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Re: Article: The Rarities liner notes (96,090) (96,099) by Lainsky from Philippines Wow Bill. Did not realize you are famous in UK. Nice article on brief history or shall I story behind those songs. Thank you. (Sunday 11 October 2020; 05:55)

Where Are You Christmas demo (96,098) by Deedre aka MiTodoChop @HBF from Canada Article below. [Webmaster: Did you know this website also has a news section?] (Sunday 11 October 2020; 05:50)

Re: The good and the bad (96,089) (96,097) by RibbonB from USA Clarification, in the book the dinner party was described as with music industry friends etc. At an Italian restaurant frequented by music industry illuminati. It's just most artists never refer to that and most don't want to be associated with the word. I just thought that was random and funny to use that descriptor. (Sunday 11 October 2020; 04:16)

Billboard 200 (96,096) by Bobby A from United States I can't bring up the current Billboard Top 20O chart for this week. I want to know how TR did last week. Does anybody know? (Sunday 11 October 2020; 02:27)

Re: Trash (96,082) (96,095) by Edward from USA Bill, Aretha could still blow away any of those on stage that night at 55. If she hadn't had the power to hold up, she wouldn't have made the call. Celine Dion just gave it her all, and she didn't outsing Aretha. Now, let's fast-forward to a supposed 2025 Divas Live, the way things are with Mariah's voice, I doubt she would still be able to sing 10% of any of those powerful songs of hers like Aretha still could, and while group-singing and improvising, she wouldn't be able to use a backtrack. Do you really think, on a Mariah tribute she would made the call on a song like Emotions? Knowing her and her insecurities, hell the f no. Mariah's voice was drowned among the other voices, just like her voice was drowned on that duet with Patti LaBelle, and she really tried it. Now go and watch one of my favorite performances by Mariah, her duet live with Luther Vandross, a favorite of hers, Mariah totally outsang him, like she outsang Boyz II Men and virtually anybody she could while her voice was still capable. She couldn't outsing Whitney because she couldn't at that point. Unless she's cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, how is Celine singing with Aretha part of "The Meaning of Mariah Carey"? Didn't she take the path of least resistance bringing Celine on her memoirs instead of Eminem? Well, she knows better than that. (Sunday 11 October 2020; 01:37)

Tears (96,094) by Slipping Butterfly from United States I knew the white and coon tears were coming when the book was released. Y’all precious safe divas is more radical then you thought. Her issues Celine performance shows the major culture difference. Celine was out of pocket. If that was on different channel she would have got cussed out. As far as her skipping over Nick she did that for her children sake. They can found he bum in do time. Her hair issues were all before she was 12 years old, how are y’all mad at a little girl for not knowing how to do her hair when nobody taught her. (Sunday 11 October 2020; 00:51)

Re: Billboard's 100 best MC songs (96,074) (96,093) by TJ from Norway My list wouldn't look like that at all. (Sunday 11 October 2020; 00:41)

Re: Article: The Rarities liner notes (96,090) (96,092) by Stacey from USA Don't forget us little people now that you've hit it big. (Sunday 11 October 2020; 00:31)

Re: Trash (96,086) (96,091) by Stacey from USA I don't even know where to begin with such nonsense. I guess I should start by finding the 10+ Celine albums I have. The last one being Courage I bought. My favorite being A New Day Has Come from 2003. I've been a fan of both singers since the early 90s, enjoying their different styles. The truth of the matter is Celine's voice has held up better than Mariah. Why? Sure Celine's voice has changed with age like any singer. She uses technology, playback options, etc. Early on in Celine's career she lost her voice during a performance, due to stress, overuse? Who knows. I can't remember why. Sufficeth to say, she said from that moment on she treated her voice with great care. We all point to 1997 when MC's voice changed. Coincidentally that was also the year she left Tommy. He controlled everything, especially the money (aka her voice and I'm sure how she took care of it). Now no one is going to say she should stay home, not hang out with friends, have a good time. But when you're voice is fragile to begin with, nodules and all, is drinking, hanging out with those who smoke, maybe puffing once here and there the wisest thing? I don't recall scenes of Celine banging it out in the clubs. She was home with her hubby. You can question my fan-hood all you want. It's not like that's never been done here before, lol. But the truth is Celine's voice has held up better over the years. Has nothing to do with who's the better singer, who you prefer, noteworthy, whatever. It's just a fact. Now go and quietly ask yourself why. Moving on to heading home now with The Rarities in my CD player. Because see that's why I come here since 2002, I think? Former collector, you'll even find some of my items listed on Eric's discography. Why am I even telling you this? Must be those dang tangents, you know the one MC is stopped from going off of at the end of Lullaby of Birdland by the band. (Sunday 11 October 2020; 00:27)

Article: The Rarities liner notes (96,090) by Bill from the UK Wow I made the main page, thank you. (Sunday 11 October 2020; 00:07)

The good and the bad (96,089) by RibbonB from USA My thought on the book are it is overall a good read. Ill start with a big told ya so that no she won't talk about the voice, the clown, the stellar error and many other things people were salivating to read about. Smart of her not to give any more time or real estate to any of those things. I also didn't expect much self reflection by way of her taking any blame, or mentioning her part in breakups, shakeups, etc. But I am glad she was able to open up about all her childhood traumas and fears and subsequent PTSD. I was bored stiff through all the Tommy stuff. She and her co writer did an effective job, if she wanted the reader to feel as bored and trapped as she felt during the marriage. I'm glad she gave a little insight into some song lyrics and who some songs were about. And she confirmed that she writes beyond most particular relationships in favor of more universal appeal. People are complaining about her focus on petty stories over what they wanted to know. I was only appalled that she spent paragraphs and pages complaining about her unkempt hair issues. I thought girl couldn't you try to comb your own nest? And it is hard to believe she was waiting to be fed, even when rich. Her lack of agency even in her self preservation is scary. But she's been through a whole lot. The confrontation with her mom was harrowing. Explains a lot and they did a good job demonstrating how complicated it is to distance yourself from your own family even while supporting them. She has that in common with Oprah, Tyler and many others. Maybe this is where she is now, addressing and releasing the anger and fear. Perhaps she will do another real tea filled memoir late in her career, like Barbara Walters. Spoiler alert: she did leave one big little bomb that must have been deliberate, but very weird. An Easter egg? In the Tommy saga, when she described the dinner party, she referenced the guests as "industry illuminati". That's a real weird choice of words. She didn't say luminaries, or illustrious what nots, lol. I actually laughed. I love a good conspiracy theory. (Saturday 10 October 2020; 23:15)

Re: Trash (96,076) (96,088) by Mutton Dressed as Lamb from UK I completely agree with you Edward. I have really lost respect for Mariah after reading the memoir. It's her book giving us her truth, but that doesn't make it "the" truth. She glossed over some really life changing things and focused on things people would consider petty. I understand how Randy feels as I now feel like the Mariah Carey I knew was an illusion. (Saturday 10 October 2020; 22:26)

Re: Trash (96,082) (96,087) by Deedre aka MiTodoChop @HBF from Canada Exactly Bill. Did Mariah need to include the moment in her book? No. In fact she probably could have left in out. However, it is not as if Mariah has kept her opinion on Diva's Live a secret. She and Celine have different views on how the song should have been handled and that's allowed. And I also understand people have reasons for feeling Mariah could be nicer to Celine and other artists. That's their right too. I still love Mariah's performance even though there is obvious rasp in her voice. Overall a great concert. (Saturday 10 October 2020; 22:13)

Re: Trash (96,080) (96,086) by Lee from USA Nope, I am not kidding. I am the one that should be shaking his head. I am not the one praising other artists and complaining about Mariah while on a MC fan site. You want Mariah to be more like Celine while not spending money on Dion herself. (Saturday 10 October 2020; 21:35)

Re: Trash (96,070) (96,085) by RibbonB from USA Yeah Todd, Mimi started the Divas chapter with Aretha, her tip top fave as she noted. Let her have her fan girl moment, it happened, those are her thoughts and it certainly doesn't make her racist as some people posted. That's absurd IMO. (Saturday 10 October 2020; 19:50)

Re: Trash (96,070) (96,084) by Anonymous from Well said Todd. (Saturday 10 October 2020; 19:09)

Re: Liner Notes (96,079) (96,083) by Shezz from Pk Thank you so much for that Bill. Nice to read them all. (Saturday 10 October 2020; 18:59)

Re: Trash (96,070) (96,082) by Bill from the UK Yes Todd, absolutely. Imagine if there was a Divas show today, with Ariana, Taylor, Myley, Katy, and Mariah as the "senior" diva a la Ms. Franklin. Now imagine the horror that would be espoused if during the closing number of either Hero, All I Want for Christmas Is You, We Belong Together, or some other song hugely associated with Mariah, Ariana stepped up in Mariah's face and stole the climactic note and outsang her. Imagine if, say, Taylor held back and said later she thought Ariana was a bit disrespectful. We'd all agree with Taylor wouldn't we. Even if Katy Perry later said separately that it was a classy way to handle Mariah. We'd still be pissed. (Saturday 10 October 2020; 18:58)

Re: Divas Live (96,078) (96,081) by Aliya from Canada Completely agree with you, Lee. (Saturday 10 October 2020; 18:57)

Re: Trash (96,071) (96,080) by Stacey from USA You're kidding, right? Doing anything noteworthy has nothing to do with taking care of your voice. SMH. (Saturday 10 October 2020; 17:36)

Liner Notes (96,079) by Bill from the UK I know some of you have opted to stream or have a digital copy of The Rarities. I have collated the paragraphs of text Mariah wrote for each track for if anybody wanted to read them. For good measure, I've also included the paragraphs for #1 to Infinity. In the UK, Someday, I Don't Wanna Cry and Thank God I Found You were axed in favour of Without You, Endless Love and Against All Odds, so I have also included their write ups too. THE RARITIES Here We Go Around Again This was track #1 on my very first demo tape that has never before been shared with the world. I always liked it and did want it to be included on my first album. I don't remember why it wasn't, except we felt that we never quite captured the magic of that first demo. This recording is as close as we got. Can You Hear Me Working with the legendary Barry Mann was truly an honour. We recorded this demo in the hopes that la Streisand (a.k.a. Babs) would perform it. That didn't happen, but I just recently unearthed this rarity - our writing demo - and wanted to share it with you. Do You Think of Me This is one of my favourite songs from the Music Box sessions that ended up as a B-side on the "Dreamlover" single. I'm told it's a fan favourite so I wanted to include it on The Rarities. Everything Fades Away One of the more personal songs I wrote during this era. This was a B-side on the "Hero" single and never got the attention I feel it deserves. I guess the label didn't quite know how to categorise it musically at the time, but it's an early indicator of a place I would end up exploring further down the road. All I Live For I totally forgot about this track until we just found it in the depths of the vault. Hope you like it. Sooooo 90s... One Night An early collaboration with JD that both of us forgot about. Listed in the vault as "I Don't Know" because I didn't know what to call it, it collected dust until we brought it back to life. I think it's fun. Slipping Away Fans have been asking for "Justice for Slipping Away" for so long and now, here it is... sort of. I worked on this track with Dave "Jam" Hall when we were working on "Fantasy". We included it as a B-side on the "Always Be My Baby" single, and I hope it gets some love from new listeners. Out Here On My Own I won my first "trophy" singing this song as a little girl. You can read the whole story about this song in my memoir, in the chapter "Light of My Life." I decided to record it for Glitter, but for some reason, it didn't make the final cut. Loverboy (Firecracker Original Version) The long-lost original version of "Loverboy" before we had to change the sample and re-record the entire song. The full story is detailed in my memoir, in the chapter "Firecracker." I Pray I wrote this song for a beautiful young singer. Writing for a talented 12 year-old child was a nice and freeing experience because it was a way to channel a pure feeling of hope and optimism. Love you Lina. Cool On You I used to listen to this all the time but then it got lost somehow and finally resurfaced in my vault. I don't even think Jermaine remembers this writing session LOL. Also known as "Do the Coat", "Kick Rocks" and "Eat Dirt." Mesmerized I always enjoy a live studio session with the wonderful, multi-talented Loris Holland. This cool, retro 70's throwback is from one of those occasions. It never saw the light of day until now. Lullaby of Birdland A rare live performance of one of my favourite songs. This recording divinely fell into place after I had already written about the experience of singing this song with jazz musicians as a little girl in my memoir (chapter "Light of My Life"). Some of my favourite moments were improvising with the late Big Jim Wright on the piano and this is one example of that. Listen to him go. Save the Day I started writing this years ago, and the message rings true now more than ever: "we're all in this together." The Fugees' rendition of "Killing Me Softly" with Ms. Lauryn Hill's powerful vocals has always been one of my favourite recordings. I really enjoyed merging our voices together on this record. Close My Eyes After working through some emotional introspective moments for my memoir. I decided to revisit one of the most personal songs I've ever written. #1 TO INFINITY Vision of Love I never expected this song to be a big hit, because it was so different than the songs that were popular in that time period. I started writing this song on the keyboard alone, which is a rarity because I'm not a great piano player to say the least :~) The song is very special to me because it encapsulates the story of my dream of becoming a recording artist, although most people interpret it as a love song. Love Takes Time This song came about when a record label executive told me that most of my songs were "urban leaning" and we didn't have a "pop ballad" to follow "Vision of Love." I sat down and wrote "Love Takes Time" in about an hour in a little studio in the back of the woodshed where I wrote most of my demos in. Someday This was one of my favourite songs when I was writing it for my demo. I remember being a kid and listening to it over and over on the subway after the studio sessions. I wish I could press rewind and delete some of the moments from the video and some of the overproduction on the debut album. That's why I included the version from MTV Unplugged on this album. I Don't Wanna Cry This song was my first collaboration with Narada Michael Walden. The label was very excited for me to work with him because of his collaborations with hugely successful vocalists. We wrote "I Don't Wanna Cry" together and it was very important for me to keep my identity as a songwriter. I was very grateful to him for the work we did together. Emotions This collaboration with Cole and Clivilles started my professional love affair with the late great David Cole. They made a great team but David and I had a really special musical connection. We worked on so many remixes that I still love to this day. I really miss him and am so grateful for our friendship and our collaborations. RIP. I'll Be There We were rehearsing for MTV Unplugged and I was going to perform "Vanishing" from my first album. The label came to me and said, "MTV really want you to perform a remake." It was the night before the show at rehearsal. My friend and background vocalist, the talented Trey Lorenz was there and we both are huge fans of Motown and the Jackson 5. I had the idea to sing "I'll Be There" and Trey was nice enough to accompany me. We never ever expected the song to be released as a single, let alone become a #1 record. Dreamlover I was working with Dave "Jam" Hall who was working with mainly hip-hop artists and we were "digging in the crates" and decided to use the loop from "Blind Alley" which was sampled by several big hip-hop artists. I loved the freedom of writing on top of that beat and bringing it into what most people consider a pop record. Hero I guess this is the song that people associate with me the most. Over the years I've grown to love performing it. I sing it differently each time because I am singing it directly to people's hearts. Through the years, people have told me that this song helped get them through difficult moments in their lives. When I sing this song, it seems as though it is a moving experience for myself and the audience together. Without You My mother used to sing Harry Nilsson's "Without You" to me when I was a baby. I think she even sang it when she was pregnant with me. Years later I heard the song when I was sitting in a restaurant and realised that it could be a worldwide hit all over again for a new generation of people who had not heard it yet. That's where the idea to remake "Without You" came from. Endless Love I remember hearing "Endless Love" when I was a little girl, and I loved the duet between Diana Ross and Lionel Richie. It was an honour to sing with the great Luther Vandross. Fantasy This record was a major turning point in my career as a recording artist. The collaboration with both Bad Boy and ODB was so unexpected yet exactly what I really wanted to be doing for myself. This song remains one of my proudest and happiest moments. If I wanted to be cocky, I would say that this song helped pave the way for a specific genre of rap collaborations that followed. And many careers that were made on this specific model. Whenever I hear the song, it still makes me smile. I freaking love it. RIP ODB. One Sweet Day This is a very, very special song to me. I knew that the best collaboration for me would be to work with Boyz II Men. They are such a talented group of male vocalists. This collaboration came at such a perfect time in the song's evolution. When we first got together, Nate was working on a song with a similar subject matter, and ironically enough, very similar melody as well. We decided to document the writing and singing and recording of the song because we had a feeling we wouldn't be able to get back together with our hectic schedules, thus the video in the recording studio and all the real moments you see when you watch it. As a songwriter, I'm very grateful to the millions of people who tell me that the song has changed their lives and helped them get through the difficulty of losing a loved one. I know a lot of people have very strong memories associated with this song. I certainly do. Always Be My Baby It never ceases to amaze me how the audience responds to this song when I sing it live. It is such a feel good record and the audience really loves to participate with me. It still sounds so good when I hear it on the radio. I think it really stands the test of time. Honey The song represents a real transition in my life. In many ways, I was really coming into myself when I wrote it and I think the video also surprised a few people ;) Needless to say, it was one of the happiest times of my life both personally and professionally, as tumultuous as it was. My All "My All" is one of the more passionate songs in my catalogue. I really love singing it.. It takes me back to a really specific moment in my life where I fell in love with love. Heartbreaker This was one of my many collaborations with DJ Clue, only this time the song became a main version - not a remix. I was thrilled that the incomparable Jay-Z was a part of it. It features a sample of Stacy Lattishaw's "Attack of the Name Game." I feel like all of the elements work so well because the song has both an edge and a mass appeal sound. The video, directed by my dear friend Brett Ratner, pushed it over the top and helped give me my fourteenth #1. Thank God I Found You I worked with Jimmy Jam and Terry lewis who are incredible producers and I was honoured to work with them. We collaborated in a way that was not one of your typical collaborations. The songs and the interludes from this album are some of my best work. This was a collaboration of my voice mixed with Joe, one of my favourite R&B singers ever and the boys from 98 Degrees. I am very grateful for the success of this song. Against All Odds "Against All Odds" was one of my favourite songs growing up, Phil Collins is a fantastic writer and an incredible artist. I was very happy to perform the song with Westlife. I remember recording in Capri, which was one of the first times I met Simon Cowell. He saw me producing in the studio and we worked very well together, all of us there in the beautiful studio in Capri where I recorded so many songs. I'm really proud of the fact that this song went to number one in England. We Belong Together Obviously this song was an undeniable hit that reintroduced me to the world at a crucial time when I felt very vulnerable. I put all of my emotions into all of it. I love singing this song in concert and seeing the audience reaction as they sing along to the lyrics. It feels like we are singing the soundtrack to my life together, in union, just me and my fans. Don't Forget About Us When we decided to re-release "The Emancipation of Mimi" album, LA Reid felt that we needed to have another mid-tempo ballad to go along with this new, special platinum edition. I really love this record because I feel it's got so man dynamics and it speaks directly to the person I'm writing to. It still allows people to interpret the song their own way and to connect with whoever they may be feeling they need to talk to when they listen to the song. I feel like that's what makes it a #1 song. I love the beat, I love the track, I love the musicality of this piece. It's definitely a personal favourite of mine. Touch My Body I remember walking into the studio and meeting The Dream and Tricky for the first time. Dream just started humming some melodies: "mmm mmm my body my body mmm mmm my body"... it was vert interesting and pretty smurfing hilarious. The track was inspired by early '90s hip-hop; it's a feel good record. We were all really feeling the same type of vibe with regard to the beat and how the song should evolve. We then finished the lyrics with Crystal Johnson, a fav collaborator of mine. We had so much fun writing this song because there are so many little private jokes and yet such overt ones as well. To all of our surprise, this is the song that broke Elvis' record of #1 singles on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. I'm still kinda in shock about it. As magical as it is to be a part of history in this way, it is indescribable and extremely humbling as well. Infinity Here I am, back at Sony Music, and we've come all circle. Sony was where I signed my first record deal when I was just a teenage girl, clutching my demo of many of the songs that are featured here now. "Infinity" felt like the right new song to add to my 18 original #1 hits. I went into the studio with some amazing collaborators and those sessions were literally the most fun experience I've had in years. And when I sang "Infinity", I felt free. I thought it was a perfect bookend to "Vision of Love" and truly encapsulates my career. "Infinity" represents my infinite musical journey that has now brought me back home. I hope you like... it feels really good to me :) (Saturday 10 October 2020; 17:16)

Divas Live (96,078) by Lee from UK Just to weigh in on the Divas Live débâcle, I truly believe Mariah is bitter because that night, her voice wasn't in the best condition to have a moment with Aretha in the same way that Celine had a moment with Aretha. I mean bless Mariah, she did try during Natural Woman and you can hear her giving it her all even though the camera was on Celine and Aretha. Unfortunately for Mariah, she was being over-powered and drowned out by the crystal clear notes being hit by Aretha and the powerful well controlled riffs coming from Celine. You can hear Mariah try and then give up during this "call and response" style vocal battle but she couldn't make herself heard. Aretha was obviously looking for someone to play with and Celine brought it. Besides obviously being vocally weak that night, perhaps Mariah's reverence of Aretha also held her back (as she states in the book) but I feel if Mariah was on full form she would have went for it. Celine didn't care. Whether she was genuinely responding innocently to Aretha's prompts or wanted to showoff or didn't want to be bullied into submission, it doesn't matter. If this moment didn't happen, it would have been a shitter show for it. Come on, the clue is in the title Divas Live. (Saturday 10 October 2020; 16:20)

Re: Trash (96,070) (96,077) by MusicfanJ from Germany Yes that could be a reason. Well no matter if it was disrepectful from Celine Dion or not, I think we can all agree that on that night it was really a Divas night. I also love Aretha by the way, I just watched a docu called "Soul Sister" which was interesting. Todd, I'll drink an Australian Chardonnay tonight. Greetings from a German wine region. One needs variety. (Saturday 10 October 2020; 15:37)

Re: Trash (96,071) (96,076) by Edward from USA If you put it in context, at that point Celine had been singing since she was 14, releasing albums in English and French, and she was more popular than Mariah at that point in time, she was also touring way more than Mariah in both languages, and still her voice was in pristine condition that night, no excuses. She didn't jump out of nowhere, Aretha made the call. Mariah bringing that moment to her memoirs makes her look bitter. And when she talked about Luis Miguel, a romance that lasted two year, in which she looked very much in love and radiant, was just to somehow make him look bad or even racist. I wish she hadn't said anything about him at all. The memoirs has many touching and fun moments, but Mariah really threw everybody under the bus on it and she doesn't take responsibility for anything at all. (Saturday 10 October 2020; 15:23)

Saving 2020 (96,075) by Bobby A from United States If anybody can save me 2020, it would possibly be MC releasing a new Christmas song featuring Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson. It would bring this horrible year to a happy close. Radio would play it on all formats and possibly give MC her 20th number #1 2020. Wow. What a sweet closure to 2020. This Christmas will be like no other. Vinyl record sales are going to increase 30 percent this Christmas. Turntables are in very in short supply in retail stores even right now. Retro Christmas toys and novelties are going to be the hottest Christmas items. People are going to be shopping earlier this year. (Saturday 10 October 2020; 15:13)

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