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Re: Christmas special (96,339) (96,341) by Andrew from the United Kingdom I see. Rather than admitting you offer ridiculous, racist, sexist and ageist insults and unfounded accusations backed up with zero evidentiary support you have decided to start posting reasonable comments. Good for you. There may be hope for you, yet. (However, I use the word "maybe" with a due sense of exhaustion and dread as I am sure you will revert and let everyone down again, soon.) (Sunday 18 October 2020; 13:05)

Re: An objective view (96,337) (96,340) by Andrew from the United Kingdom I would argue that very few people dislike Mariah's Christmas music being popular at Christmastime. However, it is fair to ponder if this is a contributory factor in re: her substantial decline in popularity in the last decade. Caution sold dismally compared to Celine Dion's Courage for example. And Celine packs out arenas of which Mariah would struggle to fill the entrance halls. So something has clearly gone wrong. What went wrong, I submit, is the following: Mariah is musically stuck in the past. "All I Live For" may be "soooo 90's" but what of her music since that decade? It is arguably "soooo 00's". The music scene has moved on and left Mariah clinging to formulas she can lay claim to having helped create. That is all well and good but nobody really much cares. An "oh, wow, is that right?" isn't going to make people interested in her music beyond a fleeting glance. Mariah's image of an overweight hoochy mama in a bodysuit or ball gown for many years was not appealing - with Mariah either making herself look old or desperate or both. Her sense of fashion has been terrible. Add to that ridiculous wigs or hair straightened to within an inch of its life and makeup so heavy Mariah's face has trouble holding it up, Mariah's image has been as comical as a clown's. Mariah's attitude screams spoiled diva. And for "diva" read any of the plethora of rude words for people who are disliked. Sycophants and delulons will quickly jump to media "not getting" Mariah's sense of humour. However, many people are not convinced there is actually anything funny in her attitude and behaviour. And certainly an American constantly doing a faux British accent doesn't go down well here. But UK aside, Mariah treating and carrying herself like a Queen is vulgar to a great, many people. Many people like to identify with music stars not revere them as Gods (like some sycophantic, emotionally desperate freaks (sycofreaks, if you will) on here do, for example). Mariah appears more out of touch than ever. Mariah constantly peddles a woe-is-me story and not many people care. In fact, many people find it a total turn off that the extremely talented multi-millionaire many many times over constantly harps on about how tough her life was 25 years ago. I cannot recall the last time I read Lady Gaga bemoaning her life or Britney Spears crying about how unfair everything was. Mariah is so used to pushing a narrative she has kost sense of how to do anything else. And there are so few fans left she probably believes its too dangerous and late in the game to change. Mariah at best prefers Black people and at worst doesnt very much like White and Latino people. It's her choice. We know she has made it and the decision making process is not of importance here. But the choice has been evident and striking, noticeable to a great many people around the world. Arguments are made that it is to do with the music she makes etc. But this is a contributory factor. (I am sure this point will wake up the sleeper cell of black militants on this board). Add this to Mariah now arguably trying to tack herself onto and perhaps into the middle of the BLM movement. People are turned off by agenda and feel alienated by her. Once she sas everything to everybody but people - perhaps quite rightly - felt shunned by her. So sales fell off and continue to fall. Mariah's performances are lacklustre. Her concert shows are low on production value and dull to watch. Mariah stands as a statue, afraid to move lest she look less than her best for a second. The songs she sings are sung and lipped in exactly the same way she sang them on the previous tour. Granted she has mixed it up slightly recently with Glitter segments and additions such as Anytime You Need A Friend but there is never much of anything you cannot watch on YouTube. And her singing is lazy. Rather than measured singing, notes are thrown out and lost and it comes across as lazy. Arena tours are so expensive now many people can only choose one or two to attend per year. There are far fresher and more entertaining and professional shows to attend than a Mariah Carey show. I could go on and on, but there are many reasons as to why Mariah does not sell well and is relatively ignored and under appreciated compared to her contemporaries. Imagine for a second Madonna releasing an album of unreleased songs from the 90's and 00's. The No.1 spot would be occupied by such an album for so long they may rename the spot after it. Now, I can argue Mariah's case in many respects better than anyone, and provide "the receipts", so to speak. I have yet to meet the person who could win an argument with me in which they were criticising Mariah Carey. But I do not deny truths as to do so is vulgar and anathema to men and women of good conscience. Facing truths is the best and only way to fix wrongs and perhaps Mariah doesn't care about any of the above - and good for her were that to be the case. But unless she makes drastic changes she can expect lower than expected album and ticket sales and a lot less respect from the general public afforded to her contemporaries. Mariah is arguably not the "Queen of Christmas". For example, her second Christmas album has sold less copies than mine has. It is *the Christmas song* she has that itself is "Queen of Christmas". But heaven forfend All I Want For Christmas Is You becoming so ubiquitous and overplayed it becomes detested or uncool to like. Game over. But I doubt it will not continue to be stellar. It is potentially one of the greatest songs ever recorded. And long after we have all returned to the earth in ages hence, that song and that amazing vocal will still be played every December. And nobody will really care who Mariah was or what mistakes she made in her career. She will likely be known as that woman who sings that Christmas song and her great great great great grandchildren will be on a Christmas tree shaped spaceship hurtling towards New Earth singing it at the top of their lungs whilst never having had to work a day in their life because of it. (Sunday 18 October 2020; 12:57)

Christmas special (96,339) by We are lambily from USA Jennifer Hudson just confirmed that she is working on a Christmas special. Even though she didn't mention it was for Mariah we all know it's her. I hope her team is ready for the exposure this will give Mariah. Ariana has always been a fan and it's about time Mariah acknowledge her "in a way fitting for a lamb". I'm so happy and excited for Mariah and her Christmas special. (Sunday 18 October 2020; 00:34)

Re: Relevancy (96,329) (96,338) by Andrew from the United Kingdom What a shame. You have been exposed. Nothing you ever say ever again is of consequence. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 23:36)

Re: An objective view (96,333) (96,337) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines To each their own, but honestly, I don't see the point in seeing Mariah's reputation of being the Queen of Christmas as a negative. It's not a title she gave herself and there are a lot of far worse things the public could have given her if they wished. She did write what is now the most widely played holiday song worldwide. So what if just one song of hers transcends generations and cultures all around the world and guarantees quite possibly at least a million in royalties alone every year? That's supposed to be a bad thing? [Barbra], Cher, Mary and Janet are awesome, but they aren't even huge international sellers. Madonna, Michael, Whitney and Celine are, but none of them have that one thing that Mariah has - guaranteed career resuscitation for at least the last month and a half of every year. It does more than just set her apart from the rest - it's a freaking lucrative juggernaut. It would be dumb not to milk its potential, especially at a time when most of the music-consuming public no longer puchase music like we used to. Even before AIWFCIY has taken on a life of its own, prior to Mariah promoting it heavily in the last decade, it has regularly been added to Christmas playlists all around the world since its release. At this point, it's beyond her control. So let them all diss Mariah for just being relevant during the holidays - we know that she has a few evergreens that prove otherwise - ABMB, WBT, Hero. I even see some redditor fans saying they still hear either Emotions, Fantasy, Love Takes Time or Without You being played on the radio depending on their respective parts of the world. But let's say that AIWFCIY is the biggest (or only) thing she will ever be remembered for. That doesn't cheapen her image in any way. Honey, if that's considered a bad thing, then imagine how worse it could be for most of these younger artists with their forgettable flavor-of-the-moment streaming chart toppers which will, just like Mariah's own overlooked #1s, not even be remembered by the public in the next 5 years. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 22:49)

Re: An objective view (96,333) (96,336) by We are lambily from USA I agree in a way, I still don't get why Roc Nation/her team haven't started a task force that works solely on how to crossover Mariah's Christmas popularity to the other months. It's crazy what an opportunity Mariah has every year. The next single has to be uptempo and I hope we get it in January. Drop a teaser on New Year's Eve. There is nothing I want more for Mariah than for her to finally beat The Beatles record. They should really make it a campaign and take a page from Trump. How an English group has the record should be enough to convince a lot of people to support her. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 22:23)

Re: An objective view (96,333) (96,335) by Geri551 from UK With all the negativity, I would love to know what people genuinely expect? Janet Jackson's career is now limited to be a touring greatest hits artist. Celine hasn't had a song even chart on the Hot 100 since 2008 and is also now a touring artist based on her greatest hits. Toni's last album released a few weeks ago charted at number 163. Whitney is sadly dead. Let's not pretend that Mariah is somehow alone in not having a career like it was 1996. I'd say of the 1990s great divas, Mariah and Celine are the two with the healthiest and most sustainable careers. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 21:40)

Re: An objective view (96,333) (96,334) by Geri551 from UK As opposed to what exactly? Nothing? None of Mariah's 90s cohort are exactly burning up the radio or notching up the streams. What would Janet or Toni Braxton give to have the kind of opportunity that Mariah gets every year? (Saturday 17 October 2020; 21:28)

Re: An objective view (96,330) (96,333) by Lyric from USA Hey, if you are fine with AIWFCIY being her "ultimate legacy" then that's your opinion. Different strokes. I would be annoyed with any of my favorite singers being seasonal holiday acts but that is just me. The fact that the general public decides to sing her praises during Christmastime but then throw her back into obscurity after January, doesn't sit right with me as a fan. But Mariah perpetuated this herself so if she's happy then so be it. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 20:18)

Re: The future is not looking good (96,325) (96,332) by Lyric from USA I love Mariah but I have to admit that she is technically a studio singer. She has spent her career recording songs that are nearly impossible to duplicate live. Like the ending climax of CTTA, We Belong Together, etc. Her belting ability is pretty much gone and she has to lip her whistle notes often. Mariah has never been known as a live performer and I can't imagine many people with disposable income who would pay to see her live. That's the difference between her and other musicians in her age group. Could she improve her reputation as a live singer? She could but I'm doubtful since it's been 30 years. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 20:12)

Re: An objective view (96,323) (96,331) by Andrew from the United Kingdom "An objective view." Really? "This new generation of music listeners... make fun of special needs people on tik tok." Really? "True fans of music and artistry respect and love her music, even if they don't consider themselves to be lambs." I know music lovers who hate Mariah's music. Sure this is an accurate objective statement? "Mariah will not get the appreciation she deserves as long as she isn't making the trash music that's popular these days." All currently popular music is trash? And STD is Song of the Century? "It's also incredibly tacky to deny her experiences." People are questioning her honesty based upon contradictory reports and contradictory visual evidence, especially as the re-editing of history rides the bandwagon of BLM riots. Objective? Really? Please. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 18:28)

Re: An objective view (96,323) (96,330) by Geri551 from UK Why would Mariah abandon her Christmas Queen label? It would be lunacy. It gives her a guaranteed income every year (being Mariah Carey costs money.) and builds up her fame and legacy. A good comparison may be Bette Midler. She trades on Hocus Pocus, almost 30 years after the movie was released. Why? Because it is part of pop culture, it attracts press attention to her every year (she has been threatening a sequel in press interviews for the past 29 years), she performs as Winifred in her live shows. Every year a new generation of young people are introduced to the film. It is accessible. Like it or not All I Want For Christmas Is You is Mariah's ultimate legacy and will guarantee her place in pop culture. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 18:25)

Re: Relevancy (96,319) (96,329) by Andrew from the United Kingdom Okay let's give you a chance to be an adult and not a dark, damaged little queen. "It's not Mariah's fault that the media has painted a false image of her for years now." What image of her have they painted? Please quote different media sources and cite evidence as to why these representations are false. "Let's not act as if sexism isn't the foundation for more than 75% of her criticism." Please cite the criticism to which you are referring and then show how it is specifically based upon Mariah's gender. "Men just don't like seeing powerful unapologetic women like Mariah." Please publish your evidence for this claim. I am a man and I like seeing powerful women. So you're onto a difficult one already. Come on. Prove you are not just a pathetic child. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 18:18)

Re: The future is not looking good (96,325) (96,328) by Geri551 from UK Comparing apples and oranges. Mariah is not in the same category as the Beatles. Trying to create some comparison between the two is entirely unfair to Mariah. The success enjoyed by the Beatles was and remains unparalleled. Celine and Mariah have very different core audiences and it isn't surprising that Celine has more success at touring, while Mariah has far higher streaming of recent musical releases. Celine's core fanbase is middle class, white women, the same as Barbra Streisand. They are a consistent and reliable audience for Celine as they have been for Barbra. Mariah largely chose to reject that audience in 1997 and has done little to appeal to them since. She has aimed at a younger, more urban audience. They are much less likely to be able to pay to see someone in concert but more likely to stream music. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 18:18)

Re: An objective view (96,323) (96,327) by Edward from USA "True fans of music and artistry respect and love her music, even if they don't consider themselves to be lambs. I don't know any vocalist in the music business who doesn't cite Mariah Carey as an influence. Mariah will not get the appreciation she deserves as long as she isn't making the trash music that's popular these days." I totally agree with you, and it doesn't have anything to do with genres, for those who will immediately jump on the "that wasn't the real Mariah" wagon. As I stated before, even on Butterfly, which showed a free Mariah, her lyrics were simply great. She's still a great lyricist when she puts herself into it. Great music is great music and people will buy it, but she has another thing against her, she's not taken seriously due to this annoying and sometimes petty diva persona she's assumed. Mariah used to have this veil of mystery, in which she would release an album, promote and disappear, but since 2010, all this touring, and a myriad of non-music products releases, she hasn't given the public an opportunity to miss her. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 17:51)

Re: Let's get back to being fans (96,315) (96,326) by Bill from the UK I think I gave reasonable counter arguments to your post, but all you did was post Celine Dion in MC Hammer parachute pants. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 17:51)

Re: The future is not looking good (96,313) (96,325) by TJ from Norway It's just that it seems like her real fans are also fading away. When The Beatles released their best of album 30 years after their last studio album, it went to number one all over the world. When Celine put her tickets for sale in Norway, she had to put on an extra concerts because people went crazy. Each concert had about 23,000 tickets sold (last year), while Mariah could not sell 7000 tickets 4 years earlier in the same city, in the same country. I have said this before (like many else) that she should have a change of direction if she still want to be in the game. To many of her "real fans" makes to many excuses and close the blinds so they don't have to face the facts. Sad. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 11:47)

Re: Review of the memoir and The Rarities (96,310) (96,324) by Bill from the UK I always enjoy your articles, thank you very much for sharing. A great read. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 08:49)

An objective view (96,323) by Lyric from USA Hello all, I don't post here often but after reading her memoir and the last few pages of posts, I wanted to contribute. 1. One of my biggest gripes with Mariah is the "Queen of Christmas" nonsense. She has a vast, impressive catalogue but she's chosen to market herself as a holiday act for the past few years. It puts her in a box and makes it easier for this newer generation to forget about all of her other hits. Plus, AIWFCIY is one of my least favorite songs of hers. Maybe I'm just not a holiday person. 2. This new generation of music listeners are the same kids who eat tide pods and make fun of special needs people on tik tok. I couldn't care less if these are the folks who don't connect with Mariah. True fans of music and artistry respect and love her music, even if they don't consider themselves to be lambs. I don't know any vocalist in the music business who doesn't cite Mariah Carey as an influence. Mariah will not get the appreciation she deserves as long as she isn't making the trash music that's popular these days. 3. Mariah, like most people, is a complex person. I don't like the "eternally twelve" nonsense, even though I have a deeper understanding since reading her memoir. I think some of her insecurities, like not showing the left side of her face, are ridiculous. But as fans, we should be able to accept her faults since she is human. And none of us know her from a can of paint, aside from her public persona and her music. It's weird to see "lambs" turning on her now, when she has certainly displayed more questionable behavior in the past (Stella era, for example.) It's also incredibly tacky to deny her experiences. I just want her to drop the Christmas stuff, continue toward a futuristic R&B sound like with Caution and continue to work toward peace in her life. We would all be devastated if something happened to Mariah, let's appreciate her and give her flowers while she is still with us. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 08:10)

Re: MC30 (96,296) (96,322) by enwar00 from usa I saw on YouTube. I watched Endless Love so far, it was nice, will have to watch again though. That's the Emotions performance when she was such and sang lower isn't it? How funny just saw it for the first time this year, I love it. She was on that show a lot wasn't she. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 05:35)

Re: Where I Belong (96,301) (96,321) by Bobby A from United States It won't play even if you have an account and upgraded the app. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 04:06)

Re: Swan song (96,026) (96,320) by Korey2 from United Stated I don't post much but hate to see you go. You're in NY right? I don't love to chat sometime about it all. Any way to contact you? Or anybody know how? (Saturday 17 October 2020; 03:45)

Relevancy (96,319) by We are lambily from USA "Mariah isn't relevant anymore." Mariah is in the top 3 most streamed artists who debuted before the 00s. And if we add those Christmas streams she does something we call social distancing on those lists. Her book has now sold over 500k copies in two weeks. People still clearly care about her and her music. It's not Mariah's fault that the media has painted a false image of her for years now. I will never forget that episode of Wendy where she spoke on how she has been in the business for as long as Mariah and has never heard someone call her a mean person. Let's not act as if sexism isn't the foundation for more than 75% of her criticism. Men just don't like seeing powerful unapologetic women like Mariah. They love puppies they can control. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 03:10)

Re: Lovecraft Country (96,304) (96,318) by RibbonB from USA Ok, that sounds intriguing, thanks. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 02:48)

Re: Soon As I Get Home (96,308) (96,317) by Geri551 from UK I don't really understand. (Saturday 17 October 2020; 02:24)

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