Artist of The Week: Mariah Carey

As a remains of my OCPD days, I choose an artist on alphabetical order to grace my week, listening to their music and albums and watching their videos (if I find myself the time to actually do this). This past two weeks, though, belonged to an actual great artist that I can't seem to get tired of: Ms. Mariah Carey.

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Mind you, I've been a huge fan of hers since the days of "Fantasy", a personal favorite of mine and a song that is still heavy on my iPod playlist. In fact, I think that part of the appeal of Mariah has always been that safe combination of corniness and sincerity both lyrically and musically. Let's be honest: who chooses to be compared to a butterfly and record a song and video which clearly didn't star any of those little creatures?

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But that doesn't mean a thing when you got the talent and pipes of this woman. Let's be honest: at some point of the life, many artists tried very hard to be like her. Hell, even half of American Idol alumni have tried to emulate her, one way or the other. For an artist that has been in the game for about 23 years now, and had 18 number one hits, more than Elvis Presley and two behind The Beatles, which itself is a great accomplishment.

 

 



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And let's not forget about the music, please. Since the first time I heard her with the aforementioned "Fantasy", I loved her lyrics, so saccharine and mellow but for good. The usage of big and unusual words for a pop singer ("nonchalant"? "persuade me to relinquish my love"? "despondency"?) (That last song, "Petals", is really a poem, about some personal issues, you should check that out) I really think she's underrated as a lyricist, but boy, those songs are amazing, and I actually blame her for teaching me so many big words to look OK among my peers in any given situations.

 

Her voice. Man, the source of much debate. She has stated so many times she is an alto, but really, who cares? Her voice is like the one of an angel. In her first period as a singer, she was very into melisma and other vocal acrobacies, but then she stopped and tried different approaches to her voice, although she didn't abandon her roots (case in point: "We Belong Together", another great, great song and personal favorite). Seriously though, how awesome is it? I long for the day I get to watch her live, and hear that glorious voice of her, and everything will be fine in life.

In the 90's, at the beggining of her career, Mariah seemed to found the perfect formula for success: strong, poppish, one-word first singles ("Fantasy", "Dreamlover", "Honey"), super powerful torch and arena ready ballads ("Hero", "Always Be My Baby"), great covers ("Without You", "Open Arms", "Against All Odds") and generally, a soul vibe in each album that reflect her commitment to her art. All of this while being married at the music mogul Tommy Mottola. Later, she embarked on a self-discovery journey that involved having LOTS of hits with famous rappers (after all, she set the trend with her 1995 collabo with Ol' Dirty Bastard on, what else? "Fantasy", of course). I think she had worked with them all... well, except Eminem, of course, although the collaboration they had, according to Eminem, was not exactly musical. (Mariah is not amused). Even she did a song with Nicki Minaj, before all the bad blood and eye-rolling and passive agressive commentaries on American Idol, which would be funny if it wasn't so staged. Or at least that's what everybody say. But seriously, she has worked with all the rappers you might think of, mostly the current favorites at that time. And I considered that a bless and a curse, since she has overused that resource and now seems to be only a guest in her own songs. But she's Mariah; she can do whatever she wants and us, fans, can't complain at all, because SHE is in it.

Only one commentary about her gig on American Idol: Aside of my feelings about Nicki Minaj, I thought Mariah would have been so much better on it if she were the only female at that table. And she deserved that, being virtually the resposible for half auditions on that show. On her Wikipedia page, I loved a line that textually says:  "Depending on how you feel about public humiliation, the best/worst parts of American Idol are the audition shows, which normally break down into three distinct parts:(1) The Talented Kids.(2) The Weird Kids.(3) The Mariahs." That's how far it goes when we're talking about Mariah influence on that shows, but you can see she is not feeling comfortable on that role.

It is hard to say which tunes are my favorite when it comes to Mariah's music, but it's clear that each and every album has some jewels that I cherish and appreciate everytime I listen to them. Whether it is because of the music, the vocals or the lyrics, or if they are attached to a specific situation on my life, her music has always been a great part of me and what I like about pop.

So, to recap and in alphabetical particular order (remember my obsessions with that), here they are: my favorite Mariah Carey tunes (I even made ringtones of them, how's that for a fanatic??):

"Boy (I Need You)" featuring Cam'ron - One of the greatest examples on how Mariah can mix hip hop and a rapper to her favor. Besides, that sample of "I'm Going Down" by Rose Royce and the "Boy, Oh Boy" snippets repeated ad nauseam give that song a charming feeling, indeed.



"Breakdown" featuring Bone Thugs-n-Harmony - Lyrics here are quintessential Mariah. Besides, this is a fine R&B song with hip hop verses about losing love, something we all can relate to. Video is also amazing.



"Did I Do That?" featuring Mystikal - One of those gems from the "Rainbow" album, which itself is very consistent. In this one, she's lamenting for a mistake dating a man who is clearly not suited for her. Wait a minute - this could be easily targeted at Eminem in a beat. So Mariah predicts the future, too!



"Didn't Mean to Turn You On" - For me, "Glitter" is a really superb album. It's a departure of what Mariah had done prior to that, and although the movie is not great and she uses so many guests on the album, the music was so unjustifiably categorized at the same level as the movie did, which is totally a no- no. And this song, a cover of a 1984 Cherelle song, it's basically an ode to one of those times you send the wrong signals to someone (inadvertantly or on purpose), only to left them aroused and in need of a cold bath. Fun(k) song, very Prince-y.



"Dreamlover" - Even though I consider this a schmaltzy syrupy song, I really adore it. It's so basic, you have to care for it. Testament of the simpler times that the 90's were. :(



"Fantasy" - There are songs that are so indelibly attached to one artist, that you cannot conceive their careers without them. And I think this is the song for Mariah. A global success and one of the few songs to debut at the top of the Billboard chart, when that meant something. And that sample of Tom Tom Club, "Genius of Love", was simply amazing! This was the 90's for me, essentially. And it's nice to get back to those days; with this song that is possible.



"H.A.T.E.U." - The last album of Mimi, "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel", is not easily one of my favorite albums from her, but this song reminded me why I fall in love with this girl in the first place. Harmony, melisma, lyrics, is all there.



"Honey" - This was the Mariah 'coming of age' song. Maturity and a new sound came along, and of course a little sexiness, why not? It's like a divorce and a new found freedom brings the best of her. And of course, the infectious chorus with the always syrupy lyrics really made one of those songs that are so recognizable. Props to her, to get to a new level that many of her fans were waiting for a long time.



"I'm That Chick" - Personally, I prefer Mariah's uptempo numbers, because she is so much fun in them. In this song, out of the E=MC2 album (a name that is so nerdy many people wondered if Mariah knew really what it meant), she proves that she's not strange to rhythmic songs and she can make a step or two on the dance floor. Obviously, with a little help of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, sampling "Off The Wall", his best era, this is foolproof. I wish this would have been a single, with a proper video and all, but hey! We get an Offer Nissim remix, so that counts, right?





"Shake It Off" - This was taken by that force of nature that was her "The Emancipation of Mimi" album. A song so fun for me, and with a rhyming and pace that I just enjoy thoroughly. The only person that could avoid this jewel to hit number one was... well, herself. Amazing.



"Someday" - A fun song from the first album, "Mariah Carey", that was number one and confirmed us that Mariah also like to have fun.



"Sweetheart" - Back in the day, circa 1998, this woman touched everything and turned into gold. So it came to no surprise that she decided to throw a Greatest Hits album consisting in all of her "#1's". Seriously, she had so many. But also with some new songs, being the primary single this one. So infectious and continuing the tradition of one word, corny titles, that it had proved to be so efficient.



"We Belong Together" - Jermaine Dupri is half-responsible for this comeback single that put Mariah on the stars again after the disaster that was "Glitter", both album and movie, and the so-so performance of "Charmbracelet", a good album with a bad timing. And oh boy, that was some comeback. This song represents something important to me. Having my first real breakup with one person I cared about, this song became my oficial anthem of the heart-broken. I literally cried whenever I heard it. And although now I laugh at that possibility (crying for that person, WTF was wrong with me?), the song still gives me the chills and more. So powerful. 14 no-consecutives weeks on number one and being named "Song of the Decade" by Billboard gotta mean something, am I correct?



"Without You" - Now, this is officially the first song I heard from her, back in the day, and positively I can say that I haven't looked back ever since. A cover from the group Badfinger, with a formulaic treatment and yet Mariah delivered some of her finest notes in here. Superb.




To rest my case: Mariah is a super talented woman, that has been highly criticized for a style that would seem easy to accomplish and maintain, but definitely she's a trendsetter, a woman that has had their troubles and failures like everyone else, but remains as a strong female and a reference on pop music, whether you like it or not.

So are you a big fan of Mariah? Hopefully you loved this post. If not a fan, I hope this little tribute opened your ears to a great artist, and you start listen to her. Sound off on the comments!