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About Stephen from London, United Kingdom: Mariah fan since 1902.

Licia (38,810) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom Lol at your list. That's a very long list. A good list though. Jazmine or Alicia would be a particularly good match. (Friday 26 July 2013; 13:09)

Toni Braxton/female collabos (38,808) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom The thought of a Toni Braxton collaboration leaves me salivating at the mouth. I would love it. Up until and including her Libra album, she was always on point for me. One of my favourite artists. I'd also love Mariah to duet with Chaka Khan. Another very diverse singer, who like Mariah seamlessly went from jazz, to up tempo rnb, to ballads and even incorporated hip hop into her music. Their voices would mesh very well together. I would like Mariah to do some more female collabos. Does anyone else have any other females they would like Mariah to collaborate with? (Friday 26 July 2013; 11:10)

Hannah (38,804) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom Hi Hannah, I remember when the grime scene was big, we used to love it at University. It all started in East. Kano is from my neighbourhood. (Thursday 25 July 2013; 10:56)

Will (38,800) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom Oh nice, down in Kent. I'm in east London. Born in Ireland, and moved to London when I was 7. (Wednesday 24 July 2013; 18:52)

Edward / Will (38,793) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom Edward, I do hope you're right. I was actually listening to Daydream over the weekend. Such a good album. It's in my top 3 MC albums. In fact, the older I get the more I prefer it to TEOM. Therefore, it's probably in my top 2 albums by MC. Interestingly, the sound on Daydream is starting to make a bit of a comeback. Ariana Grande is ripping it off, in rather good fashion too. Mariah is the original, and should perhaps giver the music industry a lesson via her new album lol. I love hip hop, and am a big fan, and like when Mariah incorporates it well into her music. Triumphant for me was not a good example of that. If she does decide to put rappers on her album, then she should choose them more carefully. J Cole or Nas would be great candidates. Cole's new album is great, and I think he would work very well with Mariah on a Breakdown type remix for example. However, if Mariah isn't going to give us anything fresh with rappers, I'd rather she leave that in the past then. Will, I'm glad we can see each other's point of view. Where in the UK are you based btw? I ask out of curiosity. We've been coming on here for years and I never thought to ask lol. (Wednesday 24 July 2013; 14:16)

Will (38,787) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom Irrespective of the context in which a Triumphant was written, that shouldn't compromise the quality of he song, nor does it mean that it should act as an excuse or justify why people should like the song. A bad song is a bad song. If it wasn't ready, then she shouldn't have put it out. Whilst some may think it was a good song, I didn't enjoy it at all. Nor did the public at large, hence why it flopped. It's good that you liked it though. It's all in the ears if the beholder I guess, and if you enjoy that song then good for you. I wish I did. It would make the £0.99p I spent on it worthwhile lol. Each to his/her own I guess. (Tuesday 23 July 2013; 21:45)

Randy (38,780) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom We'll have to agree to disagree on #Beautiful, but Triumphant was rubbish. The point I'm making is that it's taking longer to put out this album because her creative freedom has been compromised. You're right, if creative freedom means songs like Triumphant, then it may not be a good thing, but you know what, if that's what Mariah wants to do, then people should let her. As far as I'm concerned, if she wants to still hang onto the whole "I'm a 27 year old, who started the hip pop thing, and I still want to look relevant" vibe, then she should go ahead and do it. Her recording career will be as good as over, but by all means, if that's who she is, then do it. The chances of Mariah trying a jazz or acoustic album, or something that marks a creative change of direction, is highly unlikely at this moment in her career. Furthermore, Mariah may have had LA's help for TEOM, but for E=MC2 and Memoirs, he did a terrible job. The thing with Mariah though, and she proved this under Tommy, is she can turn her hand to writing anything. If she wants to write a certain style of music or song, she has the musicality to do it. Despite all the negativity, and even my criticism of Mariah, I know she can produce the goods, and am hopeful for this album. I just want to hear what direction she's going in. (Tuesday 23 July 2013; 16:23)

Randy (38,776) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom I agree, it would be nice to actually have a new album ready. Although, I suspect Mariah has gone back to the drawing board yet again, and started from scratch. I don't think IDJ will invest any money into a Mariah project unless they are completely happy with the music. At this point in her career, I find it annoying that a label is dictating the creative direction for someone as big as Mariah. However, I understand the need for both parties to be happy with the final product. Personally, I am just looking forward to new music, and agree with other fans who have commented on the quality of Mariah's artistry, which is amazing. I think for every miss like Triumphant, there are many other gems that Mariah can produce. I look forward to an album in the vein of #Beautiful, which has old school and modern Mariah mixed into one. A nice fusion between the two, if you ask me. (Tuesday 23 July 2013; 11:13)

Edward (38,765) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom I write this message, but fear it may never reach. If not, I have been taken, but so long. Thanks for the memories lol. (Saturday 20 July 2013; 0:30)

Fans / PJW (38,741) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom I find it ludicrous that some fans come onto this message board and have the cheek to tell other fans that they shouldn't be a fan, just because they express an opinion that doesn't offer Mariah false worship. At the end of the day, we all have the right to say what we want, and as long s it's not offensive to Mariah, then it's all good. As far as I'm concerned, PJW said nothing that was directly offensive towards Mariah or other fans on this board. Do you think the same can be said for the fans that have come on here an insulted him? I think you'll find that the answer is no. Also, for what it's worth, I don't agree with PJW that Mariah should admit that the voice is damaged. RadChad made a very good argument agent against why, and I agree. However, even though I was happy with the most recent performance, especially Looking In, I must admit that it's only because expectations have been set so low in recent months. It seems some fans are happy to applaud mediocrity. PJW isn't, and I rate him for that. We are all fans. We have all invested time and money into Mariah, and should be able to come on here and speak openly, without being told that we should consider whether or not to be a fan. We get to choose to be fans, and we get to choose to express an opinion. Deal with it. We can like Mariah as a recording artist and question her as a performing artist. That is possible, and is our prerogative. Before moaning about nagging fans, perhaps reconsider who's actually nagging. (Thursday 18 July 2013; 23:43)

Looking In (38,692) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom Such a wonderful surprise. Beautiful vocal from Mariah and a very touching, endearing performance. Hopefully, this is indicative of the type of depth she is looking to recreate with this new album. The lyrics to Looking In are incredible IMO, and it's one of that many highlights of the Daydream album, which is criminally underrated amongst Mariah fans IMO. That album and songs like Looking In set the tone for Butterfly, which is my favourite Mariah album. (Tuesday 16 July 2013; 0:38)

Relax (38,667) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom You guys really need to chill. I know I was being tongue in cheek, and I'm sure Lee was too. I think it's something people on this side of the Atlantic may "get" better (no shade intended, I love the USA and go twice a year lol). Also, I don't think Mariah fell on purpose, but I'm sure she's using it to her advantage in terms of press. You can't deny that the glamourous armband, right amount of bruise, and video/pics of her in hospital are not capitalising on it. That's not a criticism either. I think it's very clever of Mariah and appreciate that she's involved us with it. (Sunday 14 July 2013; 16:22)

Lee (38,654) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom Hey Lee, I was thinking the exact same thing. (Saturday 13 July 2013; 20:18)

Will (38,618) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom I agree that Mariah has worked hard with the song. My biggest qualm is the timing of the promotion and the type of promotion. I can't see how wasting her budget on another video for #Beautiful can help the album, as it would be better spent together with the actual budget for the next single. However, I'm no expert and will leave it to Mariah to call the shots. She has a 23 year career and I don't lol. In the 90s she worked the fuck out of a big single like this, and I guess she's trying to recreate that strategy. Someone should remind her that is 2013 though. (Tuesday 9 July 2013; 1:05)

God bless Mariah (38,617) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom I hope she makes a swift recovery. (Tuesday 9 July 2013; 1:01)

New video (38,608) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom According to Mariah Daily, Mariah was due to shoot a music video this weekend. I hope it's for a new single and not the Jeezy remix, which I do like. I think it's time to put #Beautiful to bed and put a new single out there, whilst radio is still playing #Beautiful, as radio's affinity with the song will help give any new material a chance. (Monday 8 July 2013; 11:31)

Macy's (38,576) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom Well, that performance of Hero shut me up lol. That was fanatastic. Her vocals were crystal clear and all live. She did really well on #Beautiful too. This is what people expect and want to hear from Mariah Carey. The whispery/falsetto runs on here were the nuts. I loved it. (Friday 5 July 2013; 11:12)

The decline of the voice (38,559) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom Something happened in 1997 for sure. I suspect it was mostly down to lifestyle, but who knows. You'd be surprised how quickly a person's body can deteriorate when it's not being looked after. I see no reason why the same wouldn't apply to the voice. My problem is that Mariah's voice has got progressively worse since 1997. I remember thinking about 7-10 years ago, that even on her bad days, her quality of note and vocal tone make her better than anyone else around, as well as her range, which was still very good at that point. I always felt her bad days were better than most people attheir absolute vocal peak. However, I don't feel I can say that anymore. If you listen to her when she sings #Beautiful for example, she struggles to sing a very simple line. Her breathing is all over the place. Her voice cracks every time she tries to raise it. I don't feel she is better than most other singers on her bad days anymore. For me, she has totally destroyed her voice. Whataver way you look at it, the voice is wrecked. If that was Celine Dion (who admittedly has her own tricks) or Toni Braxton, we'd be ridiculing them. I don't think all is lost with Mariah though. It may just be a simple case of reconditioning her voice. When she was pregnant, her voice was the best I've heard it in years. That's what healthy living does for you. She should create her own version of vocal rehab and start afresh. I no longer look forward to her live performances. They're one catastrophe after the other. (Thursday 4 July 2013; 11:12)

Stacey (38,546) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom You know how we like to call a spade a spade, and have been doing so since 1902. Well, isn't it an interesting turn of events that most people are now acknowledging and agreeing with what was said only a matter of weeks ago? Yet we were derided for such opinons. Nevertheless, I understand that it takes some people a while to acknowledge certain things regarding Mariah. It has taken me time to acknowledge things regarding Mariah in the past, especially her voice, so I get why people get fuelled by an opinion that criticises Mariah. With that being said, I wouldn't hurl abuse at someone over it lol. (Wednesday 3 July 2013; 16:10)

Edward (38,526) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom I think you're right, now is the right time for Mariah to go unplugged or do something like Storytellers, where she sings a few songs acoustically. I actually think that she could handle that better than we think, even with her voice in its current state. The reason being that her voice lends itself better to acoustic singing, than it does to trying to recreate these high production value songs live. It might be easier for Mariah to showcase what she actually has left in the tank. When she goes acapella, she always seems to sound good. I think her performances are more powerful when kept simple in any event. All this stage production is unnecessary. She needs to take control of the stage and just sing. I think the chances of Mariah doing it are unlikely, as people will obviously compare it to the original Unplugged, to which there is no comparison. (Tuesday 2 July 2013; 11:21)

Joe (38,509) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom Oh, sorry for misinterpreting your previous post. I totally agree with your post, especially the part re live concerts as compared to big televised ones. She seems more relaxed when doing shows for fans and lets the voice go a bit more, which resulted in some excellent vocal displays in Australia recently. However, when it comes to big TV performances, I don't think she has it any more. The last few TV performances prove that. It's bizarre to me at this point, and incredibly dissapointing. This era is incredibly weird. I don't know who her advisors are, but someone needs to sit her down and give her a good talking to. If there's such thing as vocal rehab, then she needs to go into rehab lol. It's embarrassing at this point, because I used to be cool with the fact that her voice was not what it was. I used to feel good about the fact that her voice, even in a deteriorated state, was still better than most other singers out there. I don't think I can say that anymore. There are a whole host of singers that would slay her on stage these days. That saddens me. (Monday 1 July 2013; 14:45)

Joe (38,503) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom What do you expect people to say when an artist, who is primarily known for her voice, gets on stage at a televised awards show and mimes the entire performance? Let me ask another question to you and other fans on this board. If in 1990, Mariah first appeared on TV, and gave her most recent performances of #Beautiful, followed by this completely mimed performance, would you be as big a fan of Mariah's as you are now? I'd like to think that my answer to that question would be yes, but certainly wouldn't hold her in the esteem for which I have done so in the past. (Monday 1 July 2013; 12:20)

BET Awards 2013 (38,500) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom So, Mariah mimes the entires performance. I have no words lol. (Monday 1 July 2013; 8:15)

Stacey (38,458) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom I know. It's getting quite tiresome and boring at this point. It will be interesting, or maybe not, to see how next few months pan out lol. (Saturday 29 June 2013; 0:19)

Wtf is going on? (38,432) by Stephen from London, United Kingdom Mariah seriously needs to sort her game out. This is ridiculous. #Beautiful has done really well. The general public are actually responding to Mariah again. She had enough momentum to get that song into the top 10, possibly number one. All that was required was for her to do her day job. There was enough momentum that with a strong second single, she could have done really well. Then she postpones the album to what looks like indefinitely. She's been writing songs for 3 years. How bad are they? Like seriously, the material must be whack. You mean to tell me that in 3 years, she's not been able to string together a few decent songs. Lets remember that #Beautiful is primarily Miguel's production. Mariah may have contributed to it, and helped him complete it, but the inception and basic song is his. Her voice is a mess. Her song writing is clearly not what it was. Her remixes are lazy. Her promotion, or lack thereof, is lazy. These remixes feel like a few scraps you chuck to a stray dog you feel sorry for hanging on a street corner. It's not on. If she doesn't want to make music and would rather focus on garbage like AI, then so be it, but she should stop pretending that she's actually interested in the music anymore, because you can't put crap like this out and seriously expect people to believe it. It's time for her to call in some help and boot JD. They're run is over. Strike up a new creative force. Miguel should be explored further IMO. (Friday 28 June 2013; 1:22)

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