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About Matthew from USA: Longtime MC fan from Miami, FL.

Yep, the dark era (86,025) by Matthew from USA I know this is the dark note era, but I was still holding out hope she would muster up the energy to fly on one of the songs, even if it would be impossible to reproduce live. She can do it, because I hear bits and pieces of bright moments on the ad libs in the background. Instead we have songs that she probably can sing live but don't translate well live. I mean, The Distance is a bop, but Mariah in a ballgown and heels trying to sing this song doesn't translate. Anyway, I will purchase and stream. Hopefully she gets a #1 album. The Distance is my fav, followed by GTFO, then they all kind of start to blend together. Portraits was a nice nostalgia moment, but she should have at least went bright there at the end since she didn't do it on With You. Also, even on her whisper notes, I used to be able to understand Mariah. Is it just me having trouble with half the lyrics? I probably just need new headphones. Anyway, it's a very moody album with MC exploring a lot of her dark/lower/nasal range only. C+/B- for me. (Friday 16 November 2018; 15:37)

Article: Mariah Carey makes "a no no" for real in her new single (85,553) by Matthew from USA I consider myself more than just a casual lamb and even I didn't get the Mean Girl's reference. Please don't revoke my membership. In any case, I think he's right. Outside of hardcore fans, that word is going to stick out unpleasantly for older or more educated listeners. And the whole nostalgia of the track seems to indicate that's who this is for. If this is intended as a single, she can probably salvage it by replacing the second verse with a rapper. Then again, the younger crowd might not know about that word, so maybe it won't matter. (Friday 2 November 2018; 16:52)

The lower register era (85,153) by Matthew from USA I'll be the first to say her lower register is not my favorite, but it seems like she's been really experimenting and exploring her lower register this era. All three songs have deep, dark notes. I've not seen her utilize this dark side this much before. It's just a few adlibs in GTFO. Then she is pretty low for much of WY, which I felt needed to take off a little before the end, but it does get stuck in your head. The Distance does something I thought was impossible. It proved she could have a hit singing mostly in that lower register which is not your standard pop star register. But The Distance is a legitimate bop, especially if you like R&B. So yeah, the dark notes era. I'm starting to get into it. If her vocal delivery has changed, her pen game is as sharp as ever. All three songs have ear-worm hooks. Regardless of how I feel about each of the 3 singles, I do find myself humming them. Only YDKWTD, from her last album had that kind of ear-worm hook. So yeah, just wanted to pipe in on my cautious optimism so far. Instead of holding her to some previous standard, I'm going to see how far she experiments with the lower dark notes and I'm interested to see how commercial she can make that sound. Mimi's going dark y'all. Caution. (Sunday 21 October 2018; 01:50)

No win situation (84,669) by Matthew from USA If she lips badly, we will mock her for being so lazy she can't even properly lip. If she lips perfectly, we will mock her for lip synching in the first place. If she sings live and sounds exactly like the studio recording, we will say she's lip synching because it's impossible for her to sound exactly the same as she did six months ago when she went into the studio to record the song. If she sings live and sounds a little different from the studio version, we will says she clearly pre-recorded an alternate version of the song to fool us into thinking she's singing live. If she sings live and sounds absolutely ratchet, we will agree she's singing live but say it's an absolute shame that her team let her come out on stage like this. If she's live and she refuses to sing and instead walks around the stage mumbling things, we will say it's a disgrace and she should have at least lip synched for heaven's sake. In this day and age, there are many ways to promote an album. She can do radio interviews, host her own radio show, do cameos on tv shows, license a song for a soundtrack, do merchandising, release a memoir, or do concerts where the fans seem to leave smiling and singing her songs. She should just skip these performances because it doesn't seem like she can win. I personally thought the performance was a win, even though I don't really like the song. (Wednesday 10 October 2018; 17:53)

It's a no for me (84,319) by Matthew from USA Aw man. DJ Mustard what was that? There was no interesting sample like on GTFO. There's no catchy chorus or bridge. Sounds like she wrote the lyrics first, so Mustard kind of just did the bare minimum so she could fit her lyrics. I do prefer it when someone gives her an interesting production and she writes to it (Touch My Body/#Beautiful) or when she works with the pianist to hammer out the melody then goes off to write the song (her work with Walter A). I don't know guys. This one's pretty bad. Ugh, frustration. Melody first, Mariah, lyrics after. Come on Jay-Z, hook a girl up. Hand her the mid-tempo latin loop from Camila Cabello's Havana or the throwback groove of Pharell's Happy. She does way better when she can adlib and write to the established melody. Also, her older darker (liquored up) heavier voice is very present in this song. She should make the effort to go lighter and younger when she can, even if she can't produce it live. Anyway, she's 1-1 for me. The teaser was better than the lead, so I'm back to being nervous about who's guiding this ship. (Thursday 4 October 2018; 18:15)

Vocal analysis (83,989) by Matthew from USA She can belt live. She can hit low notes live. She can can hit high notes live. She can whistle live. She can growl or roar live. She can do the breathy whisper live. Ironically, the one thing she seems to have completely lost, is the ability to do rapid runs. That is ironic, because her whole catalog is based on that foundation. Mariah had a tendency to make every note a run and now that agility seems to be gone. Some people say she should adjust her vocal style, but that's exactly what she is doing. Whenever she has to do a run, she does it staccato. For instance, the "oh" before "Lord knows dreams are hard to follow" in Hero. That oh is a run by itself, but she tends to chop it up now, like o-o-o-oh. She doesn't seem to be able to do the full fluid rapid run. Her transitions are all mostly staccato. Which is why We Belong Together is kind of a godsend for her. That whole song is pretty staccato. Even the belt at the end is choppy, like when-you-left-I-lost-a-part-of-me. So she usually sounds good on that. It's such a weird and specific part of your voice to lose, considering she seems to still have the rest of it. But melisma and agility was a giant part of her past, and it's just a big part of pop singing in general, so I wonder how it's going to go for her. As long as she gets it right in the studio, I'm here for it. (Monday 24 September 2018; 21:23)

Re: Buzz? (83,859) (83,865) by Matthew from USA In industry terms, a buzz single is a song that the label isn't required to promote. The song is released to the public without a push to radio, sometimes without a video or with just a lyric video or a video that cost very little to make. Record labels like buzz singles because if it doesn't get a good response they can use it as a reason to pull a bunch of shenanigans, from refusing to let an artist release an album to refusing to do a full promotional push. That's why some artists (Tinashe) end up with a bunch of supposed buzz singles with no follow through from the label. Very popular artists like Drake and Beyonce don't need buzz singles, because the label is very sure anything from those artists will sell. Despite her legendary status, the label apparently felt the need to release a buzz single so they can determine what kind of budget they want to allocate to actually pushing her album, or whether they will send her back to re-record and delay the album. And if the buzz single sells well, they get to collect without having to do much. They are obligated to push the real single to radio and create and fund other promotional opportunities, perhaps cutting a deal with radio for a certain amount of spins. So it's a money thing. It always is. (Wednesday 19 September 2018; 03:02)

The video (83,793) by Matthew from USA Quite a few female artists do music videos that are just a series of glamour shots. They fall into two categories, the serious and carefree. Nicki Minaj and JLo are examples of artists who go hard on the glamour shots. It's serious. Every shot is like I am so very sexy. SZA would be an example of an artist where even though the videos are pretty much all glamour shots, it's a little more carefree. Early Mariah did carefree sexy very well. Fantasy, Dreamlover, ABMB, even One Sweet Day (though it's not that type of song). But our girl has gotten to the point where she can't help but pose for her life in the videos now. Even on songs like #Beautiful or GTFO which has a breezy island vibe, she's in Victoria Secret supermodel mode. I guess she needs a storyboard with something to act out, otherwise she will default to going hard on I am so very seriously sexy route. I wish she would give us a sprinkle of carefree sexy every now and then, which shouldn't be so hard because her instagram is full of normal moments where the woman looks sexy without trying. But as long as the music is good I will be content. (Friday 14 September 2018; 20:29)

GTFO (83,745) by Matthew from USA Well I can't make out half of the lyrics and yet this thing is on repeat for me. So I don't even know what means, but I think it's definitely a good thing. It reminds me of Aaliyah's Rock the Boat. I couldn't make out her lyrics initially but the hypnotic island vibe had me hooked. Good job Mimi. I really like it. (Thursday 13 September 2018; 22:11)

Re: Mariah's next look (83,624) (83,632) by Matthew from USA Ouch. Any valid points he had was overwhelmed by the acidity. He even ended his rant by saying disgusting. In Mariah's defence, every singer on her level travels with an army of people. It's not like cousin can get the wardrobe, while mom sings backup, and you get the make-up kit and instruments. So musicians on her level require an entourage. And because everyone in that entourage is getting paid because of the star, none of them will likely do anything to upset that star, including being brutally honest. This is not something unique to Mariah. Her wardrobe does veer heavily into kitsch or tackiness, but perhaps he can look to Katy Perry, Madonna, or Nicki Minaj for classier wardrobes. I will say that I don't think he would express such disgust for those women. As a young gay, he's probably a barb. And this might also be his brand of comedy, acerbic. In any case, I'm not denying that there is some truth to the young man's words, but his delivery was, in his own words, disgusting. (Sunday 9 September 2018; 22:52)

Agressive music (83,540) by Matthew from USA The only way JD's description makes any sense is if he meant aggressive production. Is aggressive production on the next Mariah album a bad thing? Not necessarily. If we are being honest, production is king nowadays. It's what's driving most current music. It used to be that vocalists would dial back production so that the vocal could be front and center. But even today's vocalists like Beyonce and Ariana have very "agressive" production. In fact, Ariana's latest album could almost be called the Ariana and Pharell album, since his production is doing the most on quite a few of the tracks. So if Mariah gets aggressive with it, she would only be doing what is current. There are other reasons she might lean hard on production for the next album. If the production is doing the heavy lifting, she can take it easy with the vocal. Also, her lover and confidante is a dancer. It's likely he would give her positive feedback on music with aggressive production, since that would give him and the dancers a little more to do than her past songs allow. On the negative side, it does mean those expecting the 90's ballad queen where production is dialed back for vocals will be disappointed. But given her vocal inconsistency lately, that might be a good thing. In any case, I am very ready for the next chapter. (Saturday 1 September 2018; 01:07)

Re: A message for B (83,200) (83,208) by Matthew from USA M from UK, I wish I could give you a gold star. I agree with you wholeheartedly. There are artists, like Beyonce and Madonna, whose passion comes from the performance side of things, and you can see it in the level of detail they put into that aspect. Mariah is most passionate in the studio. And yet she has embarked on a series of tours and bookings which I can only assume is at the behest of the label. It's frustrating to see her spend time lip-syncing though and it's frustrating that whoever is handling her only cares about the money. Tours make more money than albums today. I hope the label and handlers will reinvest some of that money into promotion when her album finally drops, but we know the label strategy is to "leak" singles. If something is a insta-hit, it gets promoted. Otherwise, crickets. Mariah still has a voice. It is ridiculously inconsistent. But given 12 or so takes in the studio, I believe she can stitch something together. She's always been good at that. She has a good ear and pen skills. At this point, make music, experiment with sounds and genres, collab with new artists and take ideas from them as well. I don't care if it's a hit. Most good music today isn't. And if the CEO's and execs won't let her, then she needs to emancipate herself yet again. There's no point trading sing-sing for yet another kind of touring prison. (Saturday 21 July 2018; 08:46)

Re: The endless gigging / The Butterfly Returns (83,023) (83,031) by Matthew from USA Mariah is better in the studio. That's where she likes to be. She's not hurting for money. So the endless gigging must be a business thing. It's guaranteed money that justifies them keeping her on the label and they don't have to spend anything on promotion. Mariah had shown some interest in going independent. She even called her friend Prince to find out more about being independent but in the end she opted for the "safety" of a label. I thought it was a good idea for her to stick with a label back then, but now I'm not so sure. Does anyone know what the label is actually doing for her if all she does is tour? I guess she is in a catch-22. If she goes independent she can do what she loves and be in the studio, but she would have to fund the promotion herself. If she stays on a label, they will "encourage" her to do tours and residencies so they don't have to spend money on promoting something that may not see returns. Then again, Mariah going independent could be a hot mess if she doesn't have the right people, and she has poor judgement in that regard. I'm just not seeing how the label is helping at this point. I mean, even Stella was able to arrange the residencies and tours. What do the lambs think? (Sunday 8 July 2018; 21:14)

Re: Studio singer? (82,933) (82,953) by Matthew from USA Mariah is a studio singer and that's not a bad thing. Even during her peak, she was never really a "bring the house down" type of live performer like Patti, Aretha or Whitney. Those women may go down in history as better singers because of their ability to command the stage. Mariah is the better artist though. In the studio, during the crafting process, she makes very interesting decisions. Her runs are consistently sympathetic to the melody (unlike Christina or Beyonce) and she employs the full extent of her range throughout any studio effort. It's not just range though, but texture. You are liable to get rasps, growls, belts, earthy wails, airy breathy trills and several whistles, and that might just be in one song. Her technical proficiency is also great. She transitions well, but is capable of just disconnecting and pitching herself into an entirely different register as well as a host of other tricks. Add to that her strength as a lyricist, then add her ability to emote. Girlfriend can even emote on her whistles, whereas most people can just try to hold it. There is sexy whistle, playful whistle, angry shriek whistle, whistle of despair and sadness. My point is that when it comes to artistry, musicality, and the depth of her catalog, Mariah is first in class among divas. (Saturday 30 June 2018; 00:40)

Article: Mariah Carey is "considering baring all" in a naked shoot (82,420) by Matthew from USA After announcing your struggle with mental illness, the last thing you want to do as your next public move is go naked. She needs to reinforce that she is grounded and present. A woman, mother, survivor, and yes, a diva (though she may want to play down the kooky diva and play up the earthy humanitarian diva). (Wednesday 16 May 2018; 18:11)

Diminishing returns (82,296) by Matthew from USA I think Mariah should focus on her album. She may not be anywhere near her vocal peak, but compared to most of the singers out there now (Hasley, Camilla, Rihanna, Taylor, Katy, etc.) she really doesn't need to be. I'm not saying those girls are bad singers, but they aren't doing anything vocally strenuous. Even Whitney at her lowest vocal point was able to put out My Love is Your Love. She just needs current hits with the current vocal. The problem is she keeps focusing on other things. And because there is nothing current, she has no choice but to bring out the old hits. The ones where she has to do the vocal equivalent of a triple axle followed by two somersaults, a pirouette and a back flip. And more often than not, this mother of two in her 40's, isn't able to do those flips the way she did in her 20's. So she gets publicly ridiculed and the cycle just repeats itself. The only way to break it is to get some current hits with current vocals. The only way to do that is to get serious about the album. Focusing on the tours might make money now, but it will be diminishing returns if she can't hit those old glory notes regularly. Mariah is beautiful and the body is in the right place. They need to capitalize on that pronto. Save the legacy tours for the Streisand years. (Thursday 3 May 2018; 20:57)

Article: Mariah Carey is coming back to Manila (81,691) by Matthew from USA Another tour of the oldies but goodies? Well, I suppose if the new material isn't going well, then some Mariah is better than no Mariah. (Friday 6 April 2018; 22:19)

Article: Manchester Arena: The most confusing show on Earth (79,788) by Matthew from USA Eh, I think the writer meant well. But he seems a little pressed to display his intellectual remove from the proceedings. He strikes me as either a really young gay out to impress, or an older gay who is a little on the jaded cynical side. In the end, he's baffled by all the joy and festivity in the room, and I can only have sympathy for someone so confused about the reason for the season. (Monday 11 December 2017; 17:12)

Article: Mariah Carey signs with Jay Z's Roc Nation (79,505) by Matthew from USA This is good news. As others have pointed out, Jay-Z and Roc Nation fit the target audience for hip-hop and R&B. But most importantly, when Jay-Z drops new material, products or music, you don't see him everywhere promoting it, but it still gets promoted. I think Mariah is on exactly the same page. She fell out with Benny, Randy and JD as managers because they were all on the "you need to make the rounds" old school mentality. Clearly, Mariah has no interest in getting on the hamster wheel and doing the hustle. She's been there, done that. She's at a stage of life where she wants to be able to record quality material, make a few quality appearances in support of it, and have marketing do some heavy pushing. Quality over quantity (she is especially in need of quality after Stella). I think Jay-Z gets that, so I'm optimistic about this pairing. (Tuesday 21 November 2017; 18:34)

Article: Mariah Carey and her manager have split (79,207) by Matthew from USA Yet another good move by Mariah. Looking good at The Star event and hand-print ceremony, giving coherent interviews without the diva shenanigans, and now getting rid of Stella (before Christmas presents have to be handed out ). The kids are also a little older now and don't need the constant supervision babies and toddlers do. I'm feeling optimistic about the next era lambs, whatever it may bring. (Sunday 5 November 2017; 01:00)

Article: The naked dress (79,122) by Matthew from USA She looks good at The Star event. Keep it up Mariah. (Wednesday 1 November 2017; 18:11)

Article: Mariah Carey surprises with new Christmas song (78,916) by Matthew from USA Aww. I was hoping she would use her old higher belt. It's not very reliable, but I'm sure she can produce it in a studio environment, and it would have kicked the song up a notch towards the end there. She mostly uses her low nasally tonefor the duration of this song, or the liquor tone if you will , which is my least favorite MC tone since it goes nowhere. But it's very reliable for her so I guess the plus is that she should be able to perform it live. I've always thought that she should do the impossible on the recording, even if she can't reproduce it live. At least we will have a stellar recording. But I guess there is also merit to not overdoing it in the studio if you know you probably can't produce it on stage. (Friday 20 October 2017; 21:44)

Article: Mariah is stiff as a board in Hip Hop Honors performance (78,425) by Matthew from USA Adele, Aretha, and a lot of these other neo-soul artists get a pass on being stiff, because they actually sing. Mariah gets called out for her stiffness because she's also heavily lip-syncing. And if you can't move your hips or your lips, then you should probably just take a seat in the audience and let other artists who do move their hips and lips honor you. (Tuesday 19 September 2017; 20:23)

Re: Article: Taylor Swift leaps to no. 1 on Hot 100 (78,285) (78,291) by Matthew from USA She's barely on the Unforgettable record. And one could argue that she doesn't add much to the track aside from background ambiance. I like the track, but it's definitely not proof that Mariah can still put out quality tracks. Not saying that she can't, just that Unforgettable isn't proof of it. (Tuesday 5 September 2017; 22:09)

Article: Mariah responds to bodyguard's injury claim (77,598) by Matthew from USA Still would prefer it if she hired a chef. There would be lots of benefits to it. She could specify meals with a calorie limit and then let the chef be as creative as they want. She would have delicious meals prepared for her that are also healthy. It would also cut down on expenses, since she wouldn't have to pay for the whole entourage to eat at fancy restaurants every night. The drawback is that if she stayed at home, she and Stella wouldn't get papped every night, and she wouldn't get a chance to dress up, which are both things she seems to enjoy. But hiring a chef would be better, since you can't really control caloric intake if you are eating out every night. It's hard to lose weight when you are poor, since you often have to work instead of exercise, and eating healthy is often more expensive. But Mariah doesn't have any of those excuses, so there's a little less sympathy here. We know that if she really wants to get into shape she can, like she did for Touch My Body. (Monday 31 July 2017; 17:26)

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