July 2011 - Heroes of Mariah
 
Queen of Pop on ARTE, the finale
The Queen of Pop broadcasted on Arte is a German production from ZDF. A few days ago, I posted the Youtube and download links for the Mariah documentary they broadcasted.  It was not that good, but it wasn't that bad (except the breakdown scene). 
After the broadcast of each singer's documentary, there was a final show yesterday live from Hamburg (Germany), to announce the Pop Queen, you can see the results here (or here for ARTE France, but it's of course the same results).

The person who sang Mariah's "My All" at the final show was an insult to Mariah's talent... judge by yourself.

Posted on July 31

Last links to view Mariah on HSN have been added, see July 26 news
Posted on July 30
Classic!!!!!  Now, we have the real emancipation of Mimi!!!! Way to go Mariah!
You may remember Gawker made fun of Mariah's appearance on HSN with a clip and Anderson Cooper showed it on CNN's "The Ridiculist"
Mariah just tweeted:

- @Gawker Your clip was aiiight but next time you really wanna get some laughs, let's just collabo because news flash I'm in on the joke! Haaa

- p.s. you love me! -M and p.p.s @andersoncooper SIDEBAR.. there's a lot more going on in the world but I still love you boo, double kisses!

Posted on July 30

Dembabies' first splash in the pool
I know most of Mariah's female fans are avid of infos about the babies.  Nick told on his radio show Mariah sent him pics of the babies' first splash in the pool.
Source for the info: Aneisha by e-mail
Posted on July 29
Rumor denied by Mariah's rep

I didn't post that crap, but you've probably read everywhere and in several languages what was made up by the NY Post. In case some had any doubt about the stupid rumor going on that Mariah had Champagne delivered to her bathroom at club Juliet last week, Mariah's rep denied the "story" and called it absurd!
Posted on July 29
Too cute 

Mariah just posted a picture on Twitter:
"Me being silly(shocker) "kissing" my hubby @nickcannon 's poster for AGT while standing on a concrete wall! LOL!"
Posted on July 28
Everyone can now see Mariah's exclusive pics on Google+
Go on her Google + account to see them and be sure to ask around for invites to add her.
Posted on July 28
More links to view Mariah on HSN have been added, see below
Posted on July 28
Mariah Carey Queen Of pop on ARTE
Yesterday, Arte broadcasted a special Mariah Carey documentary, unfortunately it was dubbed, for the ones interested to watch it:
- on Youtube
- download links: here or here
Source: Adam - Kenny
Posted on July 28
Exclusive pics of Mariah on her Google + account
I'm almost sure not everyone will get the "exclusively on Google +" .  You will not find those pics on my site, to see them join Mariah on her Google + here and now , it's easy and free 
Posted on July 27
Way to go Mariah!!!!!!!
After all the crap from the US medias, blogs and even unfortunately some "fan", Mariah has reacted on Twitter:

"Shouts 2 all my haters from the top o the "rockit" while listening 2 "stronger"by KW! Its an unfoilable moment. Just fyi..#CTTA: )"

Posted on July 27

Record broken!
Sometimes, when I have a min,  I ask on Twitter who's in da house for Mariah, today we broke a record, 23 countries were in to support Mariah 
Dominican Republic, Turkey, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Spain, Brazil, Venezuela, Slovenia, Serbia, Philippines, France, US, Uruguay, Algeria, South Africa, Sweden, Holland, UK, Italy, Germany, Belgium 

4 winners were picked at random and will each receive an official autographed picture of Mariah 

Posted on July 26

For video collectors
Mariah on HSN
Be sure to have a lot of space on your hard drive as it's in HD quality, all parts will be added as soon as available as it takes a lot of work

12am broadcast
- Part 1 of 8 - 1a - 1b - 1c
- Part 2 of 8 - 2a - 2b
- Part 3 of 8 - 3a - 3b
- Part 4 of 8 - 4
- Part 5 of 8 - 5a- 5b
- Part 6 of 8 - 6
- Part 7 of 8 - 7
- Part 8 of 8 - 8a - 8b
12pm broadcast
Those ones have been putted on Youtube by Moony
1a - 1b - 2a - 2b - 3 - 4a - 4b - 5 - 6a - 6b
3rd Segment at 6pm
Those ones have been putted on Youtube by Moony
1 - 2a - 2b - 3a -3b - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7
4th Segment @ 10pm
Those ones have been putted on Youtube by Moony 
1a - 1b - 2 - 3a - 3b - 3c - 4 - 5 - 6

A big thanks to Moony for the hard work
Posted on July 26

Mariah on HSN - tidbits will be added through the day

- Great news: Mariah on HSN was Trending Topic worldwide
- She gave a shout out to her friend Suss-One
- She kinda called out others that stole her song titles for their scents 
- She talked about an eventual Tour
- She made it clear to her there was a difference between her real lambily and the casual fans.
- Mention of the male fragrance petition
- Possibility of some HSN products sold internationally, maybe some stores.
If you missed Mariah on HSN, a recap is up on their site
Items aired from 12:00 - 2:00 AM 
- Pave Crystal Inside-Outside Hoop Earrings w/ Four Removable Charms - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
- Top with Smocked Neck and Waist - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
- Tiered Crinkle Chiffon Skirt - click here and then click "video" on the left sideto wath it
- Sequin Drawstring Bag - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
- Studded Platform Pump - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
- Butterfly and Flower Set of 5 Crystal-Accented Stack Rings - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
- Suede-Like Boot-Cut Pants - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
- Jeweled Leather Sandal - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
- Lollipop Splash The Remix Inseparable Set  - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
Items aired from 12:00 - 2:00 PM 
- "Butterfly" Drop Pavé Hinged Bangle Bracelet - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
- Pave Crystal Inside-Outside Hoop Earrings w/ Four Removable Charms - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
- "Butterfly" Three-Row 17" Necklace - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
- Top with Smocked Neck and Waist - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
- Tiered Crinkle Chiffon Skirt - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
- Sequin Drawstring Bag - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
- Lollipop Splash The Remix Inseparable Set - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
- Suede-Like Boot-Cut Pants - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
- T-Shirt Tunic with Goldtone Buttons - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
- Cropped Cargo Pants - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
- Sparkling Studded Platform Pump - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
- Butterfly and Flower Set of 5 Crystal-Accented Stack Rings - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
- Pave Crystal Inside-Outside Hoop Earrings w/ Four Removable Charms - click here and then click "video" on the left side to watch it
Source for the caps: Twitter
Posted on July 25
Mariah on HSN July 25
Lauren Wilner HSN Fashion Director tweeted she was on her way to Florida for the Mariah line launch.
Recap:
ET Timezone
12:00 - 2:00 AM - Mariah Carey Collection Celebration - Host: Adam Freeman - Guest: Mariah Carey
12:00 - 2:00 PM - Mariah Carey Collection Celebration - Host: Amy Morrison- Guest: Mariah Carey
6:00 - 8:00 PM - Mariah Carey Collection Celebration - Host: Amy Morrison- Guest: Mariah Carey
10:00 - 12:00 PM - Mariah Carey Collection Celebration - Host: Colleen Lopez - Guest: Mariah Carey
Click here to watch online

Twitter
Please guys, try to make Mariah on HSN trendy, add MariahHSN to your tweets

Posted on July 24

2 more pics of Mariah at Club Juliet

Click to enlarge
Source: GossipCenter
Posted on July 24
Lil' video of Mariah at Club Juliet
One witness said: "Mariah came into the crowded club with a small entourage and was surrounded by people taking photographs. She was smiling, friendly with everyone and seemed relaxed. It seems motherhood is suiting her.
"She spent a lot of the night dancing, and was nice to anyone who approached her"
Mariah, 41, arrived at the club with her personal security, but was also assigned some of the club security staff because the place was so packed.
A rep for Mariah said: "She was out celebrating with friends and family." As for her new appearance, "She's been working out and taking care of her beautiful babies and is just so happy."

Click here to watch the video

Source: NY Post
Posted on July 23

Angel Champagne tweet
"Mariah Carey obviously loves her Angel Champagne! Out last night at Club Juliet in New York she ordered a bottle to celebrate the night."
Source: Angel Champagne on twitter
Posted on July 22
New pics: Gorgeous Mariah finally enjoying some good time in NY
Mariah Carey took a few hours off from motherhood on Thursday and stepped out solo for a night without the kids or hubby Nick Cannon.
Mimi was spotted at Juliet Supperclub in NYC last night, where she was flanked by a couple lady friends on her way inside.

A source tells TooFab Mariah "had a great time" and she was "very friendly" with the crowd, who went crazy when she walked in.

Due to the wild crazy crowd, we're told Carey had security escort her to the bathroom -- and at one point, she had a bottle of champagne delivered to her group.

Apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas was in the house too.

We're told Carey didn't take off until 2:30AM.

Click to enlarge
Source: TooFab - Monarc - Kenny - Jonathan
Posted on July 22

Mariah at Juliet club in NY

Posted yesterday by  r09nyc on Twitter.  Mariah is enjoying some good time, in the pic we can see her make up artist Kris.
Posted on July 22
Da Brat already told Mariah surprised her with a visit in prison, here are some more details

CNN: You have very close family and friends, so who surprised you by coming to visit you in prison?

Da Brat: (Laughing) Mariah (Mariah Carey -- Da Brat and Carey appeared together in Carey's film "Glitter.") Yeah, Mariah and Nick (Nick Cannon, Carey's husband).

It was a shocker because the whole place was in an uproar. They must have called ahead because all of the officers and the warden knew. The whole compound put on their uniforms and it was a down day when we didn't have inspection or anything.

They called me and told me I had a visitor and I hadn't requested a special visitor so I was like "Huh?" Mind you, the person who came to get me was a lieutenant who up until then had been a complete a**hole towards me, but she was being all nice.

They told me to go into the warden's conference room and when I came around the corner I saw Mariah's manager. My knees buckled and I almost passed out. I couldn't believe she had come to see me.

She found a private airport that I didn't even know existed, flew her G5 in and came to see her BFF. I was really touched by that.

Source: CNN (All rights reserved) (extract)
Posted on July 20

Vote for Mariah!
Artists Who Sold Over 200 Million Albums Worldwide
Click here to vote, Mariah is up from #5 to #1 , keep her at #1
Source for the info: Under60
Posted on July 20
Lady Gaga mentions Mariah on Nick's show
She says she has been listening to Mariah since she was a little girl.
Click here to listen
Posted on July 20
Mariah on HSN program guide for July 25
ET Timezone
12:00 - 1:00 AM - Mariah Carey Collection Celebration - Host: Adam Freeman - Guest: Mariah Carey
1:00 - 2:00 AM - Mariah Carey Collection Celebration - Host: Adam Freeman - Guest: Mariah Carey
6:00 - 7:00 PM - Mariah Carey Collection Celebration - Host: Amy Morrison- Guest: Mariah Carey
7:00 - 8:00 PM - Mariah Carey Collection Celebration - Host: Amy Morrison- Guest: Mariah Carey
10:00 - 11:00 PM - Mariah Carey Collection Celebration - Host: Colleen Lopez - Guest: Mariah Carey
11:00 - 12:00 AM - Mariah Carey Collection Celebration - Host: Colleen Lopez - Guest: Mariah Carey
Source: HSN
Posted on July 19
New products added on Mariah's HSN page
- Handbags - click here
- Fashion - click here
Posted on July 19
Video: E!News interviews Prince Azim
E!News broadcasted an interview of Prince Azim at his birthday party in the UK.  We can see Mariah a few times in the footage.
Click here to watch it
Source: Tha_Shisnit on Twitter - Ronnie by e-mail
Posted on July 19
Mariah's Special documentary on TV
Arte Belgique: July 27 at 6.30pm (18h30)
Arte France:  July 27 at 6:30pm (18h30)
Arte Germany: July 27 at 6:30pm (18h30)
Source for the info: Kinou - eliseke on our forum
Posted on July 18
Michael Bublé will cover Mariah's All I want For Christmas Is You
Michael Bublé is currently in studio working on his upcoming Christmas album, during a live stream he revealed he will cover Mariah's All I want For Christmas.
You can watch/hear it hereat 4:40 mark.
Source for the info: Damian by e-mail
Posted on July 15
"Save The Day" still on track to be released
Mariah tweeted "Save The Day is still on track to be released, but it's still in demo form & not ready for the world!"
Posted on July 15
13 years ago.....
13 years already and I remember it like if it was yesterday.  Mariah did a Public Service Announcement to help finding young missing fan Christina Williams who disappeared near her home in California in June.  Unfortunately, Christina's remains were found 7 months later and the murderer was never arrested.
Posted on July 14
After this radio show, Nick got in trouble with Mariah again   Mariah didn't like the way he wants Roc to become a player and a "beast"

Roc Can Roll But Roe Can’t Rock! 
Nick’s looking forward to Roc being a little player on his play dates but abslotely forbids Roe from associating with such a foul act!
The listeners had some very explicit responses for his caveman-like tendencies!

Click here to listen

Source for the info: Aneisha by e-mail
Posted on July 14

Inside Prince Azim star-studded bash
The Sultan of Brunei’s son Prince Azim kept up his reputation for having star-studded birthdays.

For his 28th bash Eva Longoria, Whitney Houston, Usher, Hilary Swank, and Mariah Carey, as his guest of honour, were put up at his Stapleton Park stately home in Leicestershire.

There was a casino night followed by another party the next evening.

My mole tells me: “Organisers know how fond the Prince is of Whitney so made sure she had a room with the best views of the lambs in the field.”

But for Mariah it was the first time she travelled without her own little lambs – her tots Monroe and Moroccan.

A pal of the star said: “Mariah was delighted to be there – she is a close friend of Prince Azim.”

Source: The Mirror
Posted on July 13

The man on the picture with Mariah
Some tweets and several e-mails to tell me or to ask me who's the man on the picture I posted this afternoon.  Of course I know who he is, but I also know some #lambily are drama queens .   If you want to add his name in the picture (if you save/collect pictures), the man is  Jacob Arabo also known as Jacob The Jeweler.
Why didn't I post it this afternoon?  'Cause I knew some fans would make a whole drama as Jacob was jailed for laundering millions in drug profits for the mafia.

The man paid his debt to society, there's no drama!

Posted on July 12

Huh oh, Mariah back to Sony.... but J.Lo too?????
L.A. Reid at Epic: His First Week on the Job
The "X Factor" judge and seasoned music executive has yet to be formally announced as the new head of Epic Label Group, but he's already mulling big ideas, like what it would take to bring Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez back into the Sony fold. 

Doug Morris has yet to actually occupy his newly minted seat as CEO of Sony Music Entertainment (word is he’s in Europe until the 15th), but he’s made his presence known via an introductory memo sent to staff on July 6 promising to “begin a new and important chapter in the history of our great company.”

Conversely, new Epic Label Group head Antonio "L.A." Reid has been almost a regular fixture around the halls of midtown Manhattan's 550 Madison Ave., but as of end of day Monday July 11, a formal announcement of his arrival had yet to be made.

That’s not to say Reid didn’t have a busy first week. The longtime record executive, who left Island Def Jam in March to join Simon Cowell’s The X Factor as a judge, has been tending to the décor of his office, which will no doubt incorporate the warm colors and clean lines that adorned his previous suites, taking meetings and getting “his people” situated, however unofficially, according to a Sony insider.

And there’s already been talk of big plans, like possibly bringing Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez back into the Sony fold. Both were among Reid’s pet projects at IDJ

Source: HollywoodReporter (extract)
Posted on July 12

Second pic of Mariah at Prince Azim's birthday party 

I found another picture of Mariah at Prince Azim's birthday party.  I didn't tag it as I didn't take it myself (I wish..), but a credit for the research is nice sometimes.
Posted on July 12
Mariah to sell her new lifetime collection on HSN
HSN tweeted Mariah was spotted in NYC wearing a fab hoodie from her new HSN lifestyle collection on air 7/25

The hoodie is the one we can see on the pics posted on 6 and 7.

Posted on July 12

Twitter fun, record broken!!!!!!
Sometimes on Twitter, I make the "who's in da house for Mariah" game, our last record was 14 countries.  Tonight we broke the record, 17 countries were in da house for Mariah, yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!! 
Greece; Jamaica, Chile, Algeria, Ireland, Japan, Dominican Republic, Australia, France, USA, Argentina, South Africa, Uruguay, Mexico, Philippines, Brazil and Belgium were all there to support Mariah.

Not 1, but 2 winners were picked at random by Kinou who got out of the shower in a hurry at 3am, we are such a mess 

Congrats to the fans from Uruguay and Algeria who each won an official authographed picture of Mariah.

Posted on July 11 (nope 12 already)

Mariah partying in the UK
Many hints pointed to that event but I didn't want to post anything before it was over to avoid any privacy invasion 
(except a subtle hint on my Twitter on July 8 ).

Mariah attended Prince Azim of Brunei's birthday party in Leicestershire.  Among the guests, were Usher, Bruno Mars, Pamela Anderson, Raquel Welsh, Liza Minnelli, Eva Longoria Whitney Houston, Shannon Doherty, Faye Dunaway, Joan Collins.

Joan posted a pic on her Twitter and wrote:
"Mariah Carey looks amazing 2 months after having twins"

Click to enlarge

Posted on July 10

Suss-One tweeted again
"Speaking of #OpenFormatMusic....this Live Mix I did for my sis @MariahCarey is fiyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaa!! "

Source for the info: Under60 by Twitter
Posted on July 9

No more R Kelly please...
Since yesterday I received so many tweets and e-mails with the link to the demo of the R Kelly (only) remix for Betcha.  Except for R Kelly fans, it's absolutely useful.
So please no more e-mails, see I posted the info!
Posted on July 9
Suss-One and Mariah working together again?
Twitter is so great! 
DJ Suss-One tweeted: Just got off the phone with @MariahCarey!! Talkin big things!! 

Mix albums, DJ at Power 105, Suss is also Mariah's fav DJ for her Tours, she calls him The Mulatto King

Posted on July 7

Mariah was "almost" featured on Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday
If you follow Nicki Minaj on Twitter or Nicki Minaj's news, you may now her young cousin was murdered a few days ago.
Today she tweeted:
"Tho the lyrics of "We Miss You" eerily depict the circumstances surrounding my cousin's death, I wrote & recorded that song on 5/24/2010
It was sent to Mariah Carey & Keyshia Cole over a year ago for a possible feature. It didn't make "Pink Friday" due to clearance issues."
Source: Nicki on Twitter
Posted on July 7
Some more pics of Mariah in NY
I'll only post a few and in low quality, we don't need to analyze every little detail, some people and even fans are already mean enough

Source: C.U
Posted on July 7
Yayyyyyy, finally 
Pics of Mariah in New York


Click to enlarge
Source: Celebuzz - CelebrityGossip (All rights reserved)
Posted on July 6
No word from Mariah, Nick takes care of the hype

       Mariah Carey Is Recording Lullaby Versions Of Her Own Songs!
The superstar new mom is in talks to create a whole album of baby-themed Mariah classics!

Mariah Carey‘s husband Nick Cannon revealed the news exclusively to HollyBaby.com, explaining how Mariah came up with the idea for an album of lullabies after singing her twins Moroccan and Monroe to sleep.

“She sings to them, she turns a lot of her songs into lullabies,” Nick tells HollyBaby.com. “They are actually recorded, there will probably be something coming out soon!”

We can’t wait to hear it!

Nick also told us all about what goes on inside ‘Roc and ‘Roe’s luxury nursery — and we were shocked to find out notorious diva Mariah  is 100 percent a hands on mom. She even wakes to feed and change her baby twins in the night!

“We’re getting no sleep at all,” Nick says. “But it’s cool though. when they wake up we just feed them and change them.”

Because there’s twins… they BOTH have to get up!

“We take turns, but it depends when they wake up. There is two of them so they normally wake up at the same time, so ones on one, the other on the other!”

Just because he’s always smiling, doesn’t mean Nick’s a softy — he’s already decided HE’LL be the bad cop when it comes to laying down the law with ‘Roc & ‘Roe.

“Dad is definitely the disciplinary, I’m the stern one, the daddy with the deep voice.”

But right now he’s still a big mush, smitten with the eight-week-olds. His favorite past time? “Right now, it’s like holding them, seeing them smile.”

Nick kicked off his July 4th as Pepto-Bismol‘s Grillmaster at the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island, NY. The rest of his day, he celebrated ‘Roc and ‘Roe’s first Independence Day at the couple’s Hamptons home.

He shares, “I’ll be grilling, it’s a BBQ day with the family. We’ll probably chill in the Hamptons for the rest of the day.”

And those long awaited photos of ‘Roc & ‘Roe? We’re going to have to wait a while longer. Nick is NOT keen on selling snaps of the twins to a magazine. He says, “We’re definitely going to take our time with that. I personally don’t think we need to at all, but the public are interested. I want my kids to be able to be normal regular kids.”

Source: HollyBaby
Posted on July 5

US fans!!!!!
The Lollipop Splash line is on sale on Elizabeth Arden's website (will not ship until 7/7/2011)
Click here to access the page.
Source for the info: Andy by e-mail
Posted on July 4
Mariah for X-Factor???? finally???....
Simon Cowell has axed another of his favourite girls from the show... Sinitta.

Simon Cowell, who’s now working on the American version of the hit programme, has decided to drop his ex-girlfriend as his helper this year.
Instead he is set to hire pop diva Mariah Carey, 41, to assist him in choosing his acts for the finals of The X Factor USA.

His decision has come like a bolt out of the blue for poor Sinitta.
She’s had that role on the UK show for the last seven years and was hoping he would enlist her services for the US series.

But Sinitta, 42, is determined to fight the move.
She said: “Well, let’s just say feathers will fly if Mariah takes my spot.
“Although she is a mega diva vocally, you can expect another XF USA drama. I won’t just roll over and take it. I hope she can run in high heels.”

Cowell will be jetting to a stately mansion in the UK for the “judges’ homes” stage of the competition on The X Factor USA this summer.
And it’s here where sassy songbird Mariah will join him to choose the best acts from his category.

Source: DailyStar
Posted on July 4

Mariah about "Hero": ‘I don’t want to. This isn’t who I want to be. I want to be less smaltzy. I want to be less pop and less ballad driven.’

Mariah Carey’s Music Box LP (1993) revisited with co-writer Walter Afanasieff
Music Box was released on August 31, 1993 by Columbia Records. After selling over 15 million copies of her self-titled debut album, Mariah Carey decided to experiment with her sound for her follow up album, Emotions, but failed to make the same type of commercial impact as her debut. Carey returned to the studio determined to broaden her listening audience and produce another high quality album not only for herself, but for legions of her beloved fans. As a result, her career ascended to extraordinary heights.

This album would see Carey asserting her control over all aspects of her musical sound. It was mutually agreed upon to take her sound in a more pop-friendly direction over the heavy R&B/Soul influence from her previous album. Alongside her writing partner Walter Afanasieff, Carey was able to carve out a niche where many of her contemporaries failed to. Music Box introduced a young producer named David Hall, welcomed back the long time production duo of David Cole and Robert Cliviles and ushered in the arrival of Babyface and Daryl Simmons on a Mariah Carey led album. Carey’s five octave range was on full display once again, which left an indelible mark on the majority of songs on the album.

Mariah Carey came from a musical family where her mother was a singer for the New York City Opera as well as being a vocal coach. At the tender age of 3, she began singing and by the time she reached high school Carey was cutting records as a demo singer for a local recording studio in her native Long Island. It was during this juncture where she received tutelage from the legendary Gavin Christopher and began writing with Ben Marguiles. From her association with Marguiles, Carey was able to write and record songs for her demo tape, which ended up on her debut album, Mariah Carey.

As the story goes, Carey would go on to become a backup vocalist for then popular recording artist, Brenda K. Starr. At a industry party in 1988, Carey’s demo tape ended up in the hands of Columbia Records executive, Tommy Mottola. She eventually received her big break in the fall of the same year. Her debut album Mariah Carey only foreshadowed what was to come and three years later she found herself in a league of her own.

Between the months of August 1992-May 1993, Music Box was recorded at Right Track Studios in Manhattan, New York and The Plant Studios in Sausalito, California.

SoulCulture recently sat down with Walter Afanasieff, the co-writer, producer and studio musician for the album to share their blueprint for creating a classic record.

Afanasieff remembers how he first became involved with Carey on her previous albums.

“I actually did work on her first album,” says Afanasieff. “I was sort of the arranger and co-producer to a gentleman named Narada Michael Walden. I was his right hand guy, his keyboardist, co-writer, arranger, co-producer sort of guy. He was hired to do a few songs on the first album. We actually worked on the “Vision of Love” song from the first album as well as “Someday” and “I Don’t Wanna Cry.”

I was involved at that time as a musician. When Tommy Mottola and Mariah were in California working on her album with Narada Michael Walden, we all met. In the meeting with Tommy and Mariah, we exchanged the knowledge that this was a cool opportunity for us to be acquainted and to continue working together.

“Tommy gave me a challenge and he said, ‘We have one more song that we want to record for the first album and the album is already pressed and in the CD cases, but I’m going to halt the presses. And if this song that you do, Walter turns out good we’ll put that song on the first album again on the second pressing.’ So he gave me this challenge and I delivered the last song for that first album called “Love Takes Time.” “Love Takes Time” ended up being Mariah’s second single, which went to number 1 after “Vision of Love” went to number one. It was my first production and that’s how we started our relationship.

“I started to score points with her and them because they thought I was good enough to become her writing partner. So her and I started to write for her second album. The meeting of the first, led to writing on the second and that led to Music Box being a really serious music collaboration. The first album where we worked very hard and closely together was the Emotions album and there we ironed out some of the creases and it wasn’t perfect. We weren’t exactly on point yet, but with Music Box we were definitely on point.”

Afanasieff describes the direction they wanted to pursue for the album.

“It was never a purposeful idea, it was always about what Mariah was writing and feeling,” says Afanasieff. “Mariah is a simple songwriter. She writes about what she’s going through. She writes about her feelings and she writes about the climate the world is in musically. So at the time Music Box was written for and being put together, it was all about what we were doing. It had nothing to do with a direction decision. She simply went through her first album and on her second album, Emotions we tried a lot of different things that we were writing and feeling and we started writing different songs after that and we got into a different spirit, which led to the Music Box record.

“We didn’t have any orders coming down from the music executives to tell us to make the record more pop, more soulful or softer, nothing like that. It was strictly about what she was feeling and how she felt is how we wrote the songs and those ended up being on the album. I would write something at the piano with her and the challenge at that point becomes how do we produce a modern, hit sounding track based on what we just finished writing at the piano. So that production and arrangement is what makes the song sound the way it sounds. She would take the tracks that I did for her and she would vibe on those. And then she would layer her vocals a certain way and it was just a building process from there that you take step by step. It was never a decision that it was going to be a certain way before it happened.

He continues, “Mariah is her own melodious. She is the one that comes up with the vocal. Whenever she ends up singing what you hear her singing it comes from her. The writing partnership that her and I had and I can’t speak for her other songwriting partners, but if you could see us in the room I would hit a chord and play a little melody on the piano and she would say, ‘Oh, that’s nice,’ and she would sing that melody and then she adds a little bit to it. I would then play it back and then she would say, ‘Yea, that’s good’ so it instantly becomes this partnership where eventually she’ll have a melody and then the melody would prompt her to start thinking about this feeling she wants to put into words. This would eventually become the theme of the song. Melody wise it was also a partnership that developed her melodies and it was really her that took the direction lyrically. She would write the majority of the lyrics herself.”

Afanasieff recalls how he became involved with the lead single “Dreamlover” from the album.

“’Dreamlover,’ for instance, was a song that Mariah was doing on the side,” says Afanasieff. “She had a particular need for up-tempo records and more of a cutting edge sound. I won’t say I was only the balladeer, but the more softer, melodic, more ballad and songs like that I was at the helm with her for those records. She would always have this little area of her album where David Cole and Robert Clivilles would be featured. Unfortunately, it was just a one shot type of deal from my understanding of it. A gentleman named Dave Hall produced the song. He was this up and coming producer, writer, track guy in the New York area.

“She went off and wrote ‘Dreamlover’ with Dave. I had nothing to do with the writing or even the initial production of the first draft, but when the song was delivered to the record company Tommy Mottola and Columbia Records decided the record needed a little bit more something to it. In their opinion, it was a little too dark and a little unexciting I guess to put on the radio in its form. So they gave it to me and I added a few little bits and pieces to it. I added a Hammond B3 organ to it to make it bounce a little bit better and I added some drums to replace some of the drum parts. I remixed it and added some sprinkles and sparks on it. It was very nice to be involved on that song and I got to be listed as a co-producer on it.”

“Dreamlover” landed at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts, #2 on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart and #9 on the UK Singles Chart and it helped to engineer success for Music Box after its release.

Carey’s second single from the album was the iconic “Hero” and Afanasieff tells a fascinating story of how the song came together with assistance from Tommy Mottola.

“One of my favorite stories of the Mariah Carey era was when I was asked to write a song for a film that was being finished in Hollywood that Sony/Columbia Pictures was putting out,” says Afanasieff. “Being intertwined with Sony Music you’re sort of connected to the company next door which is Sony Pictures. So a lot of times Sony Pictures calls upon Sony Music to produce the music for the movie, which is a pretty standard procedure. They asked me if I would come in and screen a movie called “Hero” which was a Dustin Hoffman and Andy Garcia movie.

“At this particular time, they asked Gloria Estefan to sing this song and they asked me to write and produce a song for the movie. I was carrying this bit of information in my head when I came to New York City to work with Mariah on her album. We were getting together to do some writing for her album. One day, while we were at Right Track Studios I told her about this project I was working on and asked her if she wanted to write this song with me. I told her it was pretty cool and the concept of the movie. I started playing the piano part at the beginning of the song and she asked me, ‘Is that your idea for it?’ I told her, ‘Yea, this is what I’ve been working on for it.’ She goes, ‘Yea, that’s really pretty. Let’s try it.’ So we sat there and tried it.

“Within the next two hours we had the bulk of the song done. She started to not be Mariah Carey, the singer, she started to become the songwriter for someone else. She wasn’t really worried about it being for her and her style. She just came out of the box and we wrote “Hero.” At that time, Tommy Mottola walked in and asked us what we were doing. We told him we just wrote this song for the movie “Hero.” He said ‘Let me hear it.’ and after he heard it he looked at us and he said, ‘There’s absolutely no way you’re giving that song to that movie. This is your song, Mariah.’ 

“She said, ‘What? I’m not going to sing this song. This song is not for me. This isn’t what I want. This isn’t my style.’ He told her, ‘No, trust me. If you put this song on your album and put this out, it’s genius. This will be one of your biggest songs I promise you.’ She said, ‘I don’t want to. This isn’t who I want to be. I want to be less smaltzy. I want to be less pop and less ballad driven.’ He said, ‘Trust me. You have to record this song.’ So she ended up recording it herself. We didn’t give it to the movie and I didn’t write anything for the movie. Low and behold it was one of the biggest hits of her career.”

“Hero” peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts, #5 on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart and #7 on the UK Singles Chart and it generated more success for Carey.

The next single to follow “Hero” was “Without You,” which was a remake of the popular 1970 hit written by the British rock group, Badfinger. Afanasieff spoke on how strong the response was for it in Europe.

“The song that she loved and wanted to do a remake of was “Without You” by the British rock group Badfinger and remade by Harry Nilsson,” says Afanasieff. “Mariah was always influenced by the Beatles, George Michael, Stevie Wonder and many other artists. “Without You” was a personal favorite of hers.

“I wanted to get closer to the version that I believed the integrity of the song belonged to which was the Harry Nilsson version because it had the power, the piano and the big sound. I went to work on our version of the track and Mariah came in and slayed her vocal and it turned out pretty powerful. At that time, I think there was a climate in the world especially from Europe because you have to understand there were other girls out there in the mid-’90s like Celine Dion who were really raising the bar. Europe loved the song “Without You” and then it caught on here in the US.”

“Without You” peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts, #7 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Chart and #1 on the UK Singles Chart.

The fourth single to be revealed to the public at large would be the Babyface and Daryl Simmons produced song entitled, “Never Forget You.” “Never Forget You” peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts and #7 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Chart.

The final single to be released from the album would be “Anytime You Need A Friend.” It showcased a pair of newcomers Kelly Price and Melonie Daniels on background vocals. It peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts, #22 on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart and #8 on the UK Singles Chart.

Afanasieff gives a glimpse into how the song was formulated.

“Mariah was a huminguous lover of gospel music and the church,” says Afanasieff. “We were always in the company of these wonderful singers reared in the church. Her background singers like Melonie Daniels and Kelly Price grew up in the church. We were messing around with the fact that we were going to do a gospel type song. We had done a couple of songs on her second album. One was called “And You Don’t Remember” that we wrote and it had that 6,8 churchy, gospel type sound. We wanted to do something like that again.

“Mariah also loved a song that she had on her first album called “I Don’t Wanna Cry.” The substance of “I Don’t Wanna Cry” and the gospel quality of “And You Don’t Remember” led this sort of melodic, melancholy theme that we wanted to bust out into some big harmony gospel singing type of chorus. This is how we came up with “Anytime You Need a Friend.”

“It was very much driven by me being at the piano. When I’m playing the piano I’m playing a million different things. When I would be playing the piano Mariah would say ‘What’s that?’ and I’ll say ‘Which one?’ and she would say ‘Yea, I like it.’ and then when I would go on and play a hundred more things and she would do the same thing. I would play the minor sad melody, the chord progression and the verse she would say ‘What’s that? I love that.’ Then she would figure out the theme of the song. It was a combination of what we did on “I Don’t Wanna Cry” and “And You Don’t Remember” alongside the beautiful singing her girls were going to provide. Mariah gave the world that sick female harmony almost choir sounding style of hers. She loved arranging and adding as many harmonies as possible.”

Afanasieff goes on to provide insight on how the final tracks of the album came together and his disappointment in a decision made by the record company regarding the final printed version of the album.

“Mariah was very influenced by George Michael and his album Faith,” says Afanasieff. “She asked me if I had a sound that she really loved, which was a special organ sound. I remember being at Right Track Studios and we scoured the city to find the keyboard that was used to create the sound on that one George Michael song that she really loved. So we came back to the studio with a bunch of keyboards and I tried to come up with the sound and it didn’t work out. I finally got a Roland Juno 106 synthesizer delivered and in that bank of organ keyboard sounds she said, ‘Yeah, that’s the sound I really love.’

“So we started playing around with me hitting these chords on this organ sound and I started to play a chord progression and she immediately started to go into this beautiful musical trance. She started singing lovely melodies of my chord changes on the keyboard. This the melody that is now the song called ‘Music Box.’ It was so beautiful that we added this little music box sound to it. It was all based on this keyboard that George Michael started using years before that influenced Mariah when she was a younger girl.”

“’Just to Hold You Once Again’ was a lyric that she wrote after the music was written and the feeling of the music inspired Mariah to put these words down. I had a very classical upbringing and an intense life of classical training, piano lessons and music school. So I’m a really accomplished musician and I’m extremely versatile when it comes to different music genres. As I said earlier, I would play a chord progression and Mariah would like it and we would go off on that vibe.

“And with ‘Just To Hold You Once Again’ we had these really cool chord progressions that made her go into a place of really missing someone, being sad and wanting to be with that person. She wrote this really beautiful lyric about how she would wish to hold that person one more time. A lot of people were quick to assume that she was lonely and sad. Just because someone wrote a sad song doesn’t mean that’s what they are. It was just a feeling that the song brought out. A good songwriter can get into the actual mood of the song. Mariah has such a gift for composing and song writing.”

“We kind of did a song on every album that had a similarity to each other and it was a little wave that her and I caught on the first real big project we worked on together, which was the album Emotions. There was this chord progression we always liked to remind ourselves of. It was one of those times where we ended up writing a song that really was just a very comfortable place that we would always go into. It was something that naturally came out. There were a couple of songs that we ended up with. My favorite song from the Music Box album wasn’t on the US version, but it was on the international version of the album it was “Everything Fades Away.” It kind of broke my heart to be honest.

“Record companies always have their rules. They always feel like there’s too many songs on an album or not enough songs on an album or not enough of this kind of song on an album. It’s usually a decision made by a corporate mind and they’re usually wrong. “Everything Fades Away” one was of the favorites that many Europeans always say and I had wished it went on the American release. Because it didn’t make the American release we put the other song ‘All I’ve Ever Wanted’ on the album. It’s in that area of where it was a ballad type of song and it was really comfortable for us.”

The remaining two songs on Music Box were two infectious up-tempo songs produced by David Cole and Robert Cliviles, “Now That I Know” and “I’ve Been Thinking About You.”

Music Box peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart in the early winter of 1993 and it found its way back to the top of the charts three different times in three different countries (U.S., UK and Australia) and has went on to sell more than 32 million albums worldwide. The album has achieved multi-platinum status in 11 countries and landed at #26 on the Billboard End of Decade Album Chart in 1999 proving its staying power and effect on popular culture.

To this day, it’s regarded as the one of the greatest albums from the 1990s and remains the highest selling album of her career. This album earned a plethora of Grammy, American Music Award and Soul Train Music Award nominations. Music Box set the standard for other Pop infused R&B records for the remainder of the decade. It will continue to be a bellwether of what quality music should sound like for the coming generations of music fans.

Afanasieff speaks on his fond memories of working with Carey and creating Music Box.

“I was lucky enough to be involved 18 years ago with Mariah Carey to form a union to inspire, write and produce music that ended up on album called Music Box,” says Afanasieff. “It is now being hailed as a classic album because it sold so many records worldwide. It garnered so many beautiful songs and hits. It saved people’s lives and still does. When people hear “Hero” and someone is deeply troubled they’ll play the song and will be reminded that the hero is inside of them not anyone else. That message will stand the test of time.

“The album was a real masterpiece. It was a cumulative work of art that was due to an atmosphere where we enjoyed and challenged ourselves. Record companies today won’t even sign people let alone put out songs because some survey says it won’t sell or some 13 year old won’t download it on ITunes. I think we’re better than that and we deserve better than that.”

Source: SoulCulture (All rights reserved)
Posted on July 3

Mariah is considering hiring a nanny
Nick told Access Hollywood that Mariah would like to hire a nanny. At first (before they knew they would have twins), they said they wouldn't get a nanny to help and Nick wants to stick to that. But Mariah is thinking hiring one, she told Nick "you don't have to stay home as much as I do" , so if he really doesn't want a nanny he says he will have to quit one of his jobs to stay more at home and help.
Posted on July 2

 
 
 
 

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Heroes of Mariah 2000
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