the past. They want to recreate it. And I think Mariah wants to let go of all that. And she's trying to master the art of letting go. And all the lambs will be asking is if she can work with Walter again like it used to be back then. Here's an idea, Lambily. Let's look to the future. (Thursday 7 November 2013; 10:54)

Great new single? (39,618) by Matthew from USA We all know social media can be cruel. Celebrities are especially aware of this. Many celebs avoid social media. It can literally make or break a new project. So the fact that Mariah is inviting social media to the debut of the new single is promising. It means she's pretty confident it's a hit. Most artists nowadays "leak" their songs. If the buzz is good, they make it a single. If the buzz is bad, the artist will make a speech about how an unfinished song was unfairly leaked. But MC is actually telling all of social media to come and take a listen (you like this, and you know it). So I think the lambs should be pretty excited right now. MC and JD know a stone smash groove hit wonder when they hear it. Lol. (Thursday 31 October 2013; 6:49)

Single art (39,589) by Matthew from USA I like it, but it looks too much like her fragrance ad for me to love it. The water and the orange clouds are the same. Only thing different is that Mariah was naked in the fragrance ad and mostly submerged in the water. (Tuesday 29 October 2013; 8:36)

Lounging (38,646) by Matthew from USA Perhaps MC is trying to be considerate by lounging while Miguel hovers over her. But you all can't deny it looks hella awkward. Lol. Anyway, I've always thought the natural solution would be for them to both sit facing each other and singing to each other. Their most connected performance was at the summer jam, and they were both standing for that. But that was Miguel's show. When MC is in control, she is pushing the diva dahling image thing. I don't think she is intentionally being inconsiderate. She probably isn't even aware of it. But I wish they would connect more in the performances. And maybe if they could both sit on stools and face each other for an acoustic performance, that might happen. Even the videos are a bit disconnected. MC is all pose, face, twirl, pose, face, pose, pose. And then there are shots of Miguel thrown in for good measure because he is also in the song. But hey, that's part of why we love her. The girl is a ham. All she needs is a wind machine and a camera and she's ready to go. I do wish she would go for a more stripped down natural beauty for the video, because that's the kind of beautiful the song is talking about. And MC is one of the few women in the business who could pull off natural beauty (Always Be My Baby video, Dreamlover), so I'm not sure why she insists on making every moment glam pow lately. The new remix video is probably going to have more diva moments. (Thursday 11 July 2013; 21:52)

Troopers (38,632) by Matthew from USA Well MC is definitely a trooper, but I think Miguel needs to get credit too. I'm not sure he knew what he was in for when he signed up to work with our girl. But he's been through two video shoots already, was asked to redo his vocals in Spanish, then had to go do yet another video for another remix. That's on top of having to awkwardly stand over MC while she lounges away during their promotional performances and the fact that he was relegated to a featured artist when the song is honestly a duet. Poor Miguel. lol. But on the other hand, he can't complain too much. This is great promotion for him as well. And he is working with a living legend. Still, I'm pretty sure in the back of his mind he's thinking that this chick better not do another damn remix. (Wednesday 10 July 2013; 6:56)

4th of July (38,575) by Matthew from USA I just wanted to say that I saw the 4th of July performances and our girl did good. Go ahead Mimi. (Friday 5 July 2013; 5:53)

Mariah performances (38,524) by Matthew from USA First off, I want to say that I thought the intro to #Beautiful at the BET awards was pretty amazing, lip-synch or no. It was a moment for sure. The diva has arrived. Anyway, Randy, I do disagree with you. MC should not follow Whitney. Whitney kept it real and went on stage sounding terrible. Her legacy is tarnished. Whitney Houston is still a legend, but also a cautionary tale. That is her legacy, and it's not the legacy I want for MC. So if Mariah's voice is that shot, then I say lip-synch for your life, girl. Lol. The last thing she needs to do is go on stage sounding beat. The media would never let her live it down. Here's what I suggest. She needs to do Unplugged, part two. Just her and a band on stage, and it needs to be advertised as an intimate unplugged concert. But, not only does it need to be unplugged vocally, but image-wise as well, and that's the tricky part. Because MC does not seem to want to dress it down ever again. There is always a sparkling mic, a wind-machine, an elaborate curve hugging gown, six inch stilettos and a girdle involved. And she is turned to the side and sucking in her stomach. And let's be real, even the best of singers would be hampered with all that going on. So she needs to go unplugged all the way. After that, she will have room to lip all she wants cause she already proved her point. But can MC kick off her shoes and let her hair down and be the girl next door for one night? (Tuesday 2 July 2013; 6:46)

My hope for the new album (38,383) by Matthew from USA What I want from the new album is new producers. I love JD, Dream, and Rodney Jenkins. They've done a lot for R&B and Hip-Hop music. But it might be time to work with some new folks. #Beautiful was produced by someone MC has never worked with, and the sound was so different and great. The same happened when she was able to snag Neptunes for Say Somethin'. The result was something we never heard before that was fresh. Then JD produced the remix, which was back on more familiar territory. So if MC wants to stay doing Hip-Hop and R&B, that's fine with me. But I hope she gets some new producers. It's going to be hard for her, because when she did Memoirs, JD kind of threw a tantrum because The Dream got most of the production on that album but he will be alright. MC is at the level of fame where I'm sure producers would be happy to work with her. There are a lot of new guys on the scene, and while many of them are focused on EDM and techno, which MC dislikes, they might be able to add a new perspective to the Hip-Hop/R&B that MC wants to do. Look at what Kanye did on his last album. He did that because he wasn't working with the typical rap producers. What do you guys think? (Wednesday 26 June 2013; 11:14)

AI medley (37,906) by Matthew from USA When I watch MC giving an interview, she is always so real and genuine and down to earth. When I watch MC perform, I usually get the impression that she is posing for her life. I'm not sure why it's so hard for her to bring the MC from interviews to the stage. I think this medley did some damage to her image, mostly because everyone else who has ever performed on this show has done so as part of the live finale celebrations. MC had the theater cleared out so she could bring in only people who were already fans, the lighting was just so, the production was just so, none of the contestants were involved. It was like some weird interlude and then they got back to the show. Even Aretha, who didn't sound that great, came off better because at least the contestants were part of it. I know she is the diva, but she probably should have done a song with one of the contestants. Even if she was somehow outsung, which I highly doubt, it would have been a nice gesture and people would be saying that she held back out of respect to the contestant since this is all about them. As for the voice, I believe it's still there. I believe she sung live. I do think she needs to let her hair down and go unplugged or acoustic to silence the critics again though. Maybe we can hope for small intimate unplugged/acoustic tour? Knowing Mimi, it will be just the opposite. (Saturday 18 May 2013; 0:19)

Almost Home (37,380) by Matthew from USA Comparing JLo's success on AI to Mariah's is not exactly fair. JLo had a dance song featuring Pitbull, which she performed on the show. Even without AI, that type of music gets a lot of play on radio. Mariah on the other hand has Almost Home, which a snippet was played on Idol and she did not perform it. The song is also somewhat generic (anyone could sing it) and not typical Mariah until the vocals at the end. It's also not really what radio is playing right now. So to compare JLo's success with her dance songs to Mariah's success with Almost Home is a bit uneven. We all just need to calm down and wait for her new album to drop. Most likely she will perform the lead single from her album and then we will see the response and that will be a better gauge of Mariah's status. Mariah's lead singles tend to be very radio friendly, so I'm not worried. (Tuesday 12 March 2013; 13:30)

Mariah's legacy (37,372) by Matthew from USA Joachim, is Barbra Streisand any less of a legend because she is not selling like Rihanna? Barbra did one show. One show in New York, and people went crazy. Tickets sold out in 4 seconds. Everyone who was anyone in NY turned out to listen. I don't know how much she made, or how pricey those tickets were, but I'm pretty sure Rihanna would have to do 5 shows to make what Babs made in that one night. That's how a true diva works it, and that's what I hope for Mariah. She needs to take care of that voice, make a jazz album, do more songs that she won't be embarassed to perform in 10 years. I really don't think MC should be focusing on a grand world tour where she has to sing her difficult songs over and over for half a year. While that might boost her sales, it would probably take a toll on her voice. Let Rihanna and Madonna do a 100 city world tour. It costs them nothing to lip-synch the same 2 notes over and over. The fact is that those artists have to do that if they want to stay relevant. If Madonna wants to stay relevant, she needs to squeeze into a leotard and get out on tour one more time. If Mariah wants to stay relevant, she just has to sing. We Belong Together. Worldwide baby. It might not happen very often, but when the music and her voice come together just right, the world pays attention. And she becomes relevant again just like that. Then people start saying the "comeback" word, but the true lambs already know. Don't call it a comeback. Lol. (Monday 11 March 2013; 7:55)

Judging style / promotion for AH (37,334) by Matthew from USA At first I didn't like Mariah's judging style, because it seemed as if she would be the one judge who would be afraid to say anything negative. But I'm starting to really get her style. She stays positive, but if you read between the lines, you can tell when she didn't like a performance. If she hated it, she will talk about a past performance she liked. She and Keith are my favorite judges now. As for Almost Home, I think she needs to perform the song. But I don't think she should perform it on Idol. Since she is critiquing other people's singing on that show, she would need to be perfect. And Mariah usually doesn't do well when she has to sing her tracks that have a lot of heavy production (think Triumphant). If it were a ballad or a song that has live instruments, I would say go for it. She knocks those out of the park consistently. But I'm just scared I guess. If she sings on Idol, then she needs to be perfect, or when she goes back to her chair to judge others the media won't let her live it down. (Sunday 3 March 2013; 9:36)

Mariah belting (37,221) by Matthew from USA I think she just has different ways of belting. I like it when she belts in her mid-range, although lately she tends to belt in her high range. Take her latest Christmas album. The belting on the opening of Auld Lang Syne is sublime. There's a part in Christmas Time Is In The Air where she sings "and to feel love like ours always". That is also very beautiful. But that is her belting in her mid-range. But on that same album, the song with John Legend, when it gets to chorus and she starts belting "because it's Christmas time get together it's going to be so nice", it sounds a little shouty/screechy to me. She is kind of overpowering him, whereas when they did the Save The Music duet, they were blended perfectly. So I don't enjoy it as much when she is belting high, which seems to be more taxing to her. But it's just a personal preference thing. It's amazing that she has all these options. Most singers don't. It sounds like she is belting high on Almost Home. (Sunday 17 February 2013; 22:35)

Almost Home (37,210) by Matthew from USA I just heard the snippet and I like it. But I was wondering, why is it that Mariah's belting voice seems so screechy lately? Almost like she is on helium or like the chipmunks voice. I started to hear it on Triumphant, during the chorus you can barely make out what she is saying. I think she's saying "Can't fall down" and then she sings "Stay triumphant keep on living". But that "can't fall down" part is very screechy and not at all pleasant. And I'm kind of hearing it again on this snippet. I can't understand some of what she's saying because it is a bit screeched out. Is that just how her belting voice is now, or is it the production, or is it just my headsets? Lol. Is it just me? (Sunday 17 February 2013; 3:34)

Evergreens (36,821) by Matthew from USA I have to agree with everyone else that says AIWFCIY is Mariah's ultimate evergreen. The song gets played every Christmas without fail, and is considered to be a Christmas classic already. I would also consider "Hero" to be an evergreen. That song might not be on the radio anymore, but please believe that it gets trotted out whenever something bad happens. Whenever tragedy strikes and people start losing hope, Hero always makes an appearance. They played it during hurricane Katrina, it was the soundtrack to the firemen and rescue dogs looking for survivors in the ruins of 9/11. And it was even sung at the president's inauguration. So even though Hero is not on the radio, I would argue that it should probably get evergreen status. Let's not forget that when anyone on these singing competitions says they are going to sing Mariah, nine times out 10 it's Hero. Lol. I guess because it's easier to sing than most of her other stuff. And finally, Mariah tends to encore with Hero when she is on tour, so she probably thinks of it as her evergreen. So AIWFCIY and Hero. I'll Be There comes close as well, but MC's version is a cover, so I'm not sure if that counts. (Saturday 24 November 2012; 3:54)