Messageboard

About Eternal from Italy: I've learned incredible new chords playing Mariah's songs on my piano, her songs are real works of art.

Billboard interview excerpts (42,886) by Eternal from Italy Good to know it's not going to be her last album. (Friday 25 April 2014; 14:21)

JD interview (42,856) by Eternal from Italy Thanks sweetheartaaron for the video of JD. He actually gave a bit more info about the new album and their plans. Did I hear it right, JD said that You're Mine isn't a single, but just a little song to prove that Mariah's really singing? So they're just going to pretend it didn't happen, the whole song, after tons of remixes and two videos and a much hyped BET performance? That nonchalant way he said it sounded like he was trying to minimise the failure of that song in the charts. I take it that in Mariah's books, anything less than a top 10 is a failure, probably even Beautiful, since it "only" reached #15. JD even mentioned how Mariah's really looking to get that 19th number one, so that explains why all these singles. Since after 5 singles and this trick still isn't working, it might do them both good to try something different. I doubt it's going to make much of a difference coming out with yet another single before the album. The album started out on the wrong foot and there's no way to remedy all these consecutive errors. Release that album, if it tanks, take another year or two off and come back with a real surprise album then, not a surprise album with a date attached to it. Stay off all the unnecessary twitter and instagram updates about working with so and so, untill the morning blah. Let the music speak for itself. (Thursday 24 April 2014; 21:48)

Edward (42,824) by Eternal from Italy I get your point, Edward. She's Mariah Carey, she has someone to attend to every single aspect of her life, she hires and fires nannies in the blink of en eye, she's worth 500 million bucks and she doesn't even need to really sing live any more to continue rolling in those dollars. Could this be why she has lost interest in it all? She usually slims down in time for an album release, she did it with TEOM and E=MC2 (though I will never know how celebs can gain and lose so much weight in a matter of weeks). This time around she just looks even bigger than when she was pregnant. The thing about having kids for a celebrity like her is not in doing household chores; your perspective on life is what changes. You just subconsciously shift everything else to second place. All the new parents I know, their social life changes dramatically, even with just one kid. A new parent would probably fret more over if their kid falls sick, then if they've finished their new album in time or not. She doesn't care about it, and she's just peacefully letting JD take all the blame while sipping her pink champagne. That doesn't really speak well of her professionalism and her work ethic, considering that she used to work her socks off and that's why she managed to accumulate all those millions in the first place. What can we do, if she herself doesn't care? Maybe we should start caring about our own lives more than hers, and listen to her younger peers more. (Wednesday 23 April 2014; 10:54)

Press release (42,795) by Eternal from Italy I searched everywhere online but didn't find any news regarding this PR announcement confirming the album release. Where did you guys get this piece of news? Anyways. I'm not going to hold my breath. There's been too much speculation for too long. I'll believe it when I see it. The thing is, why isn't Mariah talking? She used to let the lambily know everything that was going on behind the scenes; now she just posts instagram pictures and random status updates like "we're walking". The only way Mariah can justify the album delay and this shady situation is if the album turns out to be a real masterpiece. Let's hope for it to be so. I do have confidence in her that at least a few songs on the album could be gems. She's always had strong album tracks, no fillers. (Tuesday 22 April 2014; 19:32)

Album pushback (42,782) by Eternal from Italy I think Mariah really doesn't care that much about her career any more. If it was really Island or JD or some other corporate bigwig's fault, she would have actively voiced out her discontentment as she did in 2000. But in the Instagram and Facebook photos she's been posting lately, she looks truly happy with her family. Maybe she has finally found the undividedness and stability she's longed for (Petals ). So many of her photos now are with her hubby and kids, so I imagine she spends most of her time with them. Think about how hard is it for a mother to work and not be with her kids. When she was single/young, that was her only passion. Her career was her life. Now her family is her life. The reason why she's doing this album is probably because it's the last one she has under contract with Island and she's obliged to go through with it. Her heart isn't really in it, otherwise she would have tried harder as she did in the past, like give performances on TV shows. Even during the Memoirs era she gave regular performances, even in Japan and Europe. Now she barely even sings on American shows. She only participates in events where big money is involved, like AI and those African/Australian concerts. Frankly, I can understand her. She's not the only singer who has slowed down in her 40s. Many other singers do the same. Maybe I would have liked her to honestly say this in public so at least us lambs don't have to keep being misled and disappointed. (Tuesday 22 April 2014; 12:11)

Great move webmaster (42,614) by Eternal from Italy I think there are many silent [censored] lambs who read this message board and put thumbs down on whatever they read, while not necessarily contributing any useful or interesting opinion. I wonder what some of these people are thinking, if they even think at all before putting a thumbs down. It just instils this sense of negativity to MCA, in a moment of time when the lambs need more positivity regarding Mariah's new album. (Monday 14 April 2014; 19:17)

Supernatural as album title (42,563) by Eternal from Italy It has a nice ring to it. I like thinking of Supernatural as two separate words - "super" because Mariah's juggling roles of mother, wife, and work as a singer; and "natural" because she's doing what she does best - music. It's simple yet effective and it conveys so much meaning. And the song itself features dem babies, so it would make sense if she chose this as the album title too, because this journey she has been through in the last few years mainly involved Roc and Roe. I'm really psyched about May 6, I'll reserve any comment about her new music until the album drops. At this point, that's all I'm concerned about - that there won't be any more supernatural, natural or unnatural delays to the album release. (Thursday 10 April 2014; 9:48)

Randy / album titles (42,401) by Eternal from Italy Randy, your album titles in case of a delay are crazy funny. Arm-Brace-let, The Procrastination of Mimi, E=MC Where?, Mirages of an Imperfect Album were particularly inspired titles. MC better come out with the new album on May 6 otherwise we're all going to keep coming up with things like this to pass time. (Monday 31 March 2014; 10:41)

First time knowing of Mariah (42,349) by Eternal from Italy It was 95 or 96 and everyone was talking about her song Hero. I was still in primary school and I remember her name was a little hard to pronounce lol. Then I saw her video for AIWFCIY after my favourite cartoon every weekend and I loved the youthful, joyous nature of the song. My first Mariah album was Rainbow (bought in 1999), but I didn't listen to any more Mariah music until 2008, when a university friend got me interested in her music again. I listened to E=MC2, loved it and started watching all of her videos on YouTube and was amazed by the quality and quantity of her back catalogue. I've been a lamb since. I have to say that phase back in 08 and 09 of eagerly listening to all her old songs was lovely. Hearing songs you never knew and loving almost every single one of them, this endless discovery of the wonder that is Mariah Carey. (Thursday 27 March 2014; 12:34)

Well said Stacey (42,013) by Eternal from Italy We are all here because presumably we love Mariah's music. That doesn't mean that we necessarily love her image, her personality, her choice of words (STSHW, dahlings) etc. I've learned to make a difference between Mariah the singer/songwriter versus Mariah the person. She is free to be who she is, it's not up to me to say how she should be, otherwise I would be Tommy part 2. Similarly on this board people are free to say what they want. If I don't like something someone said, I'll just ignore it. There's no point in specifically targeting someone's post just to reinforce your own stance or have the last word on an argument. This infighting is really a bad image of lambs in general. I mean, seriously, now the lambs are even arguing over whether Justin Timberlake is a good singer/douchebag/ opportunist or not. Since when did this became a JT message board? (Friday 7 March 2014; 12:54)

Bill / Dreamlover (Bam Jam Soul Mix) (41,948) by Eternal from Italy Thanks Bill for your post. I never knew of some of the things you wrote. I listened more attentively to the Bam Jam Soul Mix of Dreamlover. The lyrics and structure of the song are very similar to the version that eventually ended up on the album, but it's more sparse and I don't think it would have become such a huge hit if it weren't for the fact that they made it more pop-oriented. It's still a lovely version though. Lead The Way had such beautiful vocals, was the version on the Glitter album recorded back in 1997 then, and not 2001? I wonder if Mariah's current songs would have become bigger hits if she had better producers that worked on them, like what Walter did to her old songs. The production of YME, TAOLG and even Beautiful are sub-par IMHO. YME sounds dated, TAOLG sounds like a B-side of a single, and Beautiful was, indeed, beautiful but seems rushed and the ending abrupt. We all know Mariah's been involved with the production of her albums and songs since early in her career, but I honestly don't think that's her forte. She needs external expertise and opinion. Hopefully that rumoured song with Walter turns out to be true. I think she should give it a chance. Her career's at stake here. (Monday 3 March 2014; 8:59)

Darryl / singles (41,768) by Eternal from Italy Darryl, I think you're right regarding the so-called singles that Mariah has released up till now. The problem is she seems to be releasing just any random song that takes her fancy at the moment, without officially declaring it a single or not. TAOLG was called a single, and there was so much hype leading up to its release on 11 November (remember the interviews, all the Facebook announcements etc?), but then it didn't get a video nor any kind of promotion. Triumphant was also called a single, it got the full video and remixes treatment (Vintage Throwback, Pulse, etc) but she only performed the song once and it was released way before any news of the album was announced. #Beautiful actually did pretty well and would have been a decent lead single, but the album wasn't even close to being ready and then she broke her arm, which obviously isn't her fault. That's pure unluckiness. My point is, her timing in releasing these so-called singles is really off. Everything's too hastily done. Get the album ready, be completely satisfied with the songs you have, and then release the lead single. Don't try out just any half-baked songs recorded and release them without even having finished recording the album. She used to be so much more organized in these things. Her lead single was always a midtempo or uptempo (Honey, Fantasy, ILT, TMB) followed quickly by a ballad (WBT, My All) and it's a formula that worked for her. I wonder if it might be a management issue. (Wednesday 26 February 2014; 12:25)

Next single (41,662) by Eternal from Italy I believe since Mariah herself leaked the title of the song "Thirsty", she might already be thinking of it as her next single. She might have leaked the title to generate anticipation and interest among the lambily, knowing that not all of us would be satisfied with You're Mine as a single. I hope it'll be a smashing uptempo like It's Like That or Migrate, two of her hardest-hitting songs ever. I'm still dreaming of a potential song written with the likes of Pharrell though. His song Happy is classy, sassy, fun and energizing all at the same time. A throwback fresh sound. Exactly what Mariah needs. Vintage without being outdated. Fresh without necessarily throwing herself into techno, EDM music to rule the charts. (Monday 24 February 2014; 9:12)

Mariah's sound (41,661) by Eternal from Italy Some of us may bemoan the sweet girl-next-door, safe pop music that Mariah used to make in her early career, but she actually did good by breaking away from that boring goody two shoes music/style. If she had just blindly followed what Mottola's team wanted, she would have continued making just pop music all her career. Nice, but rather insignificant. Instead she chose to blaze her own trail, incorporating rap, hip hop, motown, r&b, and dance elements in her later albums, hence developing her own identity in music. I don't think Daydream, Butterfly and TEOM would have happened if Mariah continued being Mottola's puppet. The comparisons with Whitney also stopped after these albums, and they became known in the 90s as equal competitors rather than her just playing second fiddle to Whitney. I listen regularly to Mariah's albums, and it struck me after awhile that Music Box, while full of gems like AYNAF and EFA, lacks the kind of musical depth that her later albums had. I think Ariana needs to contribute her own musical input into her albums and songs, put her own style on things rather than trying to emulate Mariah's unique whistle register and whispers. She's such a lovely girl and deserves the success she's had for her first album, but you can't have a career based on Mariah's Daydream style all your life. If you want to be known as more than just a one hit wonder, you have to evolve as an artist. (Monday 24 February 2014; 9:03)

Interview with Ralphie Aversa (41,643) by Eternal from Italy I watched the interview with Ralphie and it seems Mariah's team must have got wind of our recent complaints over her diva antics and erratic blabberings during interviews. She actually sounds composed, coherent, informative, humble and most important of all, nice. Obviously she still keeps her funny moments but it's all under control and for once she's not talking about her dogs giving birth or whatever. She gave lots of info about the new album and its delays, the producers she worked with, and just this whole "journey" of the new album. Good work Mariah, I can't wait to hear this journey. (Sunday 23 February 2014; 15:45)

Relevancy / longevity of Mariah (41,532) by Eternal from Italy I was reading the last few messages and the remote possibility that Mariah might stop making music altogether just made me so sad. Deteriorating voice, bad image, diva attitude aside, MC is MC and she's the only one in the business with this kind of music, songwriting talent and unique vocals (I do not consider Ariana her successor, her voice has none of that husky, sultry texture). Like someone else said, MC shouldn't try to capture the teen market. She isn't in her 20s anymore and her music has never been particularly cool for teens. She's always made music that was more intelligent, more intellectual for people in their 20s to 30s. I think she should go independent and release music of her own without succumbing to any label pressure for a chart-friendly hit. With 18 #1s and 200 million albums sold, she's already achieved all the numbers that others are still striving for. Why should she put herself in the competition with non-talents like Rihanna and Miley Cyrus? It's not an offence to them, it's an insult to Mariah. (Thursday 20 February 2014; 14:14)

Similarity of You're Mine (41,488) by Eternal from Italy You're Mine actually sounds a lot like Underneath The Stars and H.A.T.E.U. combined. It's not about the song structure or instruments used, it's the dreamy feeling of these songs. Even the vocals and lyrics are kinda similar. UTS talks about the thrills of first love ("one summer night we ran away for a while, and imagined I was yours and you were mine"), YME talks about memories of love through the seasons ("summer days and summer nights when I felt you in my arms"). Play UTS followed by YME (solo version) and HU preferably with a crossfade and I hope you'll get what I mean. (Wednesday 19 February 2014; 13:42)

Opinion of You're Mine from a non-lamb (41,350) by Eternal from Italy So today I asked my other half his opinion of Mariah's latest single when we heard it on the radio. It came on so suddenly while we were in the car, and he wondered if it was an old song of hers. He's usually quite critical of Mariah's latest efforts, but surprisingly, he liked You're Mine and thought that the music was simple but very listenable and even reminiscent of some of her best works in the past. That last whistle note reminded everyone why Mariah is Mariah, and the only negative thing he noted was the number of vocal effects like echo and reverb applied to her voice in certain parts. But he also noticed that the verses were simply arranged, and how she was singing almost in acapella sometimes. That made me think about the lambs' current debate over this single. Could we be too harsh on Mariah because we've listened to so many of her songs, and our expectations are unusually high? To a normal non-Mariah fan, they have nothing but good things to say about YM. The sound and vocals are typically Mariah, and it's so catchy and romantic, perfect for V-Day. I'm even loving the song more with each listen. (Saturday 15 February 2014; 15:07)

Mariah losing respect (41,280) by Eternal from Italy I'm glad most of us lambs are finally facing the fact that Mariah is losing touch of her own self. Sites like Perez Hilton have picked up on her rambling conversations about inane topics and her ever increasing fervor for champagne, and all this negative press serves only to distract listeners from her new single. It isn't about blindly criticising Mariah, it's the fact that her recent appearances are making her lose the hard-earned respect that she has spent half of her life to attain. When people talked about Mariah in the 90s, they talked about her amazing vocal range, technique and huge catalogue of brilliant songs like Vision of Love and My All. People loved that about her and bought her albums/singles willingly. Now whenever I hear my friends and family talk about Mariah, they only know about her crazy diva demands, arrogant attitude and how she seems to take so much effort to reach certain notes. That makes her unlikeable and a non-lamb wouldn't buy her songs to support a person like this. The last time she appeared in public like this was in 2001, let's hope that she gets the wake up call she needs before she ruins her own image and career again. The last time she had an excuse that she worked too hard, now it's been 4 years since her last album, what's the excuse Mariah? (Friday 14 February 2014; 10:43)

You're Mine (Eternal) remix (41,150) by Eternal from Italy Mariah's official channel on Youtube has posted the audio of both the original and remix. You're Mine has a very catchy hook, even the normal verses are pretty good. The remix featuring Trey sounds more urban and current, the original reminds me a lot of HATE U, an R&B slow burner. Frankly after repeat listens, I don't think it's chart topping material, not because it isn't good, but because this isn't the kind of music that dominates the chart now. It's like Underneath The Stars, a lamb favorite but not really a chart topper. I really hope I'm wrong and people pick it up like cotton candy, but this is, IMO, another beautiful album track like TAOLG. Still a lot better than current pop standards of course. I'm gonna get a lot of "dislikes" for this, I know. Not hating on Mariah or the new song, but this seems like a wannabe of We Belong Together, only thing is it's 2014. Good that she's going back to her roots and doing the kind of music she (and us) love, but after 5 years off, I expected her new music to be more fresh. That's all. (Wednesday 12 February 2014; 14:32)

Mariah at Empire State Building (41,146) by Eternal from Italy Just read this on the Mariah Network: Mariah Carey is flipping the switch at the Empire State Building on Friday, which will be lit in Red-and-Pink Sparkle and Fades in honor of Valentine’s Day. Will she be performing You're Mine? (Wednesday 12 February 2014; 12:34)

Mariah on The View (41,113) by Eternal from Italy Looks like MDJ got updated at last. I really hope it won't be shutting down, like many other fansites I've been checking out before MDJ and MCA for the past years. According to MDJ, Mariah will appear on both The View and MTV First tomorrow, with the former being an in-studio appearance. Does that mean she will be doing just an interview to promote the single, or will she actually be performing You're Mine? I sincerely hope it's the second, otherwise we have to wait untill the 24th for the BET Honors broadcast. Anyway, I can't wait for tomorrow! (Tuesday 11 February 2014; 13:02)

You're Mine (41,031) by Eternal from Italy I heard a low quality audio recording (I couldn't contain the excitement for a new Mariah song) on YouTube and I'm beyond psyched for the official release. It's a beautiful [...] song which reminds me slightly of [...] and [...] and has that [...] atmospere of [...] Mariah and lots of [...]. I'm getting a real good vibe about it. The album looks like it's shaping up to be a really cohesive piece of work, like Daydream, Butterfly and TEOM. #Beautiful, TAOLG and You're Mine all share the same minimal production and I love all three songs. Bring it on MC! (Sunday 9 February 2014; 16:30)

The Tonight Show performance of WBT (40,870) by Eternal from Italy This video disappeared for a few years due to copyright reasons but it's back at last! I thought her voice sounded really full and powerful here and it was just one of the many times in 2005 when her vocals were really on point. Her performance on BET Blueprint will always be the best for me though. (Thursday 30 January 2014; 10:27)

Favorite songs (40,482) by Eternal from Italy I noticed how many of our favorite MC songs are coincidentally also some of the songs she later mentioned were too "schmaltzy" or only wrote to fit in with radio trends (eg. I Don't Wanna Cry) of that time. I wish she would write another gospel-tinged song like Anytime You Need A Friend, or at least perform it live. She hasn't sang this since 1996. Mariah Carey: Vision Of Love, Vanishing, Love Takes Time Emotions: Emotions, Can't Let Go, Make It Happen Music Box: Anytime You Need A Friend Merry Christmas: Miss You Most, O Holy Night Daydream: Forever, Looking In Butterfly: Butterfly, My All, Breakdown, The Roof, Whenever You Call (practically the entire album! ) #1s: I Still Believe Rainbow: Against All Odds, Thank God I Found You (Make It Last Remix) Glitter: Lead The Way Charmbracelet: Through The Rain The Emancipation Of Mimi: It's Like That, Stay The Night, I Wish You Knew, Fly Like A Bird, Don't Forget About Us E=MC2: I Stay In Love, I'm That Chick Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel: Candy Bling, Languishing Interlude Merry Christmas II You: When Christmas Comes Best Remixes: Anytime You Need A Friend (7'' Mix), My All (Morales Classic Mix) (Thursday 9 January 2014; 10:49)

MORE MESSAGES