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About Randy from USA: MC is my favorite artist of all time and I love her songwriting skills on her introspective songs. My favorite album: Butterfly. My favorite song: Right To Dream.

A No No No (85,563) by Randy from USA I finally listened to it. There's a lot going on in my personal life right now. It sounds amazing. My tastes are a bit different than you all: I like Bye Bye more than Migrate, I like MOAIA more than MIAMTEC and I think the best song MC has ever written is RTD. I do agree that this should have been the first single with a hot video with a Lil Kim appearance. I do love GTFO but they killed it before it had a chance to fly, calling it a buzz single. And then they had the nerve to release With You as the first single when the song is as boring as white wall paper with white carpet in the waiting room of a doctor's office. You all say this era is being handled perfectly but A No No is undeniable so again why is it not the first first single? And why is the fourth song released before the album? We've heard half the album practically. (Friday 2 November 2018; 21:40)

Re: Voice appearance (85,448) (85,456) by Randy from USA Ok she sang a line. I should've waited until the second night for my commenting. (Wednesday 31 October 2018; 03:25)

Re: Voice appearance (85,442) (85,448) by Randy from USA I'm going to say this as gingerly as possible, as I am always called negative and people claim I hate Mariah. She couldn't sing one note? And I'm not talking about getting on stage for a performance. I mean every single contestant and judge called her one of the greatest vocalists of all time, and yet she couldn't vocally demonstrate what she wanted them to do with certain runs, words, phrases, notes? Kelly did. And MC's commentary wasn't vocally specific in most cases. Someone saying I need to hear your heart is not helpful. I was disappointed in the two hours of pretty much no vocal help from someone everyone considered a vocal icon. I will admit Dee and Gee, she was very humble and she looked amazing. She gave the appearance that I would expect from a kind supermodel, not from who everyone on the show agreed was one of the best vocalist who ever lived. (Tuesday 30 October 2018; 21:11)

Re: Caution to feature a cover song? (85,372) (85,389) by Randy from USA It's totally inappropriate for this album, but remember awhile back she promised us a remake of My Favorite Things? She said she would put it on a Christmas album one day and then we got MCIIYou. No My Favorite Things. MC needs to put a remake or something out there. An album with only 10 tracks? I'm pissed. And we have no details on the deluxe. Only on vinyl? But yeah we waited four and a half years. I'm sure she's recorded more than ten songs. And if 10 is the case, we've heard 30% of the album. I'm not happy. (Sunday 28 October 2018; 13:29)

The Distance / MC's music (85,151) by Randy from USA So, I didn't pre-order the album and today I decided to listen to The Distance for the first time. I have to say that I didn't like it at all. What it all boils down to is musical preference. I am a big fan of lyrics and songs not about love. I feel like romantic love has been explored enough by pop/r&b. The Distance is boring. With You is boring. I did like GTFO a lot but overall I'm not doing any whining or complaining because I know my tastes aren't the general public's. Who knows what will stick these days which is why all artists are just catapulting singles until something hits. When have you ever seen MC release three songs a month before an album before? And let's not count all the singles she's released that won't make it on an album. That's the new thing. If there was a surefire way to get a number one or a hit everyone would do it. That's why people tryna steer MC career and single choices is funny. She's gonna have to strike a chord or be hit by lightening at the right place and the right time for her to have a massive success. I just hope this album has at least one Right To Dream, Languishing, Looking In, Outside or Close My Eyes on it. Oh and btw I don't even agree with you guys half the time. I like MOAIA more than MIAMTEC and I definitely like Bye Bye more than Migrate. Getting a hit, to me, is more about being universal than dads and trends. Look at Adele. (Sunday 21 October 2018; 01:13)

Mariah: queen of the redo (84,808) by Randy from USA Bill I don't agree she engineered her vocals then. In fact I don't think she engineered vocals until Rainbow. I think she wanted to be alone in 98 so she could re-do it over and over until she was satisfied. Whitney was a one take artist. It's funny. I think MC has been that way since the beginning and live was never her thing. Narada Michael Walden who worked with both of them said in an interview in the early 90s that Whitney comes from a background of singing. She comes in and it's natural. Mariah is a singer with a crazy ear. Funny she needs an ear monitor now. Anyway he said that Mariah can replicate anything she heard exactly but she records things over and over until they're perfect. He said of I Don't Wanna Cry there was a part she kept recording over and over so many times, he had to stop her because she was erasing good vocals that were better than the ones she was putting down to replace what she was not satisfied with. Narada Michael Walden produced I Don't Wanna Cry for MC and Where Do Broken Hearts Go for Whitney. So my point is that Mariah during When You Believe wanted to re do it until it was right and Whitney came in the booth and probably got right the hell out in 5 minutes. I would use an analogy to the differences in acting. Whitney would be like a theater actress can hit it perfectly live on stage. MC would need to be on film and do many takes to get as powerful a performance. (Friday 12 October 2018; 22:42)

Re: AMA / disgruntled fans sticking around (84,708) (84,719) by Randy from USA Dude that 20+ years in the business excuse is getting old. Did you see Gladys sing last night? CeCe Winans sing last night? Watch Patti Labelle sing at the 2004 Divas concert, 44 years into her career. Watch Aretha at Divas Live in 98 sing 42 years into her career. Then go back and watch MC lip sync on Oprah in 97, 7 years into her career or sound a mess on The View singing Vision of Love in 98, 8 years into her career. Or wait, watch Whitney embarrass MC in 99 on the Oscars. Oh wait, MC's mic wasn't loud enough, she had a cold, she has nodules, didn't grow up in the church, is insecure, ear piece isn't working, has nuances in her voice other singers can't get, do I need to go on with the excuses? (Thursday 11 October 2018; 01:30)

AMA / disgruntled fans sticking around (84,707) by Randy from USA Let me put a stop to this dispute, as we all know who has 18 #1 posts with a 7 noctave voice and is the biggest selling mefail artist in history. Me. Now I know, my fellow rejects: Adam, Andrew, Edward, This is ghm may tie me to a chair in a big empty mansion and beat me up for saying this but: My bar has been set so low that I thought she did a good job at the AMAs she didn't embarrass herself and as a very public fan on social media, she didn't embarrass me. No one hit me up to criticize her or had a snarky thing to say to me. She did what she needed to do. Appear to sing and not appear washed up or have severe technical difficulties. Now for those who don't understand why people who criticize MC stick around. Let's get with the criticism. This is Mariah Carey. You do realize at one time she was considered a freak of nature, seventh wonder of the world vocalist, the best singer amongst the likes of Whitney Houston, Celine Dion and one of the heirs to Aretha and Patti's thrones. She was voted by MTV as the greatest voice in the last 22 years 13 years into her career. So someone that is a living legend and an icon for her voice should be able to stand up and sing a simple song right? It was heartbreaking for me to see CeCe Winans and Gladys Knight sound like themselves and they've been singing just as long if not longer than MC. But here you come with she has nodules, her ear monitor wasn't working, the casket was right in front of her, her corset was too tight, she didn't get 8 hours sleep, she's insecure, there are nuances in her voice that most people won't get but people understand belters with a church background, her humidifier wasn't working, she is getting a divorce, she has food poinsoning, she's bipolar, she's insecure and has stage fright, she was at the fresh air fund and they were pumping smoke into the room and it killed her voice, her background singers were singing her part, she didn't want to upstage Aretha and be disrespectful. Did I get them all? I've never seen a legendary singer give so many excuses or have fans that created so many excuses. And we are talking about the iconic MC, not marginal Brandy Monica Keyshia Cole etc. The top of the heap and she can't sing anymore? So why stay? We are an emotional bunch of people. You would have to be to be a Mariah Carey fan. What 20 year old writes a song like Vanishing? How could a ditzy diva could compose Looking In, Close My Eyes, Outside, Petals, Reflections (Care Enough), Twister, Through The Rain, Languishing, Camouflage or Right To Dream? We know what's there. And we have an emotional investment. If you even think of the fun songs, ABMB, Heartbreaker, Honey or Touch My Body, they take you back to a moment in time. So to end this before Eric cuts me off. We all want MC to win and the frustrating thing is that she seems to be doing things that are self sabotage. But for the level of vocal genius, songwriting ability and nostalgia, there is no one else for us to go to. So we're going to keep on keeping on until she has another genius moment because we Can't Let Go. And we shouldn't have to sit on the sidelines and be silent because our love has been proven. All we're asking is for her to make records and sing them. Which she claims is her first love. (Wednesday 10 October 2018; 23:39)

Edward, Eric, Andrew and the MCA family (84,553) by Randy from USA I don't think I'm the grumpy nephew although I'm eternally 12 and clearly remember when Edward and I used to eavesdrop on MC in Sing-Sing. It was while Special K and Jade were classmate of MCs completing 500 hours of Beauty School and Andrew, Adam and Bill were bullies in the schoolyard. It was around the time Eric forgot to tell MC she wouldn't be the only judge. I lay awake sometimes under the covers listening to the radio. Always remember that I need at least 8 hours to put on a good performance because songwriting is more than half of what I do and it's all about the ensemble sometimes when you're a diva. I've often wondered if there's ever been a perfect family. Wait. It's us here at MCA. (Monday 8 October 2018; 18:40)

Heartbreaker (84,463) by Randy from USA Well I wanted to wait to give my opinion on the song With You and I know you all have been waiting with baited breath. I am so disappointed. For a comeback single it is so boring, you can't understand the words because she's warbling in whisper. I will say anything is better as a lead than YME. But if she had given GTFO the actual lead single treatment, the album would have a better chance to sell more than 100K. I kinda think she will release something else. There's time since there's no release date or title at this point. Some of you keep posting about listening parties. What are they listening to? There's no info. Maybe she's gonna go back in the studio, where she's lived since 2015, and re tool the album like she did for MIAMTEC. I can't see With You gaining any traction at retail or among non lambs. I have listened to the song three times and uh I haven't been moved to keep playing it although I still can't get GTFO out of my head. (Saturday 6 October 2018; 23:12)

Mariah's best interview (84,165) by Randy from USA I don't think we've ever talked about this before. But what's your favorite interview? Mine is The View in 2005. With the black dress. She was articulate, honest, playful, sang two notes on the spot and she looked flawless. Look it up on YouTube if you haven't seen it. (Sunday 30 September 2018; 18:23)

Re: Mariah's voice and breath control (83,981) (83,982) by Randy from USA When did MC ever wear flats? Haven't you heard the story for the millionth time about her feet repel flats even when she was a toddler she used to talk on her tippy toes? Something traumatic happened to Mariah's voice between that last Daydream concert and that first promotional Butterfly appearance on Oprah. What we've seen since is a rapid deterioration of what little voice she had left due to: screaming out to hit notes (as she did throughout Butterfly promotion and on Divas 98), recording back to back albums with recording up to four different versions of certain singles, don't forget the splashes dahling, being around weedsmoke/cigarette smoke and not sleeping. I do believe Tommy held her hostage and kept her out of the elements. Maybe her voice is really sensitive and she couldn't hold it as long as Whitney, Chaka, Celine, Patti, Aretha and Gladys held theirs before theirs deteriorated because her voice is sensitive like she says and her living life and having fun is more important. The thing that burns me up is the deceit of it all. Notice how much she pushes she's a songwriter and now says it's more than half of what she does. It's an attempt to distance herself from being a singer. She's an artist now. Even when she was voted the best singer of the last 22 years on MTV in 2003 she said, I don't feel that about myself. Her sad expression told it all when in 2009 she was on GMA and they showed her a clip of her singing in 1990. She looked heartbroken. And since the late 90s it's been excuses. Humidifiers, nodules, his casket was in front of me, the ensembles, the background singers: "stop singin my part now baby" and the ear monitor. The ear monitor drives me up the wall Nikki, who addressed me earlier, because every singer wears them. Yet I have yet to see another singer fidget with theirs. She knows she sounds bad so let's throw the audience off by making them think it's technical difficulties. It's more smoke and mirrors. People always say my posts all sound the same but it's because I keep reading the same justifications over and over. I love MC. Her body of work will never be surpassed quality wise. But she is held up in a different regard as a singer. And yet now people who would never be considered in her league can out sing her. And here's where you say it's 30 years later. And ima say this so many divas lose their voice along the way. They don't play the same games live as MC does and that's what makes it infuriating. (Monday 24 September 2018; 16:21)

iHeart (83,939) by Randy from USA So let me start with the positives. She looked amazing and she actually walked without anyone holding her hand. On Always Be My Baby there was a confidence that wasn't there for the rest of the performance. It's almost as if she had an out of body experience for that moment. Ok the negatives, the usual lipping and she sounds bad guys on certain parts. This isn't about her not being able to hit high full voice belts, this is about quality of sound and there were parts of the verses to It's Like That and Emotions where she sounded bad. And leave your ears alone MC. It's not your ear monitor that causes you to sound bad. And someone on here had the nerve to say she was nervous. She's been performing for 28 years in front of people. When will the jitters end? (Sunday 23 September 2018; 00:23)

Just a quick update on GTFO (83,834) by Randy from USA I can't stop playing it. It's infectious. (Monday 17 September 2018; 06:14)

I love the song, the video is just ok (83,799) by Randy from USA I meant to post my feelings about the song yesterday. I know you all were waiting with baited breath. Anyway, I judged it based on the title too early. I think it would be a hit if she was understandable. The words get lost in her warbling but I gotta tell you, I'm glad it has a clear hook and the music puts me in a dreamlike hypnosis without being repetitive because she cut the song soooooo short. I've been playing the song all day because I wanted to hear it, not because I wanted it to grow on me. I do like that she could probably sing this live and she better not have any backing vocalist on stage if she does sing it live as there are none on the song. The video however would've been fine as a cheap throwback to DFAU had she had a man in it and she didn't have on those damn leotard/bathing suits she wears. Line from Glitter "I want to break you out of that street, sassy, slutty, stuff you are wearing." Her hair and makeup is gorgeous. I'm proud of MiMi. It's like she's been listening to us a bit. And you know how hard I can be on her. (Friday 14 September 2018; 22:19)

Eternally 12 at 48 (83,697) by Randy from USA I will always ride for MiMi and the picture is stunning but her new single is called How Bout You GTFO? Ima tell her like I told Toni Braxton with her "Sex and Cigarettes" album title. You are class acts. There's no reason to stoop to this level to be relevant (most desperate) or appear sassy/vital. No one is putting you out to pasture but what about being an icon or legend? Something adult considering you're both pretty much 50? I guess I'll buy the single as I've done with every single since Hero but errrrrrr ummm, I'm exhausted tryna be optimistic. (Thursday 13 September 2018; 01:09)

Re: She should've paid attention to us (83,577) (83,584) by Randy from USA But what's ironic in this moment Edward is how nasty everyone became when I argued about the voice changes and deterioration 19 years ago. I never wanted to be right. I wanted an explanation. I was a fan to the highest degree but I was a realist. I knew what I heard and I knew that the constant talking about being a songwriter, a beauty school dropout, ensembles, lighting, Jack her dog has a website, being in the studio, was a cover for the fact that she couldn't sing anymore. And not being able to sing didn't mean sounding like her old self. We're talking about not sounding good live. The funny thing is that so many people on here think Andrew, I and others get a kick out of being right. I don't. No pun intended. I always wanted MC to win. At her height as a singer/songwriter, there will never be anyone who could match those two abilities at the same time. I want her to win but she won't listen to us. That's evidenced by Stella. But for real for real, address the vocal decline publically, write and sing songs on your new album you can sing live without issue and lose the diva image. I swear she will catch the public with the new Mariah moreso than with the iconic legend diva personified. Because the general public loves authenticity, the new Mariah will have been who she was all along. But as fans we will keep that our little secret. (Tuesday 4 September 2018; 05:32)

Re: A message for B (83,226) (83,231) by Randy from USA E-mail address. (Monday 23 July 2018; 13:38)

Re: A message for B (83,220) (83,224) by Randy from USA Bill you know I am the most disgusted fan as far as MC lipping on stage but I have to disagree with you on no good performances since 96 without lipping but the fact that I can count them down shows that in 22 years it's been mostly a farce. 1997 singing My All on Rosie was decent. 1997 SNL performance was decent. 1998 Divas Live My All was really good and then her voice fell apart. 1998 My All at the Blockbuster awards and the Pavorotti and friends were decent. 1998 Oprah performances were decent but I think Whitney won that match up. However at the 1998 Billboard Awards she was much more composed than Whitney and did a decent performance of I Still Believe. The 1998 Rosie O'Donnell performance of I Still Believe was decent. Then Whitney murdered her at the 1999 Oscars. She lip synced every damn climax through the Rainbow promotional run as well as the tour. She then had her breakdown and got some rest and sounded amazing at the A Home For The Holidays special where she sang Reflections and Never Too Far/Hero. And I would bet money those were 100% live. Same at the Radio Music Hall performance of Never Too Far. Every climax from Charmbracelet promotional run and tour was lip synced. Then we get to TEOM whereas she lip synced the climax to It's Like That but sounded beautiful and sang all of With You I'm Born Again. Then she lipsynced the climax to We Belong Together a million times. This is when she started creating raspy tracks to match her current voice so it wouldn't be so stark. I was done with MC live after that. Until surprise, surprise that Jimmy Fallon impromptu performance for the fans. She had so much control and was actually playing with a song which she never does. She normally just sticks to the record and does little improvisation. But that was almost ten years ago. She has been a complete climax lip syncing mess since. So my point: I agree that she has been disastrous and lip syncing for a long time but everytime I count her out, she surprises me. After Rainbow, I was done and she came with those Glitter performances. After Charmbracelet and TEOM, I was done and she came with Jimmy Fallon. So maybe just maybe one day we will get something and can say slay. (Monday 23 July 2018; 01:46)

Observation: Johnny Gill on Wendy Williams (83,164) by Randy from USA So, I'm watching Johnny Gill on Wendy today and he was wearing those hideous ear monitors in each ear. He never once fidgeted with them. He sang Rub You The Right Way from his 1989 album. It was lower and he didn't hit his higher full voice notes but he was on key throughout the verses and modified his ad-libs to match his current voice. He can't dance to save his life but he moved all around the stage. I'm going to go out on a limb and say he's used his voice as much as MC by the simple fact that he was out before her and part of a group before that. He then probably had to tour twice as much as she did because he didn't have the album sales and big contracts like she did in the decades after his debut. So that's how he made money. My point is he did a pretty decent job today without smoke and mirrors and was somewhat entertaining. And my favorite part, when he finished Wendy walked up to him and said "Good job and no lip syncing at all." But let me go ahead and save the delusional posters some time: MC has special nuances in her voice that he can't replicate, MC didn't grow up in church or come from singing in nightclubs, MC is more comfortable in a studio, MC has nodules, MC's ear monitors don't work and she can't hear herself, MC didn't expect to be singing in front of a casket, MC attended the Fresh Air benefit and they were pumping in smoke, MC didn't get enough sleep, MC doesn't sing well in air conditioning, MC was going through a divorce, MC had food poisoning, MC didn't want to try to outsing a legend and MC has stage fright. (Wednesday 18 July 2018; 05:11)

Re: Let's play a game (83,121) (83,128) by Randy from USA Here's what I think: MC has singles in her catalogue that she could sing rather easily in a lower key because there are virtually no full voice ad libs: Love Takes Time, I Don't Wanna Cry, Hero, AIWFCIY, Underneath The Stars, Sweetheart (it's already low and raspy), Crybaby (it's already low and raspy) and then maybe add some of her easier album tracks like Music Box, Looking In, Close My Eyes, Petals, Rainbow Interlude, Sunflowers for Alfred Roy and Right To Dream (shut up Andrew). For the life of me, why she continues with one of the hardest songs ever recorded in the history of popular music, Vision of Love, is beyond me. No one expects Celine to belt out All By Myself In it's original key now or Whitney to have belted out IWALY in her final years. Why is MC hell bent on mutilating her first single? (Saturday 14 July 2018; 22:08)

Ear monitor fidgeting (83,084) by Randy from USA Have ya'll noticed how much MC fidgets with her earpieces during a performance. It's funny because most of the time she's not even singing. Like what do you need to hear the pre-recorded track louder for? Does she really think we'll think she's singing live because she's fidgeting with technical equipment? 90s Mariah thanks for posting that clip of ISB. She sings two notes and then it's the album track while she fidgets with her ear. I'm starting to think there's a little gnome that lives in the ridges of her inner ear that lives off of earwax and says Yaaassss for the prerecorded vocals. I've seen so many artist sing with those monitors in their ears. Christina. Pink. Mary J. Kelly Clarkson. They sing live all the time and don't touch their ears. Oh wait. Here comes the Calvary of excuses. Her ears are sensitive because she didn't get enough sleep. Her ears are very nuanced and she can hear in other ways other artists can't. Her ears are sensitive when she's in a room full of smoke. Her ears are sensitive because the room was at room temperature. I you MC but you ain't foolin us. (Wednesday 11 July 2018; 15:54)

Re: Studio singer subject (82,975) (82,976) by Randy from USA Yup she was amazing in the 90s. Sarcasm. Check out how excited the audience is at her sounding just like the record just two years after Madison Square Garden and only eight years into her career. Again sarcasm. (Wednesday 4 July 2018; 12:17)

Re: Emotionless (82,951) (82,958) by Randy from USA I agree Bill. It's like Drake was insistent to use that sample and it's a YouTube beat maker who produced it. He's rapping over a nonconsistent beat and the sample has been cut and paste in a way whereas it would almost fit with the beat within a half a second. It's a sloppy production. He's also done this same kind of "yo I'm sampling this song no matter what" to Lauryn Hill's Ex Factor. (Saturday 30 June 2018; 15:46)

Re: Studio singer? (82,940) (82,943) by Randy from USA Thanks Special K for the love and you hit it right on the head with insecure perfectionist. That describes so much of what she does. And This is ghm what you said makes a lot of sense. What she puts down in the studio is so much better than her contemporaries but damn near impossible to replicate live. Whereas what they put down in the studio is easy to surpass live and MC can barely replicate her music let alone surpass it. What I think is interesting is a few years back someone on this board said that it's the music that lasts forever no one remembers the live performances. But thanks to YouTube, live performances matter. And of course as I've told you guys a lot, on social media, at parties, and among friends we argue about divas like they're sports athletes. When it comes to numbers, I can tout Mariah all day. Then when we start comparing performances, I have to stfu and take my seat because I only have a few good ones. (Friday 29 June 2018; 13:31)

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