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About Nikki from usa:

Re: New album (92,087) (92,095) by Nikki from usa Lol - Andrew, you should do comedy. No, no. Man, you're completely right. Radio isn't ageist. Clearly, everyone in the top 10 is always someone over 50. There's not a year that goes by I don't see the youths bopping along with Madonna's newest music which is always on the top of the charts. Barbra Streisand, Lionel Richie, and Liza Minnelli are all the rage. They just keep jamming out all the new hits. Right up until her death, Aretha Franklin was bringing in all the top 10's. Funny you should bring up Cher. Her last #1 before "Believe" happened while she was in her mid 20's. Her last top 10 happened when she was 42. She couldn't get into the top 40 after that. "Believe" put her in the Guiness Book of World Records as the oldest female artist to achieve a #1 at 52. She had to do a completely different sound and use auto tune to achieve it. How'd she fair after that #1? She wasn't given the time of day again. She also wrote the lyrics: "It takes time to move on, it takes love to be strong. I've had time to think it through and maybe I'm too good for you." Yet, did she get any credit for it? Of course not. Say, does everyone remember Sia? (Thursday 2 January 2020; 23:27)

Re: AIWFCIY hitting #1 (91,900) (91,910) by Nikki from usa Never say never, Adam. I remember this exact conversation happening in 2002 when many of you didn't think Mariah would ever be on top again after Glitter. A lot of people didn't think a holiday song could hit the top spot, either. Don't play this off as a small feat. This doesn't happen everyday. The last time a holiday song smashed the top spot was in the 1950's and that was an animation. Her 1994 voice? What about her 1996 voice? How do you know another old song won't get popular in a movie and catch on? Obsessed got back on the charts from some random Tik Tok challenge. What's wrong with her current voice? The hottest song out right now is Dance Monkey and that girl's voice is weird. You don't think Touch My Body became a #1 due to the great vocals, do you? It's about the song and getting a good ear worm. You may obsess over the past, but the current generation knows nothing about that and have proven they're not that picky over vocals. Taylor Swift is doing fine. I wouldn't ever count Mariah out, but she has to be willing. (Monday 23 December 2019; 04:38)

New Christmas video (91,909) by Nikki from usa Remember when Mariah came out with Fantasy? It was a mix of dance, pop, r&b, hip-hop, and adult contemporary. It appealed to so many genres at one time. While watching Mariah's new music video for the first time, I thought she mixed a Target, Old Navy, and Kohl's commercial together with a hundred Katy Perry's in the background. It was a lot of extra, but it was entertaining. I loved her hair and makeup in the last scene the most. (Monday 23 December 2019; 04:22)

Congratz Mariah #19 (91,725) by Nikki from usa This is awesome and long overdue. I always knew this would be the 19th #1. I'm so happy. I don't care how long it stays at the top spot. No matter how much people love the holidays, it's still a tricky feat to compete with current popular artists in today's landscape. The competition has been fierce and still will be. I'm glad all the hard work and over time that's been being put in since October has paid off. It's also evident Mariah's been making some moves behind the scenes for 2020. On another note, I'm not sure how likely it is for current Mariah to be embraced by the masses for future work. She's a touring act now and under contract with LiveNation, so I don't see a whole lot of time being spent to push new singles. She'd require new and different platforms to be seen and heard. I'd never count her out, I just don't see the charts as something she's focused on anymore. She spent most of the 2010's doing creative projects from perfume to makeup and movies to endorsements. I would love to hear "a vibe" from Mariah. Remember the remix to Unforgettable? I miss "a vibe" type of song. (Tuesday 17 December 2019; 20:15)

Stay in her lane? (91,419) by Nikki from usa That's not what she did in '95. She pushed boundaries, she invented hip-pop and worked with more black artists than ever before. She was a woman in the industry that wasn't sexed up to sell and doing something different. Critically, she was applauded for it at the time. Her music hit the top of multiple genres at one time. Most music hit one major genre, but she exceeded that. They even seemed to be upset that she was directing her own music videos and tried to pass her off as a "ghost director". In '05 she made a plethora of urban music, did it well, nothing over the top. She was still ignored and wasn't even allowed to accept the awards she did win during the live broadcast. The irony is that each time she was used in the Grammy ads and promos to get people to watch their boring forever show and then they snubbed her both times. (Thursday 21 November 2019; 04:52)

Pure sales (91,402) by Nikki from usa Always interesting, but at the end of the day we're not talking sales, we're talking certifications which are paid for by record companies. Literally. The whole reason systems like Soundscan were invented were due to number gouging for the sake of PR. Many earlier artists numbers were over certified. Sony didn't bother with certification for MC outside the US and Japan. Yet, she was announced as a billion dollar seller in all of Asia. Mariah's main influence is in the US which is also where the majority of her promo went. (Wednesday 20 November 2019; 02:35)

Re: Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting (91,146) (91,198) by Nikki from usa It's not likely she'd perform there. She was the headliner for 5 years running. She actually began that performance acapella and it was awesome. Her inner ear monitors cut out in the middle of the performance, so she tried to sing "under" the music while she was deaf. She did it successfully enough because there were only 2 notes that sounded off during the one minute they cut out before coming back on again. It was hailed as a great performance by headlines the following day and no one in the audience was any the wiser. It wasn't until that afternoon where a one minute isolated vocal leaked of the four minute song. No other part of the song was leaked, only the part where she was singing while deaf. She got a lot of flack for it. Rockefeller asked her to come back the following year, but she declined. They said she was "holding a grudge". Mariah had her own special on the Hallmark channel that year and kicked it off with God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman a capella. It spurred her on to do her own shows at Beacon Theatre and turn Christmas into a tour. She has a lot of shows already lined up. She's always busy for December. She doesn't need Rockefeller, she'd be better off doing a Christmas Carpool Karaoke. (Monday 28 October 2019; 23:54)

In the back (91,090) by Nikki from usa "If you watch the show, I was heading back toward the background singers, because I felt like that's where I belong." Mariah said that referencing Aretha Franklin. It wasn't about respect, but reverie. Mariah had an open invite, on more than one occasion, to work with Stevie Wonder. We know how much she loves him. She always said, "in my dreams". He may have played harmonica for her, but no collab. She doesn't feel worthy of singing alongside of them. Mariah's been gushing about gospel since she came out, so it's likely she doesn't feel like she's in the same league. She's the starstruck fan girl in these scenarios. (Saturday 19 October 2019; 05:55)

Does MC want to tour? (90,959) by Nikki from usa Have to ask. Mariah's no fool. She can't have a slew of high profile performances botched and expect to sell serious venues. Which makes sense why she only does small theaters. The Sweet Sweet Fantasy tour seemed to be rushed and impromptu because it sounded like a good idea. She didn't have a lot of bad high profile performances yet. She was getting great reviews on the little tours she did. Her tiny Asian tour right after the release of With You was weird. She did the AMA's then went to Asia for a month to tour and came back. I'm not sure what the point of that "tour" was. The last real tour when MC had all her ducks in a row was the Butterfly Tour. Mariah could be a great touring act if she wanted to be. However, she'd actually have to take the time to plan out the tour properly. She would have to actually promote it publicly and have a few live performances to show what she's offering is worth seeing. Mariah would have to pace herself for proper vocal rest and vocal exercise to keep her voice in shape. But, who am I kidding? MC has the attention span of a gnat. She'd be better off doing a few venues like Unplugged then televising it and sending it to Netflix. (Tuesday 1 October 2019; 22:46)

Celine vs. Mariah (90,958) by Nikki from usa This isn't really a mystery. Celine put herself out to pasture in Vegas. She perfected a routine with the equivalent of circus performers and made a name for herself as a live act. She's been out of the press, she doesn't collab much or outside her genre, and public appearances are few and far between. She didn't have the impact Mariah has had, so nobody is trying to be Celine Dion. She doesn't collab with rappers or the young where anyone would try to make a name for themselves by trying to diss her. Quite frankly, she's not that attractive for anyone trying to get press by claiming they slept with her either. She doesn't do anything outside music. Nor, has anyone ever tried to undermine her career? The only thing people know about her is her reviews as a performer which she's cultivated over 16 years. Mariah's only been seriously touring for 5 years and it's been very low key in venue and advertisements. Most of it even seems to be impromptu. She's never been much of a touring artist in the first place. The charts is Mariah's playground, touring is Celine's. (Tuesday 1 October 2019; 22:29)

Re: Glitter (90,773) by Nikki from usa I loved Glitter - I have the movie. Janet Jackson liked the movie too. It was a small budget film and Mariah had the cast be newbies as she was. The director was known for one movie and only the villain was a seasoned actor. Nobody else acted before. I do sometimes feel like I'm watching an emperor without clothes when it comes to diva movies. Whitney, MC, and Gaga are no Meryl Streep. But, that doesn't mean they didn't do a good job. I don't see much of a difference between any of these movies. Whitney and Gaga had the most simplistic storylines. Whitney's was well produced with seasoned actors. Mostly, so was Gaga's. Except, I didn't think Gaga's romance made much sense. There was no development. They were singing and then married. There wasn't enough time to get emotionally attached before the death. MC's storyline was fine, but executed choppy and muddy. It pays to have a script written before you shoot. Whitney injured her leading man, MC had hers killed, and Gaga had hers kill himself. My kid saw Gaga's movie before I did and she said it reminded her of Glitter and The Bodyguard. I have to agree. Yet, no one can compete against the atrocity of Gigli. It was hounded worse than Glitter, but there was no terrorist attack to keep the comics going to divert attention. Gobble, gobble. (Tuesday 10 September 2019; 01:22)

Journalist manipulation (90,624) by Nikki from usa I think it's pretty obvious journalism fell by the wayside long ago. It was once mandatory to do research and list facts instead of making up things as you go. But, I've frequently found many of them lying. Even to this day. Honey was a #1 debut. They didn't start her out with a discount. She held her own in airplay. By the end of the 90's, and the emergence of the internet, singles began to rapidly drop off much faster than they used to. So, it became a lot more commonplace for singles to be discounted to make room for new stock. But, that's after they've been out for awhile. Not while they're brand new. That wasn't "Mariah" that was for any artist. So, they're smudging facts there. Yes, record companies will buy back an overflow of unsold material, but that doesn't go through a POS system. They don't pay full price for it, they just make sure the retailers don't come out of pocket. That's another smudged fact by trying to pass it off as if that counts for sales and is unique to Mariah. I have many singles of Honey and none of them sold below $2. MC has some of the most expensive singles. Columnists will tell you her single was discounted to 49 cents. They won't tell you that's after her song fell off the charts and it's leftover stock. They won't tell you she has maxi singles for sale between $10-$13. The sheer fact they omit these facts makes these people's statements invalid. (Thursday 15 August 2019; 18:53)

MClicious (90,504) by Nikki from usa I do like the fact MC put in her 2 cents, but I like the timing even more. When news first broke of Nas beating her record the headlines and stories talk about it like Mariah was some dragon he needed to slay to get the record. They talked about her like she was taken down or defeated in some way. Mariah's song is about death while Nas is riding a horse. Yes, times have changed. When Mariah weighed in with that cute meme she flipped the script. Suddenly, all the future headlines act like Mariah is a queen that gave Nas a knighting or something. She is no longer dethroned, but handed him her seat. As if she could've prevented it somehow, but chose to give him her record. It's interesting how Mariah was able to change the perspective of the events. I wish she would do this more often and write her own script on how she wants to be perceived rather than allowing the media to have their frenzy like she usually does. Mariah doesn't have to do much, but the little things she does clearly have a big impact. (Thursday 1 August 2019; 05:51)

Re: Bill (90,471) by Nikki from usa Really? Because OSD was a top 10 hit in most places. In any case, it performed better overseas than ABMB did. Check out the chart placements and the sales. Currently, OSD has over 172 million views on Youtube compared to the 150 million for ABMB. Quite arguably, over the years, Mariah's performed "Always" far more frequently than One Sweet Day. Clearly, people remember it and like it. There was only one version of One Sweet Day. There were several versions and remixes for Always Be My Baby. The latter had better radio longevity overall, but that makes sense. People don't celebrate nor think about death until it happens. It hits hard when it does, so I think that explains a lot of OSD's success. However, love relationships, whether romantic or familial, can apply to all sorts of people in your life. (Tuesday 30 July 2019; 01:47)

Mix'N'Match (90,464) by Nikki from usa Mariah has a unique platform that literally nobody alive does with her Christmas abilities. Just think of all the different types of shows she can headline with that hit. I think everyone's ideas about her Christmas music being re-released are good ones. She could sing AIWFCIY and get it to chart. Then, bring out Micheal Buble again to duet with her at an event, get Justin Bieber to duet their version at another show, and then create a new version with Lady Gaga or someone current. She could pull an OTR by using the different versions and their fanbases to push her original. If we think about MC's love and ability to remix songs into other great tracks than I'd wonder if she'd ever use her Christmas platform to push new music. She usually has at least one really good dance/upbeat song. If she's creating new music with one track she thinks could be "the hit" I wonder if she could mix that into AIWFCIY. She loves Christmas so much she usually turns into a better performer during this season. This could push her Christmas stuff as well as the new material. Obviously, she should still sing the original as is for some events, but then pepper in the other versions along the way. Keep people guessing, keep it fresh. (Monday 29 July 2019; 01:33)

"The more you know" also features a rainbow (90,442) by Nikki from usa I promised almost 20 years ago not to say anything, but I was in a position to get an official statement, and then got something more off the record. If you think back to all the music videos of MC's Rainbow era you'll notice they're all cheap except the one she spent millions on of her own fortune. TGIFY was filmed during a live radio station summer concert. The rest were filmed at private residences and the remixes were bare bones. There's a reason for that. She used to get a high 6 figures per video. After her divorce she was given $30,000. That's also why I Still Believe was filmed like it was. Her album promo was cut in half. Mariah took it upon herself to find a sponsor in Walmart to push her album. She did the biggest self-promo tour of her career and came to the Midwest for the first time since her debut. She was still pushing Heartbreaker when they began "testing" CTTA. She didn't think the song was a hit, it was simply important to her. That was on top of J.Lo dressing up like her and confusing the media on who is who. Mottola didn't want HB released, MC had to go over his head to the higher ups at Sony to get the Rainbow project green lit. That's when he gave her only a couple of months to get it done. Once it was, he put a pause on her project to push J.lo's debut. Hurry up and wait. MC signed up to Divas and created a tribute to Diana Ross. J.Lo slapped the same song onto her Euro album and released it as a single. MC, now, wasn't allowed to release hers later that year. She had no time to do anything new either since Rainbow was now green lit and she had to push it. Divas was all impromptu, because she had to spend rehearsal creating a tribute in time for the show the following day. When the Latin explosion died with JL.Lo's 3rd single she tried to jump back on the hip-pop train and emulated MC's My All remix video for her last single. It didn't help her, but it was enough for MC to decide to get the hell off Sony's label. (Saturday 27 July 2019; 01:02)

Re: Norman (90,343) by Nikki from usa I believe they were both done in 2003 or one was in early 2004. In one of them she segues into talking about going on tour. She says he can release what he wants, but thought the situation seemed "girly" like they were in a catfight, and suggested he take up knitting. I believe she was on tour for the second one at that point. One of the interviewers was John Norris. (Tuesday 16 July 2019; 22:20)

Mariah's networth (90,331) by Nikki from usa I have no idea. I'm not sure how to even calculate that. Celebrity Networth had her at 520 million since 2014 and then last year they changed it to 300 million without rhyme or reason. Many inquiries were made, but no responses. A lot of lambs wanted to know why. Everyone else has since updated to match that 300 million stat. Whenever MC is brought up she's only credited as a "singer". If that's all they're basing it off of it's going to be way off. Songwriters and producers can make money off album sales and even more off singles, especially in the 90's. Mariah was doing both producing songs and albums on top of songwriting. She got recognition in 2001 for the 28 million payoff. Not many noticed she was paid 20 million to create Glitter which still sold 3 million copies. That's a 50 million payday right there. I don't think any estimation of her fortune will be very accurate. Also, nobody knows what her catalog is worth. (Monday 15 July 2019; 06:00)

Elusive MC and Forbes (90,329) by Nikki from usa How many times has Mariah actually been on Forbes during her 30 year career? A handful? She's frequently non existent even during her heyday. Ostentatious artists like Madonna or Lopez want you to know what they make. They want the world to know they're successful. Mariah really doesn't seem to care. The reason those artists are always present is because they actually have their people turn in those reports on how much they're making right down to publicly announcing their deals. Mariah doesn't do that. Here's just one example: People wrongly believe her big tours have never sold well. That's because there's no info on them. Mariah never used a huge corporation to sponsor her back in the day. She'd use locals to the lands she was visiting. They'd release her numbers in the respective countries, but if you don't have access to their local papers and can't speak the language than you'd never know. MC never turned those stats into Pollstar. The stats for her CB tour is the North American continent only. I've seen countless places claim that's what she made for the whole tour: 30 million. I had kept an exhaustive list at the time of venues, how they sold, and the ticket prices to find a mean for each concert. I had to find locals in foreign places who could read the local papers to tell me all that info. My criteria has CB making 87 million total and I rounded down. (Sunday 14 July 2019; 22:32)

Thirsty? (90,328) by Nikki from usa Do we know really? Everyone always thinks they know what things mean. Not everything is autobiographical when it comes to Mariah. Sometimes MC's disses are very specific, but sometimes they're more abstract. These lyrics: "You send the bright lights. Even change your name." Nick Cannon didn't change his name. Damizza did. He's still involved with radio and the rap industry. He still had Mariah's name in his mouth off and on since the mid 2000s. I think diss tracks like Obsessed and Thirsty are about more than just 1 person. Which is why she's not naming names and says it's not about "that" person because the whole song isn't. Mariah said "Thirsty" isn't about Nick and even Nick asked her if it was about him. Of course, she'd be telling the truth if it were about multiple people. In which case she'd be "lying, not lying". Or, she could have different people in mind. The song was co-written with one of her background singers, so she could be referencing Tatum Tot's exes instead of her own. Just like in Loverboy, "Re-re has a new boyfriend." (Sunday 14 July 2019; 21:41)

Re: Scott (90,327) by Nikki from usa James Packer even confirmed she wanted to wait until marriage and made them sleep in separate rooms. Damizza never happened. She gave him his shot by taking a radio personality and allowing him to produce for her. She even gave him his producer's name, "Damizza". After her remix became a hit he had work as a producer. That took a hit in 2001 when she cut ties with him believing he was giving information to Mottola. (Sunday 14 July 2019; 21:06)

Re: Xavier (90,326) by Nikki from usa No, she and Damizza never hooked up. He made a lot of hoopla over how he was releasing a book that feature pictures that proved he and Mariah were an item. In addition, he claimed they were together while she was with Mottola, Jeter, and Miguel, but "didn't mind she had other boyfriends". It caused a stir and his book sold well. Then, he got backlash because his pics looked like fan photos. They weren't romantic in the least. A few months later Eminem claimed the same thing. Damizza introduced Eminem to Mariah at the request of Eminem. Despite Eminem also claiming to have pictures he's absolutely refused to show them. Even after Mariah went publicly on MTV live twice to give him the green light and her blessing to do so. He did continually "threaten" to each year he had a new album out though. (Sunday 14 July 2019; 20:51)

Rumor has it... (90,285) by Nikki from usa MC might have a new album out by the end of the year. I'm so happy MC is on a magazine again. That interview was fun and breezy. It looks like a bunch of sound bites that'll keep her on social media for awhile. The media has an obsession with shade. Not everything she says is shade it's just being honest and sharing her experience. This interview seems to be introducing her to the current generation with the attention span of a gnat. The quote used to be "less than one hand" now it's "one hand". Katy never shaded MC. Beautiful is an old school Motown throwback sound. MC is good at those. (Thursday 11 July 2019; 04:25)

Madame X and who would you rather (90,128) by Nikki from usa I got confused with Madame X because that's what Mariah was called while teasing the promo for Jenny Craig. Madonna's always been calculating. Her schtick has always been to take what's hot at the clubs and bring it to mainstream music. That doesn't mean that's all she does or there's no artistry. However, musically, I've never found her artistic. She's known for her visuals. Her music was culturally relevant for the 80's, but nobody is trying to sound like Madonna. I don't think people realize Mariah's debut was an ode to the 80's and she covered every genre that was hot for that decade. The only uniquely MC tracks were VOL and Vanishing. Emotions wasn't anybody at Sony's idea and everyone thought she committed career suicide with her hip pop collaborations. Funding was pulled for Rainbow, so I don't know how anyone can say the entire decade was calculated with a straight face. Nobody can keep Mariah out of a recording studio - she'd take them all on. Also, Mariah sang with Whitney and she wasn't "tricked" into it, she was flat out asked. Mariah's also shared the stage with Patti LaBelle and a whole slew of divas from both Divas Live Concerts. MC had no issues with singing back up to other artists during her prime, so I think people exaggerate her "attitude" toward others here to an extreme. (Sunday 30 June 2019; 05:47)

Re: Daily Shame (89,971) by Nikki from usa I hate to be the bearer of bad facts with so many drooling over Mariah's intended misfortune. However, most of this was on Mariah's World - this isn't new, it's just a twisted version of Stella's new script. Mariah was getting down at the party on the show. In the previews and behind the scenes snippets we can hear the director giving Mariah and Tanaka instructions. It's television. You aren't a fly on the wall seeing something nobody else can conceive, it's scripted and intended for viewership. Those photos are bad, but not any worse than what Mishka was uploading during the time period. It changed nothing. I also don't see anything in the text excerpts proving Mariah and Bryan were doing anything at the time. Mariah was renting a chateau for them all to stay in, not just Bryan. That was also in the show, along with the fact Tanaka was always helping her with her kids. We all know there were a lot of re-shoots too. Mariah would do well to stop being so "nice" with Stella and bury her already. A contract means nothing if you don't go through with the consequences for breaking it. (Thursday 13 June 2019; 23:57)

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