De openingssong, ,,It's like that'', zet de toon. Een productie van Jermaine Dupri, een vette rap van Fatman Scoop, en een tekst over een groep meiden die op de dansvloer alle aandacht naar zich toe trekt. Het is niet nieuw, wel hip en stedelijk. Carey vermijdt de megalomane val waar ze met haar drie octaven in het verleden vaak is in getrapt, en heeft veel creatief volk uitgenodigd om haar een handje te helpen: onder anderen Nelly, Snoop Dogg en Twista. ,,Say something'' is een Neptunes-productie, en dus sowieso interessant. Maar Carey houdt de touwtjes in handen en schreef ook de meeste teksten. De ballads en midtempo funky tracks zijn veelal aan de liefde gewijd. Die is vaak spelbreker. Carey vertolkt graag het standpunt van de vrijgevochten vrouw, die wel verlangt naar liefde, maar geen gansje is. ,,I gotta know he won't betray my trust/ just like every other mother****er does'' , zingt ze in een weinig manvriendelijk moment. Verder verleidt ze ons met wat marketingstunts voor Bacardi en Vuitton. 

Afgaande op de hoes, waarop Carey in goud en zwart poseert, is dit haar antwoord op de concurrentie van Beyoncé. Carey heeft begrepen dat ze geen popdiva zal worden en keert terug naar de r&b, waar ze wat rappers aan toevoegt. De songs zijn meestal middelmatig, de productie is superieur. Eigenlijk kun je dit het best omschrijven als kwaliteitsbehang.
Source: De Standaard vpb (All rights reserved) - Patrick by e-mail.

Translation
Review from the Belgian conservative newspaper "De Standaard"
The passed years there has been enough negative news about Mariah Carey to bury her three times. The Emancipation of Mimi has the effect of a re-birth. Carey knows that too: in the booklet she gives five definitions of the word "emancipation". But, especially, she succeeds to surprise with a proper album. 

The opening song ‘It’s like that’ sets the tone. A production of Jermaine Dupri, a fat rap from Fatman Scoop, and lyrics about a bunch of girls that draws all the attention on the dance floor. It’s not new, but it is hip and municipal. Carey avoids the megalomanic trap she fell in a lot in the past, and invited lots of creative people to give her a hand, among them Nelly, Snoop Dogg and Twista. "Say Something" is a Neptunes-production, and no matter what interesting. But Carey pulls the strings and also wrote the most texts. The ballads and midtempo funky tracks are mostly devoted to love. That one is often a spoil-sport. Carey likes to interpret the standpoint of the liberated woman, who does long for love, but isn’t a little goose. "I gotta know he won’t betray my trust/just like every other mother****er does" she sings in a little man-unfriendly moment. Further she seduces us with marketing stunts for Bacardi and Vuitton. 

Relying on the cover, on which Carey poses in gold and black, this is her answer to the concurrention of Beyoncé. Carey understood she’s not gonna be a pop diva and returns to RnB, to which she adds some rappers. The songs are mostly average, the production is superiour. Actually you could best describe this as quality wallpaper.
Thanks to Sylvia for the translation .
Posted on April the 17th.

VH1: Where have you been? 
I've been on tour and I've been making an album for a year and a half, which is the longest it's ever taken me to make an album, with the exception of my first record. This is like such a labor of love for me. 

VH1: Why did it take so long? 
I did 19 or 20 songs. I would do something and love it, and I come up with different ideas of people to collaborate with. Accidents would happen that would be like incredible moments. I was working with the Neptunes and I ended up doing a collaboration with Snoop and then with Nelly because we were all doing our records at the same time. That was just a great moment where it wasn't like you couldn't plan it or even ask for it. 

VH1: Have you ever gotten writer's block? 
You know what? I don't know that I've had writer's block, because usually when I sit down with somebody - whether I start singing a piano player riffs to play or they go into a chord progression and I start singing melodies on top - we can create something. That's my outlet and it always has been. But I feel like I'm more prolific at this moment than maybe ever. 

VH1: So what are you being emancipated from? 
I went on a long tangent about what the title meant when the name of the album got leaked, because everybody was like "Mimi? What does that mean?" Nobody understood. 

VH1: It's unusual because your titles are usually one definitive word. 
Right, but everybody started having their issues about that. 

VH1: When you get up to four words, suddenly a statement is being made. 
Well, here's what it is: Nobody calls me Mariah except my mother and she doesn't even really call me that. Me and my friends have a million nicknames that we use for each other, but Mimi was a really personal nickname that only people I really love and care about call me. When I proposed the concept of the title to L.A. Reid, the CEO of Island Def Jam, he was like, "I love that, because it's the side of you that I'm hearing in this album, a free-spirited person." 

VH1: What's the "It's Like That" video going to be like?
I don't know and neither do you! [Laughs] That's just a saying, I'm not being mean. 

VH1: It's being directed by Brett Ratner, so I'm guessing explosions, boats flipping over and a Chris Tucker cameo. 
Well, we would love that. Brett Ratner and I did the "Heartbreaker" video together, which is one of the favorite videos that I've ever done. The best thing about it was that it had a sense of humor. That's the thing that Brett brings to the table. He knows me as a person, so he knows that fun side of me, which is what this whole album and project is about. 

VH1: Do you ever catch one of your old videos and go, "What was I thinking?"
Constantly! I love "Honey," or the video for the song I did with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, "Breakdown" or "Heartbreaker." But there were ones that everybody was always like, "You're about your voice and who really cares about the video?" Which was okay and I'm glad they thought that way, but it's nice to make fun videos, too. 

VH1: Everybody on American Idol is trying to be the next Mariah Carey. Has the show vindicated you as a singer? 
Are they really? Because everybody talks about it to me, but I don't watch the show except to see Randy Jackson! 

VH1: Is it amusing to see Randy playing judge? 
Yes, because I've known Randy since before my first album came out. If it's on and someone's watching it at my house, I'll look at the TV and be like, "What's Randy doing?" because it's funny to me. 

VH1: What did he have to say about your voice when you were working together? 
We had collaborative moments. He was my musical director on a couple of tours. We'd discuss things; he's not like, "Oh, I think you should do it like this." He's not being annoying in any way. 

VH1: Speaking of old collaborators, were you surprised to hear of Ol' Dirty Bastard's passing?
Yes, I was very upset. He was a really unique person, an artist. It's a loss and it's difficult for everybody who cared about him. He was totally unique. He didn't try to be like anybody else. Because of that, it made him stand out. His style of rhyming yet singing yet just going on a tangent with whatever kind of ad lib stuff he would be doing in the background on certain records was always hot. 

VH1: Since Butterfly you've embraced an urban sound. As a fan, what's been the most exciting development in hip-hop? 
It's amazing that so many people that I've watched their careers explode, like Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri, [have become] the heads of record companies. It's a major accomplishment in terms of how far hip-hop has gotten. It's really nice, because I remember when I was really, really young starting out the executives who turned their nose up at hip-hop and looked at it as a fad. Now I'm like, "Ha ha!" 
Source: VH1 (All rights reserved)
Heroes note: Ignore the "It's Like That" video question, I guess this is an old interview, but I posted it for you to read the Urban sound routes, especially the last question.
Posted on April the 17th.

The following is in French as it's regarding a very bad review of the album by a Belgian magazine.  Kinou talked with the critic on the phone and he explained that in his opinion, Mariah with her talent could have done a more creative work and less "commercial", they talked a long moment, exchanging ideas and apparently they didn't fight (which was very difficult for Kinou ).

Pour ceux d'entre vous qui ont lu la critique de "The Emancipation of Mimi" dans le Télé Moustique de cette semaine,  Kinou a pris contact avec LL qui signe la critique (si on peut appeler cela une critique).  Après avoir eu une conversation téléphonique intéressante (et sans énervement, ce qui fut assez dur pour Kinou ), LL a expliqué que de son point de vue, Mariah avec le talent et les moyens dont elle dispose aurait pu faire un album plus créatif et moins "commercial".   Apparemment, ils ont échangé leurs points de vue et se sont quittés en bon termes (ce qui a été assez dûr pour Kinou aussi ).  Sans rancune Monsieur LL, chacun ses goûts.
Posted on April the 13th.

Mariah fait une grande entrée dans le World Top50 Albums , elle se classe #18 avec 102 800 albums vendus la semaine passée !
Le single " It's like That " se classe #12 (+25) dans le World Top100 Single 
Source: David by e-mail
Posted on April the 13th.

Fans Français, à vous de jouer
Universal France lance un concours pour vous.  Les prix?  Un Meet and Greet avec Mariah à New York, un disque d'or, des albums dédicacés et plus encore.
Il y a une superbe animation sur leur page, cliquez ici pour y accéder.  Bonne chance.
Source: Universal Music Mobile - Dinh for the info.
Posted on April the 13th.

Carey's well-known workaholism hasn't changed. But what has, she says, is her approach to her work: It's no longer all-consuming, the most important thing in her life -- and it no longer defines who she is.

"I'm kind of at the point where as long as I can make music, I'm not absorbed by it," says Carey, kicking off her stiletto heels and stretching out on a black leather couch before her late-night session begins.

"There's a way bigger world, and a way bigger picture than just living for that, and getting knots in your stomach every time you're worried about what's your chart position," she adds. "It's not that deep. I know who I am as a person, I know who I am as an artist, and I know who my fans are."

Reclaiming Mariah the person is the whole basis of the album as Carey seeks to redefine her image, which has yet to fully recover from the kind of fall from grace that seems to inevitably bewitch most pop superstars.

In 2001, she was at her peak, signing a reported $80 million deal with Virgin Records after a chart-busting run at Sony, which was then headed by her former husband and mentor, Tommy Mottola.

Later that year, however, she was hospitalized twice for physical and emotional breakdowns close to the release of her movie debut, the much-derided "Glitter." That led to her being painted as an unstable diva, and Virgin bought out her contract for nearly $30 million.

Another poor-selling album, 2002's "Charmbracelet" (on a new label, Island Def Jam), added to her commercial malaise. Many questioned whether she could return to the breathtaking success that defined most of her 15-year career -- when every album was a multi-platinum success and No. 1 singles flowed as smoothly as her multi-octave voice.

'It was so over-dramatized'
Carey, 35, calls the hoopla over her troubles overblown, and remains frustrated that it's still a topic of discussion.

"I feel like that's over and anybody that deals with that is kind of like living in four-years-ago land," she says, calling it a "blip of my moment in my career, which has spanned almost half of my life."

Carey doesn't avoid talking about that "blip" -- she's candid when discussing the troubled times. But she clearly doesn't like revisiting it, and regrets her label's insistence that she do so on "Charmbracelet" with the album's first single, "Through the Rain."
"Everybody wanted me to be like, 'Let's have that moment, let's sit and cry with Oprah, let's just have tearful moments of like, "I've overcome this." ' (But) I think I was still overcoming it," she says, noting her father had died of cancer a month before that album's release.

"It was like, I don't wanna go through this again. This was so sensationalized and it was so over-dramatized, the whole breakdown moment, which was like literally something that lasted like a two-day moment."

Perhaps more damaging to her psyche was her five-year marriage to Mottola, eighteen years her senior. He signed her when she was just a teen to Columbia Records and shaped her blockbuster career in its early years. They divorced in 1998; she describes it as an "abusive relationship."

After she wriggled out of the marriage, she reveled in her freedom, which explains her move toward hip-hop and revealing outfits.

"I think everybody was shocked," she says. "I don't think anything I've ever done has ever been in poor taste, or too sexual ... (but) I did push the envelope for me, a little bit out of rebelliousness. Like, I could do whatever I want. For years, I wasn't allowed to wear anything but a turtleneck and a full-length coat and a boot. After a while, it's like, I can have fun, and be sexy in a video too?"

While she's still looking quite sexy -- she arrives for the rehearsal in a tight tank top, tight jeans, her long blond locks in perfect place -- she's no longer dressing to out-Britney Britney Spears.

"Yes, there has like an image change. A slight image change, because it's still me," she says. "I didn't come out with like, auburn hair and a turtleneck up to here," she says, gesturing to her neck.

'She knew what kind of record she wanted'
And while she still coos with rappers and can sing circles around the competition, she's more into soulful nuances than the high-pitched vocal gymnastics that have defined some of her other songs.

"I think for the last couple of times, the direction of her records have been decided by somebody else, so when she comes to the studio in the past, she comes with a lot of different ideas," says producer Jermaine Dupri, a longtime collaborator and friend (Carey, as always, co-wrote and produced most of the new album).

This time, Dupri says, "she knew what kind of record she wanted -- a feel-good record."

Still, she's hardly guaranteed of the No. 1 spot anymore on the charts, especially since newer divas -- Alicia Keys and Beyonce among them -- have ruled in her absence.

But Island Def Jam Chairman Antonio "L.A." Reid, who arrived at the label after "Charmbracelet" was released, says Carey need not worry.

"There's only a few people who sing. She's one of the few singers and very few really great singers ... and the beauty of Mariah is if you really take a snapshot of her career, she's always had the support of the youth."

So far, the buzz on the record has been positive. "If this record gets her back on track, I think people are going to be raving about her musically again," says Rick Krim, executive vice president of music talent at VH1, where her video has been strongly received.

Carey, though, professes not to care -- she's more interested in the true emancipation of Mimi (her nickname) from the pressures of fame.

As she sits on the couch, she notes that the interview is taking place in the very room where she got her big break -- auditioning to be a backup singer for Brenda K. Starr, a room that Carey had not entered in years. That teenage girl is who Carey identifies with -- and she wants to keep some of that inside her.

"I feel like the journey that I've gone on was a blessing, because it brought me back closer to the person that I was first stepped into this room," she says. "I was a scared kid who just loved music and wanted to sing and had the desire to sing."

"So, no, I don't feel like I have to prove anything on this record. I'm just thankful for the record. I'm in a really good place right now in my life, and I'm grateful to God for everything that I have."
Source: CNN (All rights reserved)
Posted on April the 12th.

But the woman with pop music's biggest voice is raising questions on her forthcoming album, The Emancipation of Mimi, which comes out April 12. Like: Who exactly is this Mimi character? Why does she need to be emancipated, and from what? And — most significantly — can this album help her stage a post-breakdown, post-Glitter, comeback? The way her last album, Charmbracelet, was supposed to, but didn't?

Actually, Carey is wondering about a lot of these things herself. She stops this interview to get a status check, to see if someone will tell her, considering everything, if she's doing OK. "After all these years of interviewing different celebrities, and seeing people at different stages of their careers, do you see the ones that, really, fame kind of screws with them?" she asks. "Am I one of the better people?"

After being assured that she is, Mariah goes on to say that she's more comfortable now about her opinions and her talent. Because, of course, she is Mimi: It was a childhood nickname that she now employs to put some distance between Mariah the person and Mariah the celebrity. And she says she does feel emancipated, finally shaking free the shackles that made her the songbird in ex-husband Tommy Mottola's gilded cage for so long. "I wasn't allowed to say much 10 years ago," she says. "I was like, 'Yes, new album, singing, thank you.' "

A lot has happened since she walked down the aisle with Mottola in 1993 — after dating him while he was still married to his wife of 20 years — and signing to his record label when he was the CEO of Sony Entertainment. Her years with Mottola made her career — transforming her from an obscure backup singer into a superstar, starting with her "Vision of Love" single in 1990 — but she says his controlling "guidance" became damaging to her psyche. She even jokingly referred to their mansion in Bedford, New York, as "Sing Sing" — not only in reference to the prison, but because that was all she was supposed to do.

It's been eight years since they split up, and Carey says it's taken her that long to come into her own. Thus, she's able to don her wedding gown for the video for her next single, "We Belong Together" — a sequel of sorts to current clip "It's Like That," in which, interestingly, a wealthy older man, played by Eric Roberts, spies on her every move. She says the old $25,000 gown has no sentimental value for her anymore.

"Did I want to go buy an off-the-rack wedding dress [for the video] when I have a freaking Vera Wang with a 20-foot train sitting in storage?" Carey asks. "Why not? I mean, come on — the dress is the least abusive part of the whole thing. If I had worn the dress every day of my life in that relationship, it would have been burned in the incinerator long ago. But the dress was worn for a moment. And that moment was not an unhappy experience. It was the rest of the relationship that was the problem."

Despite the split, Carey stayed on Mottola's label until 2000 — which she admits might have been a mistake. She doesn't blame her ex-husband outright for the fact that "I'm Real" by Jennifer Lopez — another singer Mottola played Svengali to — ended up sounding an awful lot like two songs destined for Glitter ("Loverboy" and "If We"), instead referring to any resemblance between the songs as "tomfoolery." And as for any bad feelings between her and Lopez, Carey says, "I don't even know her. We kind of just said hello once or twice."

During an interview at New York's Hot 97 in early March, Funkmaster Flex asked Carey about the rumors that her manager, Benny Medina — who formerly managed Lopez — was about to take J. Lo on as a client again. Flex implied a conspiracy. "This isn't the first time that someone else has been in both camps," he said. "I heard one time, there was a producer [either Mottola, or possibly Irv Gotti] that's in her camp right now, but was heavily hanging out in your sessions."

"It was more like heavily hanging out in my life," she said.

"I heard a song once got stolen," he said.

"Once?" she retorted.

"I had to make that label change," she says now. "The fighting I had to do, the constant battle with Sony, that whole thing, that put me in a different place — even emotionally. I was constantly on guard, as opposed to being really more true to who I am. You can fight against people, and fight to the death, but I can't control the world."

Emancipation marks the first time Carey feels free to say what she wants, to sing the way she wants, even to dress the way she wants. Even though 2002's Charmbracelet was supposed to be the album that freed her from the bad vibes of her disastrous 2001 album/film Glitter and her subsequent much-publicized meltdown, she still felt a need to conform to what she thought the public and her advisors wanted from her.

"Everybody was like, 'She needs to do those middle-of-the-road ballads, she needs to get back to that,' " she says. So she did, and the resulting album wound up selling more than a million copies in the U.S. alone. An impressive number to be sure, but not when compared with her multiplatinum past sales history — and the album failed to counterbalance the bad press from what she calls the "supposed breakdown."

At that point, she says, "I really started second-guessing myself. And then I realized, like, all right, I have to go with my gut. Because everybody's got an opinion, and so many people's opinions about me are like polar opposites. They're like, 'We love it when she does ballads, make her do the ballads.' Then they're like, 'We want to hear a hip-hop record.' 'Why is she dressing like this? She should show less skin.' 'She should show more.' You know what I mean? I'm like, 'Stay in your lane, and I'll figure it out.' "

She says she faced similar problems in the wake of her meltdown. "Every interview became a '20/20' moment. Everybody was like, 'Be vulnerable,' you know? And it's like, can I just be me? Because honestly, this whole thing" — the breakdown — "was blown out of proportion, and I just would love to not even talk about it. But that wasn't possible."

So, she reverted to an earlier version of herself, one who wasn't concerned about the public or its expectations. On Emancipation, she says, "I felt I did the album I wanted to do." She moves beyond her recent save-the-pipes moves of cooing or breathing songs, and really sings. There are collaborations with Snoop Dogg ("Say Somethin' "), Jermaine Dupri ("Get Your Number"), Twista (the call-and-response "One and Only") and Nelly ("To the Floor"). There are innocent love songs and spiritual ballads ("We Belong Together," "Fly Like a Bird"). There are party songs ("It's Like That"), let's-get-busy songs ("Get Your Number," "Stay the Night"), send-off songs ("Shake it Off"), and songs of lost love, too ("Circles"). Being emancipated means you can go anywhere you want.

The album, she says, "is not about making the older executives happy by making a bring-down-the-house, tearjerker ballad, or [something] steeped in the media dramas of my life. What I tried to do was keep the sessions very sparse, underproduced, like in '70s soul music, when all the musicians were in there at once, feeding off each other — me showing them vocally where I'm going and giving them the vibe in which to take it all musically.

"When [new Island/Def Jam label chief] L.A. Reid heard that people call me Mimi," she continues, "he said, 'I feel your spirit on this record. You should use that name in the title, because that's the fun side of you that people don't get to see — the side that can laugh at the diva jokes, laugh at the breakdown jokes, laugh at whatever they want to say about you and just live life and enjoy it.'

"So I'm kind of just living in this moment right now, and just enjoying it. It's a happy space that I'm in."

Besides, she adds, "To say 'The Emancipation of Mariah Carey' would've been so obnoxious."
Source: MTV (All rights reserved)
Heroes note: You can also watch lil' videos on MTV's site .
Posted on April the 11th.

Carey has plenty of work to do today, yet the earthy and forthcoming diva happily made time for a “gay” interview. “There was a time when all I was allowed to do was go to gay clubs,” she recalls, “because my quote-unquote husband was so afraid of me being around straight people.” But back to The Emancipation of Mimi. A year and a half in the making, the album’s catchy, Jermaine Dupri-produced first single, “It’s Like That,” is already burning up the charts and dance floors. David Morales has performed his club magic on the track and an upcoming nine-minute remix of “Say Somethin’.” Other upbeat album standouts include “Shake It Off,” the playfully ’80s-ish pickup ditty “Get Your Number,” and smooth super-blingy “To The Floor.”

“This is very much like a party record,” Carey says. “Since the time I was in junior high the process of putting on makeup and getting ready to go out ... those are the moments you want to put on a record and get excited [ about ] whatever it is you’re gonna do. I wanted to make a record that was reflective of that.”

Yet The Emancipation of Mimi is balanced out by a generous handful of ballads and downtempo numbers, many of which deal with heartbreak, bad relationships, and cheating lovers. “In some ways I feel the songs flow together really well,” Carey insists. “Like you’re going out, you’re coming down from going out and then another song picks you back up.”

As on all of her previous albums, Carey co-wrote every song on Emancipation. So where did all those breakup songs come from? “Past experiences darling,” she laughs. “You try to take those moments and channel them into something because if not you just become bitter!”

“Shake It Off” takes a playful approach to bitterness—and, more specifically, a cheatin’ bad apple—with lyrics like “I gotta shake you off/ just like a Calgon commercial.” “That’s probably one of my favorite songs on the album,” she admits. “Shake it off can apply to anything. Whatever personal dramas we go through, put that song on and you lose the anxiety or intensity of the moment. I’ll listen to that song when I’ve just come out of an annoying meeting. I gotta shake this off.”

The Emancipation of Mimi isn’t a concept album per se, but it definitely sees Carey, whose closest friends and family call her Mimi, shaking off what audiences have come to expect. “It’s more the record I always wanted to make type of a thing,” she notes. “Everyone expects [ an album title ] like Rainbow or Butterfly, from me. So I thought The Emancipation of Mimi was cool—that Mimi side of me coming out as opposed to the ‘Mariah Carey’ celebrity or stigma or whatever preconceived notions people have of me as that person. This time I really experimented and played with how [ my vocals ] sounded as a whole.”

That said, longtime fans will find plenty of her vocal/lyrical signatures and “drama” on tracks like “Mine Again,” “Joy Ride” and “I Wish You Knew.”

A Long Island, New York native, Carey’s life in music started the moment she was born: her mother named her after a song, “They Call The Wind Mariah.” Mom also helped instill a sense of open-mindedness and acceptance in Carey, which surely helped lead to her garnering legions of gay fans and friends. “I’ve always tried not to judge people,” she explains. “My mom being an opera diva, artsy love everybody kind of rebellious girl from the Midwest who married a Black man and who had predominantly gay friends. Nothing ever seemed like it was wrong or strange to me. It was a loving type of vibe I got. I basically was raised by two gay men, Ernie and Mort, who were best friends. When we didn’t have a place to stay we stayed with them. So I feel like God recognizes us all as human beings and loves us as we are.”

Carey began singing by age four, wrote songs by middle school, and moved to NYC after high school to pursue a musical career. She admits that love—and sex—took a backseat during much of her youth. “I’m kind of a prude, especially with straight guys because they can be dogs,” she admits. “My sister had a baby when she was 15—I’m thankful she did because her son is an amazing person, but I looked at what was going on with that and I made a conscious effort to focus on my career. And people would make fun of me because I was this virginal girl who walked around in tight dresses. They were like what is this dichotomy going on here? So [ in terms of sexual experimentation ] I haven’t really been the most exploratory gal in the land. I know that’s boring for the readers!”

Her self-titled 1990 debut launched Carey into the pop ( and drag queen lip synch repertory ) stratosphere with four No. 1 singles, including “Someday,” and two Grammy wins for Best New Artist and Best Female Vocalist. More hits, awards and platinum discs followed over the years for Emotions ( 1991 ) , Music Box ( 1993 ) , Daydream ( 1995 ) , Butterfly ( 1997 ) and Rainbow ( 1999 ) . Yet in summer of 2001, Carey hit a spot of rough road with the critically mauled film Glitter and a series of personal/public breakdowns ( not to mention the death of her father and breakup with boyfriend Luis Miguel ) .

Carey looks back at that quintessentially “Behind The Music”-worthy period “as something that had to happen in my life,” she says. “The drama would not have been high enough without that. I really do feel a lot was made out of that time period, it was so blown out of proportion. That movie and that soundtrack—which I think had some really good songs that hopefully one day I’ll get to redo—the fact it came out on September 11th people need to remember. How can we expect anything from that? I was a scapegoat in a lot of ways for a lot of talk show hosts who wanted to get away from the real stuff going on in the world. We all have to go through our tests to see how strong we are and come out on the other side.”

She’s definitely on that other side now, and Carey says she owes this fact to God and spirituality. The final song on Emancipation, “Fly Like a Bird,” boasts dashes of gospel, soul, and plenty of calls/thanks to a higher power. Her pastor even makes an appearance on the track. “To me the most important thing is the message he says in the beginning of the song,” she notes. “‘Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.’ I felt like a lot of people may not hear that message and a lot of people need to. It wasn’t to be preachy. A lot of times people will hear songs that I write that are not the typical songs people look at as “Mariah Carey songs.” Like “Close my Eyes,” which only real fans would know but a lot of [ them ] relate to. It’s about having a difficult childhood and going through a lot of deep stuff. There’s a song called “Outside” that’s about being biracial. A lot of people relate to it because they felt like outsiders all their lives. There are a lot of songs I’ve put on albums as a [ personal ] release but I know it helps other people. To show that someone else has gone through what they’ve gone through.”

Marriage is one thing Carey doesn’t plan to go through again just yet. When asked about her feelings regarding the hot topic of gay marriage, Carey first responds by stating “I think it’s a huge political thing and I’m notoriously not political. If you asked me about any candidate I’m pretty much clueless. But I feel like everything in life is a personal choice.” Then, after a few minutes, she adds that “when you mention [ gay ] marriage, marriage in general, after going through the experience I went through I think my whole view on marriage is tainted no matter what kind of marriage we’re talking about. I feel like I went into my situation being married for the wrong reasons. I’ve been traumatized.”

Happily, gays—such as Heatherette designers Richie Rich and Traver Rains— have been and continue to be a positive presence in her life and career. “I don’t want to out anybody!” she laughs when asked for names of gays who have worked alongside her. “But I would venture to say yes! Definitely!” And Mariah does have an exciting series of projects ahead. She’s considering another foray into film acting ( her performance in the underrated Wisegirls, opposite Mira Sorvino, garnered attention from many movie producers ) , a possible remix EP, producing a track for 12-year-old vocalist Paul Robbins ( they appeared on Oprah ) , and “there’s possibly a Broadway Christmas show happening, based around my Christmas songs.” Bling-bling it on, Mariah!
Source: Windy City Times (All rights reserved)
Posted on April the 6th.

The street promo will take place in the city center of Brussels this Saturday, March the 9th..  If you guys wanna take part, please send me an e-mail at staff@heroesofmariah.com.

Heroes of Mariah "The Emancipation of Mimi"street promo
La street promo aura lieu dans le centre de Bruxelles ce samedi 9 mars.  Si vous voulez vous joindre à nous, envoyez-moi un e-mail à staff@heroesofmariah.com.

Heroes of Mariah "The Emancipation of Mimi"street promo
De street promo zal in de center of Brussel plaats houden deze zaterdag 9 maart.  Als je wil mee doen, stuur mij een e-mail aan staff@heroesofmariah.com.
Posted on April the 5th.