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Re: What sank Charmbracelet? (100,842) (100,844) by Stacey from USA I remember that story. As talented as Mariah is, and I know this may come as a shock to some, she is occasionally wrong. I am glad JD insisted she sing full voice instead of whisper on WBT and glad MC listened. Can you imagine whisper vocals all throughout WBT? Yikes. (Thursday 28 July 2022; 20:58)

Re: (100,841) (100,843) by Stacey from USA First off, I'm glad you love Charmbracelet. The album tanked with the general public because Mariah overused the whisper vocal. The lyrics were screaming for that full voice vocal and does MC do? Whisper. CB is hard for me to listen to because I don't get that emotional release. What is MC known for? What made her dominate the 1990s? That voice. It's why when promotion began for TEOM, the slogan used was "Return of the Voice". Mariah is most successful when she uses all aspects of her voice (whisper, full voice, whistle.) But again, I've always argued CB was released as damage control. It gave Mariah a platform to explain what happened during her breakdown, get her airtime, which set her up for the real comeback: The Emancipation of Mimi. And for that last reason alone I'll always be grateful for Charmbracelet even if I don't personally care for the album. (Thursday 28 July 2022; 20:52)

Re: What sank Charmbracelet? (100,840) (100,842) by Bobby A from United States Spot on Mirage. The overuse of the whisper register on Charmbraclet prompted JD to tell MC that he wanted her to sing full voice on We Belong Together. (Thursday 28 July 2022; 19:51)

(100,841) by bliss! from Brazil Charmbracelet is a great album - I mean, c'mon! There are no fillers! The era showed us a more self-reflective and toned down Mariah and I don't mind the whispers. She was glowing and looked better and fitter than in any other era. She was doing exactly what she wanted. Shame we didn't get a single treatment for "The One" or "Subtle Invitation". It sank because it was not what the general public expected and it didn't feature a song that had "big hit" written all over it. However, as a fan, I appreciate it being the way it is, mature and subtle. It presents early elements of TEOM with "Subtle Invitation" and nods to previous eras with "Lullaby". To be honest, I prefer a bold Mariah trying something different than a repetitive Mariah following formulaic recipes of success. (Thursday 28 July 2022; 19:45)

Re: What sank Charmbracelet? (100,807) (100,840) by Mirage_Nunez from America The only reason Charmbracelet sank was because of the overuse of her whisper register. The album had some of her most heartfelt songs to date imo. It's the album that made me feel the closest and most connected to her; it made me feel as if she was singing her diary to me personally. Initially I did slightly struggled with the heavy use of her whisper register on this project, and wish she had gave us a bit more mid voice as well, but in hindsight, as many have stated, I've grown to really appreciate that register as apart of the many colors of her vocal arsenal. I find it very soothing on some songs and there's a certain level of vulnerability that she conveys in that register that's unmatched to me. In "There Goes My Heart Again", "Subtle Invitation", and "Through The Rain" it's a perfectly executed. Overall I enjoyed and really appreciated Charmbracelet even during that time. I remember it was the very first album I played in my very first car and I would just let it play and play (along with India Arie's Voyage to India album) as I drove around town, so it holds so much sentimental value to me probably more than any of her other albums. (Thursday 28 July 2022; 17:20)

Perfect pitch (100,839) by Terna from Nigeria The way she just nails the original key and starts singing the chorus, spot on how? Lol. And that tone, I guess it's the perfect pitch thingy. It's the little things like this that make me in awe of her gift. (Wednesday 27 July 2022; 20:07)

Re: What sank Charmbracelet? (100,837) (100,838) by JC from USA Critics panned it because her voice sounded weak and there are simply no great songs. Lyrically or musically. Everything about the album was off - too conservative without any risk, no hooks, no theme, and a frail voice hidden behind a whisper. It is my least favorite of any Mariah album. Nothing about it makes sense. Extra point to the person the blamed its demise on the cover art. Yes, it must be it. Pulled from Wiki, which I totally agree with: Rating Charmbracelet two out of five stars, Barry Walters from Rolling Stone wrote that none of the songs were bold, that the lack of hooks made the album weak, and said, "Carey needs bold songs that help her use the power and range for which she is famous. Charmbracelet is like a stream of watercolors that bleed into a puddle of brown." (Wednesday 27 July 2022; 09:32)

Re: What sank Charmbracelet? (100,835) (100,837) by 123 from USA I agree with you on the lyrics. It’s on par with Butterfly. I always thought of Charmbracelet as Butterfly part 2. Or maybe the bookend of what Butterfly started with the whispery vocals and personal lyrics to the songs she wrote. (Tuesday 26 July 2022; 18:53)

Re: Mariah in the Hamptons (100,830) (100,836) by Brad from USA Meh. It's just a rental. They had a story on it in the NY Post. The comments to said story were not exactly kind. (Tuesday 26 July 2022; 18:53)

Re: What sank Charmbracelet? (100,825) (100,835) by Anonymous from USA Charmbracelet is one of my favorite MC albums. The lyrics alone are pure fire. I enjoy it immensely and it is definitely a "mood" album, puts me in all the moods, a rollercoaster. Justice for Charmbracelet! (Tuesday 26 July 2022; 14:42)

Re: Reach For The Sky is Fly Like A Bird (100,833) (100,834) by Bill from the UK That's a plausible theory. I'm a big Tori Amos fan and she was explaining in an interview that her unused songs often found their way onto later albums in a different guise. So she would for example take the bridge from an unused song and apply it to a new song that was being written, use a chord progression, a lyric idea, a melodic strand. She shared some demos and you could hear the beginnings of other songs that came years later. In short she said she never really wasted anything. A real example from Mariah is Save the Day. The song was originally planned for the original The Art of Letting Go album, but got re-worked for The Rarities with the Lauryn Hill sample etc., but I expect the structure/skeleton of the song was the same. (Tuesday 26 July 2022; 12:24)

Reach For The Sky is Fly Like A Bird (100,833) by Rashidi Rahim Rick from Malaysia We all heard about the song Reach For The Sky that never made it to the final cut of Charmbracelet. I read back in the day that Mariah said in an interview that Reach For The Sky is very soulful with orchestra music and live instrumentation in the same vein with Subtle Invitation and There Goes My Heart. So I always have a feeling that maybe, just maybe, Reach For The Sky is actually Fly Like A Bird. Mariah changed and reworked the lyrics. In the chorus, "fly like a bird, take to the sky" maybe the original lyrics is "fly like a bird, reach for the sky", something like that. Maybe I'm wrong. But who knows. I hope Mariah or someone from her team can adress it. (Tuesday 26 July 2022; 12:10)

Re: Walter (100,827) (100,832) by Stacey from USA If I am referring to you, I will reply to your posts directly. In any case, the topic has run its course for me. I've said my peace. Now onto enjoying the music each day. Carey on. (Tuesday 26 July 2022; 03:37)

Re: What sank Charmbracelet? (100,829) (100,831) by Bobby A from United States Bill, you really want to hear MC's demo tape. Lol. Me too. I know that's going to be an important scene in the adaptation of The Meaning of Mariah Carey. (Tuesday 26 July 2022; 03:03)

Mariah in the Hamptons (100,830) by Brad from USA Based on MC's posting today, I am wondering if Mariah has made a new real estate purchase in the Hamptons or Montauk? Anyone know? (Tuesday 26 July 2022; 02:59)

Re: What sank Charmbracelet? (100,828) (100,829) by Bill from the UK Got my hopes set for The Rarities II You which will feature CB leftover tracks, There For Me, I Lose Control, Skydiving, We're Not Making Love Anymore and the demo tape. (Monday 25 July 2022; 21:46)

Re: What sank Charmbracelet? (100,825) (100,828) by Bobby A from United States I just wonder if we will ever hear the leftover track, Reaching For The Sky and others. MC didn't show any MC30 love for Charmbraclet. Maybe it's a reason why she skipped that era. (Monday 25 July 2022; 21:09)

Re: Walter (100,822) (100,827) by Lady B from USA Stacey, don't know if you were referring to me, but it's not "putting him down" to merely tell the truth - that she had 15 #1s without him, all of his (writing credit) #1s were with her, he has zero written credit #1s withouto her (did have 1 production credit #1 though), he hasn't written a #1 hit in over 2 decades and that they had a nice run together. That's it. Not putting him down, just accurately describing his career. (Monday 25 July 2022; 20:58)

Re: What sank Charmbracelet? (100,819) (100,826) by Stacey from USA Very good point. Absence does makes the heart grow fonder. See I don't think CB was a failure. I do think MC used the promotion for CB to share her side of what happened. The amount of promotion may have bordered on overkill, but I think she did that much to get as much face time out there to say she is ok and ready to make music again. The album was released to get her back in the game, give an excuse to tour, and get everyone ready for the real comeback which was TOEM. (Monday 25 July 2022; 20:56)

Re: What sank Charmbracelet? (100,807) (100,825) by Bill from the UK Yeh it's probably a combination of what everybody has already said to be fair. Saying that though, how do we think the album has aged? It's definitely a "mood" album, and has grown on me over the years. I don't spin it often, but when I do, I always appreciate the laid back R&B, and I've grown to appreciate the stylistic approach she took to her vocal delivery. Lyrically it's up there with Butterfly in my view. It's odd that Through the Rain tanked in the US, as it was really well received across other markets. (Monday 25 July 2022; 20:41)

Re: What sank Charmbracelet? (100,807) (100,824) by Anonymous from United States The vocals on the album were very poor quality in my opinion; I find most of the album unlistenable due to this. The only song on the album where she sounds vocally strong is "Bringing on the Heartbreak". I liked a lot of the lyrical content and some of the production choices on the album, but the vocals were just not cutting it. The songs and the album itself were too long, she probably should've cut it to 12 songs. I could've lived without "Boy (I Need You)" and "You Got Me". She also just didn't take enough time off between "Glitter" and this album. I don't think fans would have blamed her. The bright spots of this period were the tour and the fact that she looked really healthy, fit, and confident - especially in 2003 during the tour. She seemed to be taking much better care of herself than during the 1997-2001 period. She was really energetic during the tour performances, moved around a lot, and sounded pretty good vocally. (Monday 25 July 2022; 19:01)

Re: What sank Charmbracelet? (100,817) (100,823) by Stacey from USA Hi Dago. No worries. I totally forgot about that. (Monday 25 July 2022; 18:51)

Re: Walter (100,818) (100,822) by Stacey from USA Exactly. I don't understand the need to put him down just because their partnership ended on bad terms. (Monday 25 July 2022; 18:45)

Re: What sank Charmbracelet? (100,807) (100,821) by 123 from USA The single choices and the whisper vocals. Ballads were out of fashion when [Through the rain] came out here in the States. It was all about the r&b and hip hop collabs in 2002, which is funny because she helped popularize it in 95. [...] This was the peak of this formula. The record company should have went with "You got me" as the first single. It was up tempo, the guitar riff was infectious, and it had Jay [Z] on it. The second single should have been Clown to capitalize on the Eminem beef. It would have been played out of sheer curiosity. When TTR and BOTHB were seldomly played, both times the radio DJ stopped the songs mid way and said, I love Mariah but her songs are two [sic] slow and old fashioned. Damn. (Monday 25 July 2022; 18:43)

Re: Thoughts: which album do you think MC dislikes (100,806) (100,820) by MusicfanJ from Germany "She seemed pretty carefree and happy. The tour was a lot of fun. And I liked that her style was super casual." That's right. It was really a cool time as a fan during that time. I became a fan with Daydream as I often said. "Butterfly" was a big surprise and of course genius, but with "Rainbow" it was just so much fun. She was one of the biggest stars out there, but seemed so humble and sweet. Everyone loved her. Her videos were playing all the time on MTV and VIVA (German music TV). I loved the many specials from her, I still have them on VHS. Lol. Good times. (Monday 25 July 2022; 14:09)

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