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About Matthew from USA: Old school lamb here. From FL, hoping Mariah comes back here on tour soon.

The race thing (50,726) by Matthew from USA Mariah has worked with Diane Warren and David Foster. She worked with Mark Shaiman on the latest Christmas album and with Willie Nelson for the song on the "Tennessee" soundtrack. She works with white people. The thing is that there may not be a lot of white producers she knows of making music in her genre. The closest thing would be David Guetta who is more of an EDM producer, or Diplo who threw some shade at Mimi's last album sales while working on Madonna's album. So I think we can stop with the race thing. It's OK for Mimi to go after the hot producers for a track or two but she should primarily work with someone respected in the genre but who's sound is not overplayed. I still think Timbaland fits the bill perfectly. I'd love to see what they come up with. I think he's even more creative than The Dream, and I think he would be open to the collaboration since he has publicly expressed admiration for Mariah's work. (Sunday 8 March 2015; 17:22)

Collaboration (50,073) by Matthew from USA I think jaker20 hit the nail on the head. Mariah has always been loyal to her producers. Whether it was Walter A back in the day or Jermaine Dupri for the second half of her career. She kind of finds a producer she likes and sticks with them. Then she might reach out to others for a couple of tracks. I'm not sure what her relationship with JD is right now, but it can be assumed that he might not be as heavily involved in the next album. This might be a good thing. #Beautiful is the best single she has released recently, and that was a collab with Happy Perez and Miguel. She needs to do some more of that. She tried to do this with The Dream for Memoirs but it didn't quite work out, so she ran back to Dupri. Hopefully LA Reid can hook her up with someone good. Timbaland recently gave her praise for her last album and I don't think they've worked before so that might be interesting. He's been behind Aalyah and Justin Timberlake's R&B success so he might be able to tweak Mimi while staying true to the R&B that she loves. It would probably be too much to expect her to jump into country or any other genre. It would be pretty cool, but Mimi is pretty much an R&B girl at heart. (Friday 13 February 2015; 4:35)

Blame the sound guy (49,572) by Matthew from USA I agree with whoever said the technical issues are becoming too much. How many times can you blame the earpiece? Can you blame the sound engineer for not getting it right when you can't be bothered to show up for rehearsals or sound check? Continuously blaming the sound guy is only going to end up with an angry sound engineer posting your raw unedited and not so great vocals on YouTube for the world to hear. After the bajillionth malfunction, it's time to stop blaming the sound guys and take a look at the bigger picture of what is going wrong. It also wouldn't hurt for her to take some of that money and invest it into the shows and styling. (Sunday 1 February 2015; 22:56)

Money grab run (49,527) by Matthew from USA MC has never been a performer. She never cultivated that as an artist. She never had to. She could literally just show up and sing. Literally. Well, she can't do that anymore because her voice is not reliable. So instead she shows up and lips through difficult parts. And it doesn't have quite the same effect. The problem is, she never cultivated that other performing side because she never had to. Whereas Madonna and JLo, who are also both up there in age, can still pull off live shows because they have had to cultivate that performance side of their artistry all along. So either she is doing all these concerts and live shows as a way to figure out how to develop that performer side (but I see no development) or she's pretty much just doing what they call a money grab run, basically get money while the getting is good with minimum effort. Either way, the only way to resolve this is to sing like she used to, and that is probably not possible any more, so I guess Vegas and the money is the next best thing. Between American Idol and now, MC has definitely got her money grab run skills on point, despite everything else being off. Lol. (Sunday 1 February 2015; 4:54)

The AI thing continued (44,932) by Matthew from USA Mimi, I think the story is that Mariah signed on to join AI first. She was lead to believe that she would be part of a 3 person panel where she would be the only female. But it wasn't in the contract (which is what happens when your friends manage you ). Once Mariah put her signature on it, it was announced that Keith would join. AI had people out trying to get a third person but no one was really taking the bait. So they re-signed Randy Jackson as the third judge. At the last hour, Nicki agreed to do it. Mariah did let them know she was unhappy with this. They didn't care because her contract was already signed and the thinking was that Nicki would bring a whole new young audience to the show. The implication being that MC couldn't. And so the negativity started with reports of MC hanging up the phone on them. The producers, sensing an opportunity, took full advantage of Mariah's displeasure to fan the flames. Nigel, one of the show's producers, went on the record as saying Nicki was one of the best judges the show has ever had. To be fair, MC probably went into it with an attitude feeling she was tricked. Things escalated to the blow out between the two women. MC's camp ran with the story that she was threatened, which was supposed to give the producers a reasonable way to get rid of Nicki, but they didn't take it. Lesson is get better management. A lesson she may not have learned yet. You can bet it's in JLo's contract that she be the only woman up there. Lol. (Friday 20 June 2014; 22:40)

The AI thing (44,923) by Matthew from USA Mimi, you said that if Mimi is paid 18 mil, why bother cat fight with a girl years younger than you? Just keep your cool, end the season with dignity, then quit. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that exactly what she did? After the altercation in which Nicki let loose on her, she pretty much took herself out of any interaction with Nicki. Unfortunately, that made her look like an ice queen who didn't want to interact. I guess she just was not able to smile and small talk with Nicki for the sake of appearances with someone who publicly went off at you at work. Perhaps she should have smiled and pretended everything was OK, but since she couldn't she did the next best thing and ignored her. The few times they did manage to interact, it was a disaster. Nicki even told her to clean her ears out with a Q-Tip. I see what you are saying Mimi, but I really do feel MC handled it as best as she could. Even Keith says he felt like both women were brought in with the intention of pitting them against each other. So I guess my point is that sometimes we love Mariah too much and we blame other people for her failures. But in this particular case, I do believe that a large portion of the blame for the whole fiasco lies with the producers. (Friday 20 June 2014; 15:21)

Wow (43,825) by Matthew from USA YDKWTD is giving me everything. And that intro is so diva. Lol. I love it. I was really scared for this album because of the fighting with the label and the push backs. I thought maybe the material wasn't up to snuff, so the label didn't want to support it. But everything from #Beautiful to YDKWTD has been pretty solid so I am at a loss for what's going on there. This latest song proves that if the label doesn't promote and support this album properly, it won't be because there aren't any hit-worthy songs on it. Mimi did what she had to do in the studio. Let's see how this plays out. (Tuesday 20 May 2014; 3:25)

Thirsty (43,591) by Matthew from USA I'm not liking it. My favorite song on the album thus far is #Beautiful. From the opening guitar strings the melody kicks in and you just find yourself singing along. Uptempo or ballad, it doesn't matter to me, as long as the melody and the chorus are good. I guess Thirsty would be more in line with her hip-hop side, so the melody takes a backseat to the beat. And the chorus is a chanted "you're thirsty" repeated. I can't say this song makes me want to hit the dance floor, it doesn't make me smile, doesn't make me sad, doesn't make me nostalgic. It kind of just is. At least it sounds fresh. So that's a plus. Sometimes the stars align and you get a fantastic melody, good lyrics, a memorable chorus and solid vocals. It's happened once on this album already with #Beautiful. Here's to hoping it will happen again. (Wednesday 14 May 2014; 8:30)

Mariah is over, part 7284 (43,360) by Matthew from USA Yes. It's official now. Mariah is no longer able to sing live. She is now only physically able to sing while within the confines of a studio. And we all know the reason the album was pushed back so much is because it takes a tremendous amount time as well as a team of hundreds to digitally piece together the ruined mess that is her voice. How do we know this you ask? We know this because she didn't sing on Letterman. (Thursday 8 May 2014; 19:12)

The state of R&B (41,888) by Matthew from USA It says a lot when you can have the #15 R&B song in the country, yet not be anywhere in the Top 100 songs. The fact of the matter is that R&B is not as prevalent as it once was on radio. A lot of urban artists are struggling with airplay. Mariah was on the forefront of the mid-90's R&B movement that incorporated heavy hip-hop production and guest rappers, but that type of sound is in decline. R&B is not dead though, it's just evolving into two distinct sounds. The first is a kind of futuristic R&B that has embraced the EDM movement. Think Chris Brown, Rihanna, Beyonce. The second is a retro R&B that embraces the whole "you bring your tambourine, I'll bring my guitar and we'll be jamming around the campfire" feel-good vibe. Think #Beautiful, Pharell's "Happy", Bruno Mars. The problem with YME is not that it's not a good song, it's that it isn't retro or futuristic enough. YME is straight up last decade. It's from a time when Rodney Jerkins and JD were in their prime. That is cause for some concern since those are the two principal producers behind this project. I think Mimi is versatile enough to go futuristic or vintage, and #Beautiful was a step in the right direction, so let's hope there is more of that. It's no coincidence that #Beautiful, her freshest sound yet, was produced by someone she's never worked with, Happy Perez. Hopefully her trust and control issues will allow her to work with other new talent as well. (Saturday 1 March 2014; 3:32)

First singles (41,554) by Matthew from USA I'm just wondering why there is so much stress around the first single. The Emancipation Of Mimi was Mariah's most successful album of the last decade. The lead single for that album was It's Like That. I don't know where that song peaked, but I know it didn't go to number one. It was the second song from the album (We Belong Together) that made it a best seller. I'm just trying to say that the lead singe, while important, does not make or break an album. Let's all take a deep calm breath. Wax on, wax off. Lol. (Friday 21 February 2014; 0:14)

Creativity (41,305) by Matthew from USA Remember that Mimi is very controlling. Even with the videos. She hired this Indrina girl to direct it, and then I'm sure she started dictating shots and editing out things she didn't like and even Mimi calls it a "co-directorial" effort, which pretty much means she hired the girl and then proceeded to direct the video herself anyway. I think that's why some ideas for the video don't seem to be developed. She's like that with her songs too. No one sends Mariah songs because they know that she will insist on changing something so she can get writing credit. When they asked her to do the Disney song, she had to "re-touch" it before she would agree to do it. It's the same with production. JD has said many times how it's always a struggle because Mariah keeps pushing for more urban sounds when he sometimes wants her to go with more ballads. So what does this all mean? Well it's good and bad. The good is that whenever we get something from MC, we can be sure it's 90-100% her. The bad is that it is unlikely things will change because ideas from the outside won't get it in if you insist on controlling everything. So it's a balancing act. On the one hand, we don't want her to become a Rihanna, who pretty much just shows up in the studio when it's time to record. On the other hand, she needs to learn to ease up and let some other people's ideas blossom so the videos and songs don't all sound the same. (Friday 14 February 2014; 17:56)

In character? (41,241) by Matthew from USA Is Mimi "in character" for all these interviews? I know people expect her to be a diva, and in the past she has played into rumors in a tongue in cheek way. In those days it seemed like she was aware of her diva reputation and she would playfully indulge during interviews. Lately, however, it seems as though she has pretty much bought into her own image fully. So my question is this. Do you think she's in character and consciously being a diva? Do you think she's just full out drunk? (It seems unlikely.) Or do you think this is just who she is now? I used to think she was just in on the joke, but every single interview seems to bring the same difficult diva antics so maybe it's just how she is now. But then I will see an interview with Oprah (who she can't pull that BS with) and she seems fully grounded. So what gives? I really feel like we need to see the grounded Mariah who can sit and explain her process without being an outlandish diva. That Mariah needs to make an appearance at least once for this to be a success. Maybe it will take an Oprah sit down for us to see that Mariah again. (Thursday 13 February 2014; 20:21)

Thoughts on single (41,148) by Matthew from USA It's definitely a winner. She slays it at the end. It's like an updated version of H.A.T.E.U. The only thing I'm not sure about is the length. I felt like #Beautiful could have gone on a little longer than it did. If you felt that way too, then I'm not sure how you all will feel about this. It's basically chorus, verse 1, chorus, climax. I feel like there should be more. But I guess I'm going to have to get used to this streamlined Mariah. In conclusion, it's very good but I feel like #Beautiful and You're Mine are appetizers. I really hope there's a hearty main course in the works. (Wednesday 12 February 2014; 13:58)

Opinions are great (40,672) by Matthew from USA Guys, no one has hung drawn and quartered Mariah. A rumor came out that she was doing a Whitney cover and all I've seen on here are some of her best fans chiming in on whether they would like that or not. I even asked what does everyone else think to generate discussion. It's a beautiful thing to hear everyone chime in. So no drama. And Mariah remains unhung and undrawn and unquartered. (Monday 20 January 2014; 22:23)

Whitney cover (40,656) by Matthew from USA Am I the only one who thinks this is a bad idea? Open Arms, Without You, Against All Odds, I'll Be There, Bringing On The Heartbreak, Beautiful Ones and I Want To Know What Love Is are all her covers (did I miss any? oh some from Glitter). They all share one thing in common: they were all originally sung by male lead vocalists some time before 1990. The only time Mariah has covered a female, was Diana Ross Do You Know, which was also originally recorded before the 90's. I'm not sure how I feel about Mariah covering Whitney, who was her contemporary. That would be like Ciara covering Aaliyah or Christina covering Britney, no? How do you guys feel about Mariah covering a song that was originally performed by the singer Mariah has been compared with the most? I say no bueno. Even if she sings it well, I can imagine the shady comments already. I think the unspoken rule is that you should only do covers of songs recorded before you made your musical debut. So technically some of Whitney's songs qualify. Hmm. I'm not sure I like the idea. (Monday 20 January 2014; 8:02)

Licia (40,395) by Matthew from USA Licia dear, are you implying that if Mariah did nothing but fart on the next album you wouldn't buy it? How dare you? Lol. The sad part is that I would probably buy it. Mariah's got me (like the song) for life I guess. Untill death do us part, through good albums and through bad. Lol. Anyway, I hear you Licia. I don't think Mariah should follow Beyonce either. (Friday 3 January 2014; 22:20)

What's really ridiculous (40,332) by Matthew from USA So fan #1 says that they think Mariah is mentally unstable because of some interviews she did. Then fan #2 responds that they think Mariah is just fine because her instagram is cuteness to the tenth power. Then fan #3 says that fan #2 is just a fanatic who refuses to agree with any bad thing said about Mariah. Hmm. So I guess I will be fan #4, the one who thinks both fan #1 and fan #2 have the right to disagree, and fan #3 is just trying to start beef. (Tuesday 31 December 2013; 5:18)

Settle down (40,327) by Matthew from USA All you lambs need to do is head over to Mariah's instagram to see that everything is happy and healthy in her personal life. So you guys need to stop. If Mimi gets angry or depressed about something, the lambs are usually the first to know (voicemails, angry TAOLG rant). As for the repetitive interviews, it's true. But that's always been the case with Mariah. She finds her talking points and sticks to it. If they bring up her injury, she will says she really doesn't want to make a big deal out of it but it was a big deal. The pregnancy: she really doesn't want to make a big deal out of it, but she had eclempsia. The album: she is working on it. American Idol: she thought it would be 3 judges. Eminem: M&Ms. Twins: It's harder than giving birth to one and she won't be having any more. Rinse and repeat. It would really take a few splashes and an interviewer she is really comfortable with for her to deviate from the canned answers. It might also help if the interviewers stopped asking the same canned questions. (Monday 30 December 2013; 22:01)

Mariah slaying (40,233) by Matthew from USA Holy cow. Head over to Mariah's instagram to catch a snippet of her live performance of TAOLG. It's very short, but she is slaying it in what we can hear. See this is what I'm talking about. Roller coaster. Just when everyone says it's over after a bad performance, she does another performance and everyone is like, ok maybe not. Lol. Don't count Mariah out guys. (Sunday 15 December 2013; 8:25)

Purpose of interviews and Beyonce (40,232) by Matthew from USA Mariah invited Kathy Lee and Hoda into her home for another mini interview. They all consumed alcoholic beverages so the lambs won't be pleased with that. But I was wondering exactly what Mariah is promoting with these series of interviews. Is she just trying to keep her profile up going into the new year? Mimi and Beyonce seem to both be going through the same thing with their record labels. They are creating music and the record labels don't think it's commercial enough so they order the artist to go back to the drawing board. Both Mariah and Beyonce seemed to go back to the drawing board and pushed back their albums while dropping a song or releasing a snippet here or there. It seems Beyonce finally just decided to release what she had, whether the label supported it or not. I think Mariah is frustrated with the label as well, but I think she will play by the rules so that she can have some support from the label. (Sunday 15 December 2013; 8:15)

Today Show (40,183) by Matthew from USA That interview was a mess. The reported had her hands full just trying to guide the conversation. I don't know what to say. Even when she doesn't have to sing, she still finds a way to botch it. She sounded like she had been drinking. She kept talking over the reporter. Maybe she does have a drinking problem. Obviously, she should stay away from live events until she gets better. She needs to just do pre-taped stuff that they can edit. When she does live events, she comes across as incoherent. People really started noticing on American Idol, then the Jimmy Fallon interview was really rambling, and now this. She was drinking on the Angie Martinez interview as well, but that one wasn't so bad. But yeah, the rambling is getting annoying. Make your point, then let the other person talk. Continuously talking while other people are talking just makes her look drunk and obnoxious. It was embarrassing when Matt Lauer said he wanted some of what they put in their morning coffee. Anyway, the Michael Buble thing is pre-taped, so let's hope that with some good editing, we can get a decent Mariah showing before the year is out. (Wednesday 11 December 2013; 20:13)

Mariah is over... for the 100th time (40,136) by Matthew from USA The thing I have learned with Mariah is this: never count her out. I can't tell you guys how many times I've done just that. She always disappoints me, and then I give up. And then I say it's over. Her voice is gone. And then of course, she pulls some amazing performance out of the bag and then she has me back again. It's like a roller coaster. So I think this time I'm just going to wait and see. Mimi performances have always been erratic. People are always counting her out. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that Mariah is over. She finished. She's done. She was done after the divorce. She was done after Glitter. She was over after E=MC2. Lol. I honestly believe she'll be doing her little thing when she is in her 60's like Patty and Aretha. Will it be the voice of a 20 year old Mariah? Nope. But as long as the music is in her, she'll keep on keeping on. It's one of the things I admire about Mimi. She perseveres. (Monday 9 December 2013; 7:52)

Ariana Grande giving me nostalgia (39,981) by Matthew from USA Ariana Grande went on stage at the AMA's in a sparkling red gown. She sang a simple ballad with almost no production or background noise. It was beautiful. Everyone is raving about the performance online, and the song will be her next single. It made me happy, because it reminded me of when Mariah would just walk out on stage and sing. It also made me sad, because I can't remember the last time she did that. And the impromptu performances where she is riffing and making up lyrics as she goes along does not count. Come out on stage in a nice dress, let the applause die, let the lights go low, then sing a song from start to finish live. Then watch as the single goes to #1. It should be so easy to do, but there's bales of hay to lie down on, Versace dresses to pop out of, rappers to make you feature on your own song, spinning set pieces and props and overbearing production and camera angles to get just right and beaded and feathered slings. Lol. I guess when you are The Voice it's not so easy to just come out and sing the damn song. We know she can do it. But the rest of the world needs reminding every now and then. That type of live performance is what makes record labels willing to spend money on you. (Monday 25 November 2013; 7:49)

Confusion about TAOLG (39,897) by Matthew from USA There seems to be some confusion about TAOLG. I don't think this is a single. What I mean is that they never sent the song to radio. At least, I don't think they did. She just released it on Facebook for the fans. I just bring this up because now there are people saying that she flopped and that her record label is doing nothing to support the single. But it's not a commercial single as far as I can tell. Was never meant to be. (Tuesday 19 November 2013; 1:49)

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