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About Skip from United States: Lamb since the "Vision of Love" cassette single of '90!

First week album sales (44,394) by Skip from United States The theory on an album's debut week sales is that it's a reflection of how the public felt about the previous album. That is, "E=MC2" started incredibly strong because "The Emancipation of Mimi" was massively popular, and now "Me. I Am Mariah" is starting off weakly because "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" was not. It's not a reflection of the album's quality itself or its potential. Granted, if there was a huge song off the album getting airplay right now, we'd see the album take off. Clearly that's what happened with "Emancipation" after "Charmbracelet's" middling success: "We Belong Together" was the booster shot that reversed the downward sales trend. So the hope now is that "You Don't Know What To Do" will become the pop-culture moment it needs to be for the album's sake. It's never too late, though. Albums such as "Forever Your Girl" by Paula Abdul or "I'm Not Dead" by Pink had both released a few singles before a particular song took off, so much so that it gave the album legs and qualified previously released singles for a re-issue. Anything's possible so long as the label believes in the music. And in this case, the music is some of her best. Ever. (Sunday 1 June 2014; 20:15)

Single choices / promotion (44,345) by Skip from United States Good points and observations, Bill from UK and PJW. You're both right. There were sometimes good reasons for the single changes at IDJ, and there were definitely times on Columbia where single choices were scuttled for various reasons. I suppose the difference I see with Mariah's current label and the incidences brought up from the Columbia years is that, even when a choice is ultimately made now, it still doesn't feel like a 100% commitment. And I don't necessarily think Mariah is always right in what she thinks should be a single. (Personally, I think "Against All Odds" would've been a smash here in America over "Can't Take That Away", but who knows for sure.) What I'm saying is Mariah and the label need to come to a consensus and then spend equal energy promoting the heck out of that chosen song. If either half of that equation doesn't believe in the selection, it's never gonna see its full potential. And when the whole team isn't working together towards a common goal, it feels like the engine doesn't have enough horsepower, when it totally could otherwise. Considering Mariah's social media savvy, I wonder why she doesn't get creative and start doing more to promote her music that way. For example, if she had performed YDKWTD while riding that subway car last night and posted that YouTube, that would've gone viral and exposed the song. (Saturday 31 May 2014; 2:57)

Her voice and reputation (44,289) by Skip from United States Her voice: I actually think her voice is as flawless as ever. The fact that she may choose to record songs in a lower key these days probably has a lot to do stamina, protection of her voice, and wanting them to be written in keys she can perform for years to come. Also, voices change. Listen to Jennifer Aniston's speaking voice in the early years of "Friends" compared to how it is now. It's dropped. That's just nature. Mariah's voice is still the greatest one recording music today. Her reputation: Yes, I do believe her tardiness, her spiraling answers to questions, her "elusiveness" do put people off. But I think Mariah's mind works in a way unlike most people's. I think her genius in music and lyric writing is tied to her somewhat abnormal social skills. And I, for one, would rather have the Mariah I have now than one who was less musically brilliant just so she could answer a reporter's question more succinctly. Bottom line is: I love her and support her, through every high and low, and no matter what's going on in her world right now, I trust her, and I'm thankful for the supremely genius album she has just worked so hard for so many years to give to us. (Friday 30 May 2014; 1:48)

Mariah's appearance and JD (44,288) by Skip from United States Mariah's appearance: I personally don't care how much Mariah weights, what she chooses to wear, or how she wants to conduct herself in an interview. After 24 years, she's proven her worth and she can do whatever the hell she wants. My only concern is her lack of self-confidence, which she admits to. This is a beautiful person who believed someone when they told her years ago that she has a "good side" and hasn't forgotten it. When Mariah gains a little weight, I see her even more self-conscious and that's the only reason I'd want her to be in top shape - so that she can feel as beautiful as she is all the time. (How she behaves in the "#Beautiful" video or the live performance of "Fly Like A Bird" from Idol Gives Back would be examples of this.) JD: I don't know what goes on behind closed doors, so I don't really know what he's doing to manage her. I do feel a producer should focus on producing and a manger should be hired to do managing, but Mariah's a brilliant business woman. You can't achieve her level of success without being hands on. So I trust she knows what she's doing, and would make a change if she felt a change were needed. (Friday 30 May 2014; 1:48)

The label (44,287) by Skip from United States The label: I feel Mariah's frustration. When she gets exasperated in the Robert "super fan" video over "For the Record" not being a single ("these people"), it shows how IDJ has never had the confidence in single selections. Examples: Charmbracelet: "The One" is switched to "Boy" during the video shoot; "BOTH" bizarrely follows "IKWYW"; "Yours" only gets a TV test run. TEOM: "To the Floor" and "Say Somethin'" are both tested out before "It's Like That" finally gets chosen; "Stay the Night" gets one TV performance… in the Netherlands. EMC2: "Love Story" gets switched to "Bye Bye", again during the video shoot. "Migrate" gets a 12", "I'm That Chick" gets remixes, then they release "I Stay In Love". MOAIA: "IWTKWLI" gets chosen when "Betcha Gon' Know" is actually charting, the video is delayed by weeks; "HATEU" has an entire verse and chorus cut out of the video. MIAM: With 5 singles - "official", "buzz", "for the fans" or otherwise - before the album, the label appears to now be waffling between "Thirsty", "YDKWTD" and "Meteorite". Plus, "Charmbracelet" and "E=MC2" were both to have deluxe American re-issues, while Memoirs' two remix albums got canceled as well. I've never seen a label this insecure about their choices and, when finally making those choices, this incapable of backing them up. I see no reason for this constant retreating except for a lack of faith in their own skills. If they believed they knew what they were doing, we'd see that in their marketing. (Friday 30 May 2014; 1:47)

The new album and promotion (44,286) by Skip from United States Long-time reader and life-time lamb here. After reading everyone's comments, I have many things to say. I know long posts are discouraged, so I'll split this into sections and hope this will meet the wWebmaster's approval. The new album: I am of the opinion MIAM is her finest ever album achievement. It may not be packed with singles, but the production is so intricate, diverse, and creative that I feel we get to see every side of MC on this album in a way we never have before, even more than TEOM. She's told us this is an "album" experience, that she wanted this to be the truest representation of her, and I think she's achieved that. I remember she wanted E=MC2 to be packed with singles and that album doesn't feel cohesive. Here at album 12 (or 14), I feel she's finally given us her truest piece of art. The promotion: I don't know why she isn't doing tons of talk shows, but it may be that she feels this album will be a grower and not a shower. It will take people time to discover the full album, and word-of-mouth and a tour will help with that. She was in no rush to complete the album; perhaps she feels in no rush to sell it, either. I, for one, am glad the album is of such high quality that I'll have no problem talking it up to friends. If it had been subpar, then we would have truly been in trouble. (Friday 30 May 2014; 1:39)