Messageboard

About nikki from usa:

Too much credit where it's not due (45,885) by nikki from usa People have been talking about Tommy Mottola and Benny Medina a lot lately. Having a manger is going to improve your career than not having one and lately the latter has been the problem. Mariah's the real deal she simply needs to be seen to be selling. If Mariah's career floundered during the 2000's because she wasn't with Mottola, then what's his excuse for complete failure? Praising him would make since if he "created" a new artist of the 2000's, but the exact opposite is true. He got his butt fired. He tried making his new wife a star. Ever heard of her? He even made a magazine nationally syndicated in her name using his own fortune. It bombed. He took over Casablanca Records to resurrect Lindsay Lohan's career. How's that going? The next one should've been easy. Famous Usher fresh off his Confessions success looking for new management to keep his momentum going. He hires Tommy and Benny. They crashed and burned his entire career. In 2007, J.Lo took Benny back and Marc Anthony took Tommy to manage him. Marc fired Tommy in 2009. Benny helped get J.Lo a few hits and endorsements, but these never translated into album sales, her acting career took a dive. By comparison: movies, modeling, perfume empire, nail line, jewelry line, and winery followed by 20 million album sales, 3 #1's, 5 top 10 hits, and 2 of the biggest tours of her career. I think Mariah made out like a bandit. (Wednesday 6 August 2014; 2:55)

Manager merry go round (45,883) by nikki from usa This is a good step for MC. Someone who can be a full time manager and hands on. JD is none of those things. He's great at what he does, but it's not managing. He was part time while he did his own producing and promo for other artists. After MC finished her YME promo and secluded herself to finish the album, JD was on social media about his own stuff and things he was working on. He dropped the ball from the get go. That's why MC jumped aboard the beverage idea. JD brought her to Nigeria to sing for the bank and when public outcry claimed she sang for a dictator he didn't do anything. No public commentary or have MC make a statement. He just let the rumors fly. He was out of his depth. However, I don't buy that MC "fired" him nor that she blames him for her LP failure. There's a lot of reasons, not just one. I think Randy did a good job, just look at the success of Beautiful. But, he had AI duty and couldn't be full time either. This is a great move. All Mariah really needs is to be seen. Visibility has been her greatest downfall, the lack thereof. No one hears from her, sees her, and there's no hype man. The reason she did so well in the 90's is because she was available musically and personally. We got videos, specials, magazines, and lots of live performances/interviews. (Wednesday 6 August 2014; 2:21)

Mariah's banging (45,835) by nikki from usa I had no problem discerning Mariah's live vocals from the playback throughout and loved that she belted along with the chorus creating that wonderful "stacked" sound. I know everyone expects Mariah to sing all 7 parts at the same time live even in lei of back up singers, but I've come to expect that on this board. Clearly this tour is truly going to be an innovative marketing of sorts as she's really pushing the Butterfly drink which is a gateway to behind the scenes. If her tour takes her to the States I might buy one. I used to find it funny how other people like to claim Mariah's only famous in the US when most of her tours take her everywhere but here. Lol. Has Europe or Asia ever missed out on an MC tour? It's ironic now, how her album is more successful internationally than here. (Tuesday 5 August 2014; 1:44)

Divorce updates (45,681) by nikki from usa This could be a trial seperation to let Nick figure out what he wants. I noticed this past month all of MC's pic updates feature her and the kids in NYC. Nick went to a VIP party in support of Fifa with Mario Lopez in Las Vegas on the 16th and went to a Beyonce and Jayz concert for their On The Run tour without MC. Mariah went to Hercules without him and is wearing her butterfly ring where her wedding ring should be. Nick's been doing a lot of charity for kids lately, but it doesn't appear he's spent any time with his own since Father's Day. His instagram is gone and the only updates he's made on twitter are minor about his own career. He didn't mention Mariah's beverage or tour and she didn't mention any of his charities, the bbq he was at this past weekend, or his new tablet. (Wednesday 30 July 2014; 3:34)

Re: Carla (45,574) by nikki from usa I often feel the way you do about things concerning MC. I'm from the US and I know a lot of people who love Mariah. But, from my perspective my culture is filled with people who have the attention span of a gnat. You'd be surprised how many think her last album was Emancipation or E=MC2. Judging by her album sales it would appear her international lambs are far more devoted. If her album wasn't pushed back so many times it would have done better. Visibility is key and I don't mean tabloids. I've been listening to MC in interviews lately and I get it. The fans seem to have a problem with "letting go". Mariah isn't doing the usual with this album and she's not being seen. She's said at least 10 times now she's not interested in releasing singles because she wants this LP to be heard as a whole. People aren't getting it. This LP represents then and now. Every genre she's had a hit in and her favorite kind of music. People are surprised America The Beautiful was included, but lambs know that's the first song she sang live for the masses. I can't wait for her tour. The people who count Mariah out are the same that are shocked when she "comes back", as if she ever left in the first place. (Friday 25 July 2014; 5:02)

New message from MC, tour (45,484) by nikki from usa "Hi lambs, welcome to the brand new mariahcarey.com. Stay tuned as we continue adding more sections and pow moments to the site. We're also gonna be coming up with some festive contests for the lambily. Lastly, I just wanted to thank everyone for always supporting me. You know Me. I Am Mariah... It's only the beginning. The elusive chanteuse dahlings. I can't wait to see you when I hit the road, starting very soon and I'm very excited about it. Love you much, bye bye." Mariah (Tuesday 22 July 2014; 0:27)

Mariah should be entirely solo (45,436) by nikki from usa Mariah is a musical genius who has the ability to write and produce hit songs. So far, all she's done is let other people promote her. What did Virgin do for her? How did Def Jam promote Beautiful? They didn't. How did they promote her album? They didn't. MC was out singing Beautiful every week and how many variations of the song and music video did she do? Mariah was on 3 magazine covers, an MTV and NBC special, Good Morning America, WMA's, BET, and many radio stations. Forget promote, Def Jam didn't even bother to announce her upcoming features. If it weren't for the internet I wouldn't have known when MC released MOAIA either. Right now, the only time you hear about Mariah is due to some promo in the past MC has done herself. No publicity or promo coming from her label. There's no point in promoting if no one knows about it. What Mariah needs to do is go solo and find herself a publicist actually capable of performing their job. (Friday 18 July 2014; 3:43)

Mariah's Vevo nearing 1 billion views (45,338) by nikki from usa Currently, Mariah's on the verge of getting certified for 1 billion views on Vevo. People forget Mariah has a lot of music videos. Vevo is currently missing the music videos from the Rainbow album with the exception of TGIFY and Crybaby. In addition, they're missing most of her remix music videos from the 90's. Add those and she'll get there. The remix for My All is up, but disguised with a picture from the original version. Mariah's current Vevo stats are at 966 million. (Saturday 12 July 2014; 2:44)

Re: truth it is not (45,242) by nikki from usa The problem for you is that most of us here have been around since day 1 and there wasn't a time where Mariah denied her heritage. Secondly, your comments alone prove you are not at all familiar with Mariah or her story. Otherwise, you'd be well aware of such things. Do you think mixed kids would describe watching their parents cars being blown up or their pets poisoned as "difficult"? Or does that pain change when you can "pass for white"? Other than you reading an article and trying to turn an instance of childhood into her life story; at what point did it prove the label didn't know of her heritage? More to the point why would it matter? Carmen Electra isn't black and she was rapping at that time. This white girl is coming out with an R&B album. Hold the presses, she's mixed. Damage control, damage control. Is that how it went down? (Sunday 6 July 2014; 4:26)

Re: the "truth" (45,222) by nikki from usa Seems to be very muddled. First off, I don't know whether it's more pathetic or disgusting to judge a child and call her a liar. Mariah has been candid about the difficulties growing up as a bi racial child and the struggles with everyone wanting her to choose a side. How does anyone know anything about this? Oh, yeah she talked about it, that's how. Mariah never claimed to be close to her father. She kept in communication with him more after her divorce. She didn't fully reunite with him until his illness where I had no problem finding a picture of her, Shawn, and her father together. It included his favorite flowers: sunflowers. Which is the point of the song after all. Not that I'd expect anyone with Eminem as his icon to know what that's referring to. Alison has had no problem running to the tabloids for a quick buck feeding her pictures and stories. Mariah keeps her private moments private and will adorn her walls at home, not tabloid covers. (Saturday 5 July 2014; 5:09)

YDKWTD impacts top 40 July 1 (45,091) by nikki from usa So, don't expect Mariah to promote until the song drops. George M. tweeted his pleasure at MC covering his track and loving her new album. A statement also shared by Donatella Versace who shared her favorite tracks from the album. Not bad for the whole world hating her and all. (Tuesday 24 June 2014; 20:27)

Not as it appears (45,035) by nikki from usa "People" don't hate Mariah, I've actually been seeing a lot of praise lately. This album is speaking to the older fans and critics love it. I was on a fashion police blog where they were dissing Mariah as usual. Surprisingly, she was defended by the comment board and these people weren't lambs. Papers will always try to sell and being negative is what they do best. Media hostility aside I'm seeing a great majority rooting for Mariah and wanting to see her return. Really, the rest is up to her. (Sunday 22 June 2014; 19:46)

Re: Adam stealing vs. sampling (45,015) by nikki from usa Mottola separated from his wife legally before meeting Mariah, so no she didn't split them up. He needed a star and she wanted to be one. They had a professional relationship, they didn't start off dating. He divorced Lisa Clarke in 1990 before pursuing a relationship with Mariah which he openly admitted in his memoirs. Nice try though. Those Allure statements you made are not in Allure magazine, it's gossip fodder that's never been confirmed or denied by anyone. If you believe that gossip than you're also going to have to believe the gossip that J.Lo banged Mottola for 3 months to get her record deal. Irv Gotti is the producer for both records from both artists and Ja Rule was on both tracks who were present with J.Lo's theft of If We. They witnessed her part in it and yes she was aware. She used a sample, and that's not illegal, nor is it the "theft" referred to. That sample was meant for Loverboy, and MC found another one. The theft is for If We. Mariah didn't steal someone else's concept. She was new to the business, still young, and didn't understand legalities. Unlike J.Lo, Mariah paid up for it and righted the wrong. J.Lo was 31, with Mottola, watching music while it was being created and put it out herself before Mariah could. Which is why MC couldn't take any legal action, but Ja Rule and Irv Gotti vindicated her. (Sunday 22 June 2014; 6:24)

And seriously Adam (44,950) by nikki from usa "Best marketing in history"? You know, in the '90's I read this expose on Mottola from the late 80's. How he started off as a singer and called himself "Valentine". He flopped of course, but stayed in the music biz behind the scenes. He got chummy with a honcho and married his daughter. Popped out a couple kids and climbed the corporate ladder. He got friendly with the top dog before stabbing him in the back to steal his job as head honcho with a company that hadn't had a hit in years. Then, he leaves his wife since he didn't need her daddy's favors anymore. He then sells CBS records to Japanese company Sony. That's where I was kinda confused. I don't know if it was only partially a stock or if they originally owned the whole thing or not, but the author made it look like Tommy made out like a bandit financially. He then goes off to find a new act to bring in the big bucks. Of course, back then, no one knew who Mariah was yet. CBS/Sony was broke, he had to resort to relying on past relationships with talk show hosts to get Mariah seen as well as fire half the roster to support her. Mariah already had 2 other offers for a record deal. As much as the media loves a good drama this time frame doesn't match up. That family had split before she entered the picture. Mariah dated Derek while she was separated as well. (Saturday 21 June 2014; 4:50)

Re: Adam (44,946) by nikki from usa Mottola was legally seperated from his wife before he met Mariah. He and his wife weren't living together. Secondly, this has nothing to do with J.Lo wanting to hurt Mariah, this has to do with her doing anything to get what she wants. Hence, the sociopathy. You'll notice I didn't just mention what she did to Mariah, but all of them. This is called a "pattern". Thirdly, how do I know? Because Ja Rule, the man who helped her, laid it out in Vibe magazine. Lopez and Tommy were viewing her Glitter project together. "J.Lo liked the song. J.Lo wanted it." And J.Lo was the one who called for the sample backed up by the Yellow Magic Orchestra who owned the sample. Tommy had his agenda to get his ex and J.Lo had her agenda to become a star. During the MTV awards when they were making fun of Mariah and her breakdown, they did a real nice close-up of J.Lo laughing her ass off. Amazingly, she stopped laughing when the Comic Dog asked to climb her ass because it was like Mount Everest for a dog. I guess things are only funny when its at someone else's expense. Next, here she claims everything is a "rumor", how innocent she is, and how "saddened" she is by everything Mariah's "said" about her. Ironically, the only thing I've heard MC say is "I don't know her". I don't see J.Lo being a "big" person, I see her slapping Mariah across the face again, and doing whatever she can to gain attention for herself. After all, it worked for Eminem. (Saturday 21 June 2014; 4:22)

I think J.Lo is a sociopath (44,936) by nikki from usa Literally. To this day Mariah won't put herself in the same category as Aretha Franklin or Stevie Wonder, and quite frankly she could, but she's humble. For J.Lo to casually put herself in the same league as Mariah speaks volumes and then to take it a step further by attempting to play victim just steps it up. I have no respect for this woman nor do I think anyone should "hate" her, but the lies gotta stop. Ja Rule displayed her dirty laundry, but Lopez never owned up to it. She came out looking like Mariah, then takes Christina Milian's song before jacking MC's stuff. Next Ashanti, and then she's up Amerie's butt for her music on The One Thing, which she didn't get. I don't buy this "Mottola used her" crap. She went around telling everyone she called the shots. She lived in a 2 story house complete with a white picket fence in the suburbs outside the Bronx, yet passes off this fake image. She uses her men as publicity fodder, is twerking in a new music video called "Booty", and now dishing on Mariah. Mariah's real like it or not. She's not faking for anyone and I'm glad she doesn't stoop that low. Until MC is bouncing her girls in a music video called "Titty" J.Lo needs to stop talking. (Saturday 21 June 2014; 1:01)

Confusing publicity vs. "popularity" (44,887) by nikki from usa First thing I gotta say is when Nicki and MC did AI I was appalled by Nicki's behavior. Never have I seen a judge that expected all the other judges to explain themselves to her rather than critique the contestants. Nicki had a chance to throw in her 2 cents and always interrupted the other judges while speaking, especially Mariah, which was beyond pompous. That q-tip comment is exhibit A. After a few jabs Mariah, rightfully so, put Nicki in her place. I used to go through public commentary at the time. The no moderated kind, so people could be as brutal as they wanted. The unanimous vote was most didn't like either of them, Nicki was the worst, and at least Mariah can sing is what it ultimately came down to. Because of constant MC bashing in the media I was expecting people to vie for Nicki, but that wasn't the majority. When it comes to J.Lo, publicity doesn't translate to sales and never has. Her biggest selling album in the US has sold 6 million and was the music she swiped from MC. Both Nicki and J.Lo are known for YouTube views and publicity. Yet, MC made a single tweet and 24 hours later Times Square was shut down. Beautiful didn't reach top 10, yet still went platinum. She and her label didn't promote an album or single, yet 2 million people tuned in to see her NBC special. Imagine what would happen if she actually tried? (Thursday 19 June 2014; 2:14)

Play Mariah's promo game (44,763) by nikki from usa Ok, so you release an album as a body of work. You sacrifice sales by not promoting it or releasing singles just so the album will be listened to as a "whole". Now, that it's out how will you promote it? If it's supposed to be a story then will each song have a music video that leads into the next like a music video movie? An entire concert with a themed backdrop? A tour? She could sing the album one song at a time per talk show. Start on Lettermen with Cry and end on BET with Heavenly. Or maybe, she'll do that without the talk shows and have different backdrops where she sings it live: start at The Carlyle and end at an ancient cathedral. We'll need her beverage just to see all this shit. (Sunday 15 June 2014; 4:30)

How to solve a problem like Billboard (44,762) by nikki from usa Since firing Roger, they seem to be over run by complete chauvinists or Madonna fans it's hard to say. They're asking the opinions of people who've briefly worked with other artists and Vanessa Williams? She was famous for 2 years and fell off the planet 20 year ago. I met Mariah for 42 seconds, maybe they'll interview me next. "Provide her with material." Apparently, none of them are aware MC co-writes and produces her own music since the dawn of time. Basically, their advice is to retire or put herself out to pasture because she needs a man to make her a star. Amazingly, not one of them mentioned any common sense reason such as not bothering to promote the album, pushing it back 5 times, or promoting a single didn't come into play. I can see why those men aren't known for much. As far as I'm concerned this is in the same vein as calling a song a ''radio flop" that was never sent to radio. If Mariah had done her usual promo, didn't have 20 push backs, had label support, and her album flopped then you might think MC's lost her shine. But, under MC's circumstances no one's album would've done well. I get it now. This is a "body of work" and an "artists" album. Sacrificing sales for her art. This just supplies more fuel for a future tour-like promo. (Sunday 15 June 2014; 4:05)

"Selling out" (44,707) by nikki from usa Selling out is when you do something against your own grain for sheer profit. After 17 years of music Mariah decided to pick up a few hobbies that went hand and hand with her music career. It makes sense she'd want another creative outlet. The woman is a girly girl with 500 hours of beauty school, so you can't say things like perfume, makeup, and boots aren't interests. They aren't only interests, but things that go along with the music industry she's involved with anyway. Beauty is a part of that. You can't even say this "beverage" is selling out because the sole purpose is to get closer to the fans. She's being innovative and pioneering new ways to connect. If this was done for just money, it wouldn't be with a company that's not established, still up and coming, and only available to just 2 locations. Mariah's not selling out because everything comes back to her music and the fans. When MC starts endorsing a FIAT, ice cream, or Adidas then you can pick up your stones and throw. (Thursday 12 June 2014; 23:46)

Really? (44,547) by nikki from usa "Your audacity is too much to be believed." Edward, my man, that is the same speech you gave during Charmbracelet about MC's career being over. Then, TEOM comes around and you "knew she could do it". And 1000 takes to make a song? Did she and Buble have 1000 takes to record "All" on stage? Or Jimmy Fallon's outtake for the lambily on The Art Of Letting Go or her Christmas song? What about the Carlyle performance, that certainly wasn't planned. What has happened so drastically between then and now? More importantly, why would MC be so ecstatic to tour if she can't sing live anymore or needs 1000 takes to get it right? (Saturday 7 June 2014; 2:17)

Some perspective (44,544) by nikki from usa Here in Florida is one of MC's hot spots for support. When YME was released, not a single station debuted it. It wasn't even an option in the request box. When I called one of the stations and talked to an intern he claimed they didn't have it. One of the light FM stations went so far as to plug her new album, but then played ABMB. I guess they didn't have it either. Forget promo, DJ didn't fully release the track to radio. Back in 2002 it stated MC's contract was for 3 albums, meaning she signed on again after E=MC2. Most likely another 3 albums. Now, just like Virgin did, Def Jam cleaned house - her original team of people were/are being transferred, demoted, and promoted. She doesn't have a team. Add on to that, this album has been pushed back 2 years which would force it to struggle anyway. It's pretty common for a label to simply write off an artist's album as a tax deduction, not promote it, and just accept whatever money it brings in. This was done to LLCoolJ. I'm hoping at this point, DJ's just releasing another song to radio fully this time, so Mariah can jump start her tour. I can't wait to see her, she never disappoints. She can bring the albums with her and people can buy them after hearing it live. Spend $50 on memorabilia, why not buy an album? Although, she hasn't talked about it in awhile, MC mentioned something about her being on tv and I'm not talking NBC's special. (Friday 6 June 2014; 23:56)

Money concerts / Tommy Mottola (44,463) by nikki from usa I give credit to Tommy for promoting Mariah, but that's about it. As the head of a label that's his job for everyone on his roster. I'm glad MC is being given more credit for her output, but I still don't think its enough. He didn't seem so much of a strategist as an opportunist. Celine Dion and Shakira both had multi million dollar sales and fan bases before he signed them. J. Lo was already known for movies, had a background in dancing, and emerged her with the latin explosion. Then, had to jack Mariah's stuff to keep her afloat. Even Beyonce and DC had been together since their tweens and had already been through a record label. After he was fired, what happened? He tried to make his wife a new star and that flopped. He took over Casablanca records and tried lifting that off the ground with Lindsay Lohan. I'm kind of shocked that the general populace seems to not understand that tours have to be paid for. Generally speaking, an artist only takes home about 10% of the tour gross. That's if they're smart and don't overspend which MJ and Madonna were/are known to do. I don't know what MC's take home is these days, but in the 90's she was making $3/cd, so it wasn't needed for her to tour. She still doesn't since she's wealthy, but I think she should. During CB tour she said it helped her voice. It might be easier to be more hands on with maintenance when you know you have to constantly sing. (Tuesday 3 June 2014; 21:01)

You don't know how to do / Alexis (44,461) by nikki from usa You should attempt to comprehend before flying off the handle. The point wasn't Mariah's always singing live, the point is you're not going to know unless you were there one way or the other. Yes, I've been to several of her live performances and watched her nail it live and come back here to see how so many of you "can tell" it wasn't. That is the point. Once again, I have already stated she did well in '95, but doesn't change the fact it was dubbed. Furthermore, when the footage/audio is altered, it isn't up to Mariah. "Mariah" isn't the one editing and producing every show or concert she's on and isn't the one to call the final shots. Knowing her tracks is irrelevant. It can always be added later if they think her voice sounds too thin live and then you say she's lipsyncing because you recognize the same vocal from the track. Unless you were there, you don't know it went down like that. (Tuesday 3 June 2014; 20:41)

Re: tour / live vs. television (44,432) by nikki from usa Her biggest tour to date is still Charmbracelet where she didn't have any radio hits and only went platinum. Mariah's Beautiful did better and sold more than TTR had and on an international level to boot. It's the best vehicle for her to sing the entirety of "her body of work". This would also be her first tour in 5 years, 7 years if we don't count the showcase that was Memoirs. There's more reasons to have one than not to. Reading what people deem "live"or "lipsync" and what they claim they can "tell" is completely absurd. Being a live performance is meaningless if its on tv. There are always producers, dubbs, and cut and paste. Each song that is sung live is done so 2-4 times for tv. People will keep pointing to the Daydream tour video as great live performances when they are all dubbed. Did she sing great? Yes, she did, but that didn't stop the footage from being tampered with. People like to point to her version of You And I as a great vocal moment. Sorry to inform you kitties, her vocals were rough that day and I still have the original copy. It was not one of her finest. Her rerun of that performance had some doctoring done. There is no live performance without tv tampering before viewing. No one is qualified to deem lip syncing or not unless you're viewing the live performance from a fan's iphone that was physically there. Especially, since so many can't tell the difference between a lead vs. background vocal. (Monday 2 June 2014; 21:09)

MORE MESSAGES