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About this_is_qhm from the Philippines: I love the intricate vocal harmonies only Mariah can make.

Re: Almost Home (86,660) (86,674) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Well, if we're really being fair, Mariah has always not been too excited about singing original songs that she had minimal to no hand in actually writing. The number of those she has done in her 3-decade career already tells us that. She has always been clear about not writing When You Believe, bringing the fact up in pretty much every interview that touches upon it, giving the impression that she probably only likes it because she did it with Whitney and that it was a moderate hit at the time and is now revered as an epic classic collaboration the likes of which won't ever come by anymore. Even the songs she covers are those which she actually loves (or at the very least, likes and has listened to growing up). This is also evident in the way she chooses her samples. Up until today, she has always been very specific and selective over them, to the point that she can actually speak in detail of each one. So Almost Home, as much of a cult favorite it is despite being home to possibly the most horrible production on her vocals ever (probably thanks to Disney), has always been destined to be treated by Mariah that way regardless if it was a hit or not. (Friday 30 November 2018; 00:21)

Caution: a track a day (3 of 7) (86,632) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Giving Me Life It's been a long time since Mariah made a song as unmistakably nocturnal as this one. It combines the sleek, sensual vibe of The Roof with echoes of The Beautiful Ones in the epic instrumental outro. In today's fast-paced music industry where songs are expected to deliver the goods and capture the listener's shortened attention span as soon as possible to avoid the risk of being skipped on Spotify, almost no one makes sprawling, experimental masterpieces such as this anymore. Thankfully, Mariah threw Caution (*wink*) to the wind and made her most musically intriguing song in a long time. Yes, the chorus' opening lyric is cringeworthy, even more so when you realize it's coming from a middle-aged legend who has struggled with chart success for the past decade - it could straight up sound like a desperate cry for relevance. But it really is to Mariah and Blood Orange's credit that one doesn't really even notice this line because of the brilliance of the song's composition and overall production. In fact, you only get to notice from the first listen it if you're a lyric-focused listener or reading the lyrics. The song features Mariah's most understated melodies and vocal performances in a while. With her diminished range, it was a wise decision for her to stick to her lower register, which, unlike her higher notes, have aged like premium leather that has developed a patina, earning the characted it lacked in the past, say like in Melt Away. Giving Me Life does exactly that to any listener that is open enough to overlook its running time and is willing to welcome back a more experimental Mariah. (Thursday 29 November 2018; 00:15)

Obsessed reaches 100M views on YouTube (86,611) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Still not a fan of the song, I still believe it's her worst lead single despite it being a hit, and the Eminem-mocking video is equal parts brilliance and disastrous pettiness, but this is still a cause for celebration. (Wednesday 28 November 2018; 13:06)

Caution: a track a day (2 of 7) (86,599) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Stay Long Love You If this buoyant, springtime track sounds too familiar, it's probably because it sounds like something Ariana has done over and over again since her debut album, although we all know it has been perfected by Mariah first, in fact, several times throughout the 2000s. But here, Mariah makes it clear to everyone who's the teacher and who's the student. Yes, Mimi does Ari better than Ari herself and rightfully so. More flirty than sexual, the blippy game console-ish sounds may cheapen the overall feel of the song, but adds a touch of retro playfulness to it. Gunna's part sounds like one of his better guest features, and his voice, while grating at times, works well with Mariah's. The hook is catchy, especially the "you make me, make me wanna" part, and Mariah's sexy slowed-down pre-chorus should have been repeated after Gunna's verse before the second hook, but it's the dizzying layers of harmonies during the middle eight that makes you wish she prolonged that part for just a bit more. This may be considered the worst on the album by most fans thanks to its unsophisticated sound and dumbed-down lyrics, but it's still a cute, feel good song that would have fit right into E=MC2, obviously sandwiched between two slow jams just to vary the pace. (Wednesday 28 November 2018; 00:16)

Caution: a track a day (1 of 7) (86,574) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Much has been said about the 4 songs that have come out prior to November 16, so I just want to share my thoughts on the seven other songs that we all heard at the same time as the entire world when Caution dropped. Runway This song sounds like a slightly updated version of the sound that dominated the charts a decade ago (think young Chris Brown, Keri Hilson, Jordin Sparks, young Rihanna, Jesse McCartney, Ne-Yo) when light R&B was pop. The Butterfly interpolation marks the first time she has sampled herself on a loop (she has previously referenced past hits by repeating lines or mentioning song titles, particularly on Subtle Invitation and The Impossible, Dedicated). It's weird when nothing in the entire song's melody resonates as much as the sped-up Butterfly snippet used in the background - that is the real hook in this song. It's the obligatory sweet, uplifting track, but lacks the conviction and emotional gravitas of past similarly-themed songs such as Through The Rain, Make It Happen, Heavenly, Anytime You Need A Friend, etc. To be honest I was bummed when I first heard it because like many others I was lowkey hoping for it to be Mariah's first catwalk bop. It is by no means a bad song, and some would probably rather have it replace any song track they deem is weakest on the album, but it's just a serviceable track that plays like a poorer version of Just Stand Up. Its urgency and tempo, though, would have lent a nice change of pace had it actually made the final tracklist. It's okay, but does not quite fit the overall slinky sound and vibe of the album. (Tuesday 27 November 2018; 13:32)

Re: Lambs vs reality (86,505) (86,529) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Okay, hoooold up: One, many of us are okay with these numbers. Two, yes, Caution can be classified as average - by Mariah's own standards only. But this "average" material sure beats the crap out of any mainstream R&B record out there right now. Not to give more credence to critic and customer reviews, but not even TEOM has received such universal acclaim. Like I previously said, the entire internet cannot be wrong. Three, 50k copies sold in 2018 from an artist pushing 50 who is barely streamed save for one song every Christmas is a remarkable achievement in a year when the bestselling album hasn't even sold 1 million copies. Even better when compared to MIAMTEC's 58k in 2013 after a moderate hit in #Beautiful, a minor hit in You're Mine (Eternal) and the AI exposure. And that was when streaming was nowhere near the beast it is now. We appreciate what we get. (Monday 26 November 2018; 11:30)

Oh the excitement (86,406) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I know this has been mentioned many times before, but it really is worth repeating and appreciating how excellently this era has been handled promotion-wise. Not just with the strategic song releases, but with the cohesiveness of the theme of the entire thing. The pink theme on the cover art and promotional caution tape and merch have been carried over to The Mariah Experience and her live appearances at the AMAs, the Jimmy Fallon show, and GMA. Even the rollout for E=MC2 has not been this detail-oriented. I know it's a small thing, but it's the small details that matter and make the difference at times. And on top of this we have the rumored A No No remix. If it does materialize, it would be hell for Nicki Minaj. Three people she had famous beef with collaborating on a defiant track is a huge blow in itself, and possible success will just be salt in the wound. But I'd prefer they deviate from the obvious public expectation of making this a petty Nicki diss track and instead make it more of an empowerment anthem with a kickass pink video. I hope it sustains the interest in Caution like Cardi B's appearance on Girls Like You renewed interest in Maroon 5 and Red Pill Blues. (Thursday 22 November 2018; 13:53)

Re: Body of work (86,371) (86,402) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines First of all, it is a good body of work. Second, please do try to wipe out the internet - God knows we all need a break from it. Three, the entire internet cannot be wrong. A consensus always counts for something, especially on a subject as polarizing as music, it is a rarity and all the more significant. This solid body of work will sneak up on you. I'm telling you it will, just like GTFO and With You eventually did. You're right about With You, though. It is beautiful. Derivative, but beautiful and an excellent example of contrasting melodies that when taken individually should not work together, but weirdly do as a whole. #JusticeForWithYou (Thursday 22 November 2018; 10:55)

Re: A lengthy meditation on the album (86,306) (86,327) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines You made some very good points, mostly with the part where Mariah's output, just like everybody else's, has been tailored to fit the current trends in music. This is something that happens to everyone, no matter how defiant to change a certain artist may be. They have to adapt and move with the times if they're aiming for longevity. And that's how Mariah has been. She has been described by several critics as a transient artist, and had she been the same way she was in the first 5 years of her career, she probably wouldn't have lasted as long and have the influence she still has today. What she can do with her voice is more dependent on her physical capabilities rather than the right material. But I feel she has increasingly written songs to adapt to her current physical capabilities at the time. So much so that it has become more and more apparent when she pushes herself beyond her limits (i.e. most of of the shouted belts on this album would have sounded less forced with her 2005 voice). So the staccato phrasing, the significantly less melismatic turns (if any at all these days), and the long lines that are now always sung with rapid fire delivery are done to fit the current state of her waning vocal ability. This fast, multisyllabic rapper-style talk-singing that first started as experimentation in Butterfly and has become a staple in every album since then, except that by Charmbracelet onwards you could tell that it was more of a necessity more than a choice. It felt like Mariah was looking for new ways to use her instrument to make up for the things she can no longer do as well as she could. Mariah has always been wiser than her years when it comes to writing. But one cannot compare Vision of Love to One Mo' Gen. No, the sex jam has not replaced the love song. For Caution, she justbdecided to go with the former more than the latter. As Cry. and Camouflage demonstrate in her last album, she still has it in her to write deep, meaningful, classic lyrics - when she wants to (all caps). Mariah has become increasingly more liberal at the way she choose to express herself, which is why songs like A No No and Portrait and GTFO can exist harmoniously in a Mariah album in 2018 when X-Girlfriend, Did I Do That? and the Heartbreaker (Remix) stuck out from the rest of Rainbow in 1999. As great as Mariah's mature writing was in her earlier years, it wasn't all that, as a lot of her material then often relied on platitudes and clichés, and most of it, though quite pretty and poetic, felt either very contrived (straight out of a Hallmark card) or oblivious to reality (There's Got To Be A Way, anyone?). She has always been a great storyteller but what's changed is that her elegant, more poetic phrases in The Roof (in which she first name-dropped a brand name) and Babydoll have become more and more specific, directly narrative and practical in nature than descriptive (Crybaby, Clown, We Belong Together, Betcha Gon' Know, The Art Of Letting Go, 8th Grade) and therefore less universal. But that's the magic of Mariah these days. Many people assume she has increasingly regressed in terms of maturity when it comes to her songwriting when it's obvious that she has just learned to express herself more freely in different ways and could still pull out something like Portrait when she wishes and put it beside Stay Long Love You. But yes, she could be more selective about the references she makes as they are are hit or miss, and some of them do leave a time stamp and are even cringeworthy (the Fritos one in Infinity has to be the worst, followed by Windex on Obsessed) and cheapen the song. She can definitely learn to edit herself and not dish them out just for the sake of being clever or funny. And lastly, her "fake" persona. I believe it's been the opposite that's actually happened. Now I do not know Mariah at all on a personal level. I only know her from the glimpses she allows us to see her through her interviewd and songs and so I am in no position to assume that this ghetto or hood image she has "adopted" since the Butterfly-Rainbow era is not the real her. But all I know is that Mariah during the earlier years of her career was not even allowed to have a personality of her own. She was restricted and suppressed, and true enough much of that reflected in her music. Slick and sanitized, it was Tommy's version of Mariah that shone through her material up until 1995, when she really started to get rebellious creatively. I have no idea how she was raised before that, but she did grow up in a broken family in New York and had spent much of her childhood in and around a neighborhood where hip hop was born, so the chances of that influencing her are impossible to ignore. She is an avid hip hop fan. It's been the R&B and soul greats that she was first exposed to, but she loved rap music and was in New York in its inception. It's not like she turned into some hoodrat overnight and decided to stick with it. Eloquent expression and a prim and proper, demure demeanor can also come from any woman who is has a ghetto attitude. These contradictions can simply be different facets of someone's personality. Let us not be myopic about this. Mariah did love to party and socialize in her teenage years - she even smoked then so we cannot simply peg her as this very conservative, almost sexless and inoffensive lady that some executive forced her to be during the first half of the 90s. If there's any fake persona she has put on though the years, that would be her over the top diva and celebrity antics that have taken a life of its own and have eventually overshadowed her, and not her street image. Now that profanity has fully and unapologetically made its uncensored way into her music (the on-record cussing started way back in 2002 by the way), that in no way means she's fully realized this ghetto "façade". It only means she doesn't care too much anymore that her occasionally potty mouth started to really bleed into her songwriting. It's unnecessary and not for everyone, but it is what it is. All the personality changes you have mentioned feel more like a part of Mariah's ongoing evolution (quite a gradual, organic one at that) in growing more comfortable in her own skin rather than a mask she had to suddenly wear to stand out or to have a certain image. Mariah's street persona never felt forced, at least to me. The Fantasy Remix was the first sign of the cracks showing. It may have come as a shock to most then, but how it's progressed over time has always seemed authentic. And the sexy image and sexy songs that pretty much define her and her output especially in this latest album shouldn't really come as a surprise from the same woman who debuted at #1 in 1997 with Honey, a euphemism for a certain male bodily fluid. If there's anything we can really complain about, it's that she's become less and less subtle in her expression of her sexuality to the point that it now often replaces her talent and musical contributions as talking points in the media. (Wednesday 21 November 2018; 00:11)

Caution: lengthy review ahead (86,269) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines The album title was really meant as a warning - anyone who has been accustomed to the easily digested, poppier indelible hooks that frequented Mariah's previous albums should brace themselves for a barrage of slow-burn refrains and choruses that need repeated listens to sink in and even more to fully appreciate. It may have received mixed to positive responses from fans mostly due to the overall vocal restraint and lack of standout songs, but there are a few good reasons why this is Mariah's most critically acclaimed album in a long time. 1. Cohesion. Props to her for coming up with her most unified set since Butterfly in spite of having a different producer for every track. Her signature sound and artistry shines through 80s p9 she keeps a gaggle of producers that have their own distinct styles in line. Mariah is the throughline that keeps everything together. Her stamp on each style is definitely there. 2. Willingness to experiment. Mariah is a known creature of habit. Any initiative from her to look outside her usual trusted team of producers (a.k.a. comfort zone) is a cause for celebration, and in this case, they have paid off well. 3. On-trend without sounding desperate. Thirsty sounded like an attempt to capitalize on the burgeoning trap trend in 2014, which would have totally fine if it weren't nestled in an R&B album that consisted of mostly traditional sounds. Caution in its entirety, on the other hand, is a mostly modern, current R&B peppered with a few throwback elements here and there to keep it grounded and relatable. 4. It's the first album since E=MC2 that pushes Mariah's sound forward. MIAMTEC was criticized for bringing almost nothing new to the table, which is a bit unfair as it was meant as more of a retrospective album in the first place, with Mariah trying all sorts of R&B sounds - most of them she has already done in the past. Caution, while not exactly groundbreaking, is as forward-thinking as we can get from Mariah. 5. It doesn't overstay its welcome. At 41 minutes (Runway included), it's her shortest release, but one of her sweetest as well. On to the songs: GTFO - a unusual but weirdly effective opener. The one line chorus never loses its bite. With You - works much better within the album than on its own. This is the most familiar (i.e. safest) track on the album in terms of sound and production. Caution - sounds like something Aaliyah would have done on her self-titled album. It's not as dark or sinister as its title may suggest, so it plays more like an instruction manual than a warning. This may be a choice for a future single, though. A No No - Proves that one of the coolest things about Mariah is that she could write like a poet, a great narrator, or a rapper. A No No is definitely a great example of the latter, and it's all the better for it. The Distance - That elastic beat is undeniable. If they're pushing this as the second single, they better bring it in the video. Please up the production value. Giving Me Life - The cringeworthy internet slang that this song is based upon is enough to make everything about this a disaster. On paper, this was supposed to go wrong. But thanks to a simple chorus that relies on Mariah's lower register and that's possibly the most memorable one on the album, Mariah and Dev succeed at creating an eerie atmospheric masterpiece that will be revered by fans for years to come. The "it wasn't really" part is the definition of a subtle hook that sneaks up on you. One Mo' Gen - This is the most deliberately retro-sounding song on the album. It's nowhere near (like light years away from) the brilliance of Make It Look Good, but it features Caution's most complicated hook with its meandering melody. The harmonies are great, though. Mariah almost sounds like Brandy circa 2012 on the verses and pre-choruses. 8th Grade - So this thematically is Mariah's own version of Taylor Swift's Fifteen. It's very warm and cozy feeling, which only further solidifies Mariah's mastery of making sad songs sound inviting and nothing like their lyrical content. This is the true "pity party of the year". Stay Long Love You - Still can't get over its similarities with I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time. Same running time. Same sentiment. Similar song titles. But this one turns up the sex a bit more. That sexy breakdown of harmonies before the last chorus is just about the most heavenly thing you'll hear on the album next to the reverb on With You, but it's simply too short. Portrait - This is what Close My Eyes, Looking In, Petals and Languishing would sound when put through a blender. It's the closest to old-school Mariah we can get. It has a very mature, classic melody and feel to it. Runway - Mariah's been in the game for too long that she now samples herself, guys. Juxtaposing a sped-up sample of her memorable vocal run on Butterfly with her current belting only highlights what she has lost, and this song is like the cousin of the 2008 collaboration Just Stand Up. It's also the most generic-sounding track off this era, which is probably why it was tacked on as a bonus as it also doesn't fit well with the rest. This is the best we could get from Mariah vocally in 2018. Her leathery tone has now adopted this more earthy feel, and whatever roundness left in her vocal has now become completely angular. That's her voice these days - edgy, razor-sharp and thinner especially in the higher register, while darker, raspier and heavier on the lower end. What has once flowed out effortlessly now has to be forced out most of the time. The belts have become less pleasant to the ear and have been pushed to the background. The collaborations with producers, while random, yield organic results. After over a decade spent on trying to recapture the magic of TEOM, Mariah has finally decided to give up, throw caution (*wink*) to the wind and just make the music she has always wanted to make. Nothing on this album is as instantly gratifying as the usual Mariah fare, and they're not intended to. The melodies are slighter and the beats and grooves are just as important as the lyrical content. Mariah has finally made a great late night album, and Caution is, in today's slang, "a mood" and "a vibe", I guess both literally and figuratively. (Tuesday 20 November 2018; 00:22)

Re: Glitter revival (85,925) (85,936) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Great explanation. This is also somewhat an indirect effect of the success of A Star Is Born. Glitter's storyline is basically ASIB in an 80s outfit. The success of both the film and the soundtrack has got the public more open to singers crossing over to acting again, which has not seen success in a long time because such projects were deemed self-indulgent for quite a while (and most of the films that accompanied the soundtracks were just bad or meh, including Glitter, Burlesque). When most fans browse suggestions similar to ASIB, Glitter pops up. And since it has recharted, more of the public have become curious as to why a soundtrack album to one of the biggest and most tragic box office flops of all time from freaking 2001 is suddenly rising on the album charts. Now some are just buying it out of curiosity alone, because yes, some still do that in the digital age. And now it's in the top 10 and if it stays there for some time, it will likely spark renewed interest for the film and Mariah, and hopefully that interest also spills over to Caution when it gets released. The perfect commercial snowball effect. It's weirdly exciting. (Wednesday 14 November 2018; 23:39)

Ariana (85,907) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines The problem with Ariana is that 4 albums into her career (with a fifth on the way led by "thank u, next") she still has shown very little creative potential to carry her career through the next five years whilst maintaining her current popularity. Social media has accelerated the shelf life of artists so much. Even Katy, GaGa (Shallow still can't soar to #1) and Rihanna are struggling to get hits these days, when basically anything they touched turned to gold from 2008-2012. That really was not too long ago. Ariana took 5 () years to score a #1 hit that isn't even on her latest album that was released just 3 months ago. Her career moves highly rely on hype and trends, and no matter how bold she and her fans think of her artistic moves and merits, the end result is almost always underwhelming. Something is just off. Her voice just lacks the heft and conviction (and perfect enunciation) of the quintessential diva. That alone makes her output quite lightweight and much less impactful. With that being said, as much as we all know that the Mariah-Ariana comparison is invalid, the reality is that what Mariah was to us in the 90s and 00s is what Ariana is to today's generation. Since they simply cannot relate to Mariah anymore, Ari is their wide-ranged diva-in-the-making. Yes, it seems like such a downgrade, but it also emphasizes just how lucky most of us lambs are to have been be able to witness Mariah's then domination and epic 2005 comeback. After the back-to-back blockbuster successes of Music Box and Daydream, even the harshest, most skeptical critics had to begrudgingly admit to themselves that Mariah was in it for the long haul. Ariana's success so far doesn't seem as hopeful, with her youthful appearance and image that no one will be taking seriously when she turns 30 and especially her pleasant but flavor-of-the-moment material. (Wednesday 14 November 2018; 11:37)

Re: I was hoping (85,825) (85,831) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I hope it is a great, strong bonus track, but isn't better than the worst track on the album. That way, we wouldn't feel so disappointed that it didn't make the cut. (Sunday 11 November 2018; 16:45)

Re: Thank you, next (85,816) (85,830) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Actually, only the hardcore fans are genuinely interested in Ari's life. Since she came back this year, she has been everywhere non stop, and judging by many comments on her social media and videos, it's either they're already sick of her lovelife or they just don't really care about her personal life anymore, as all they know was that Pete was just a rebound guy as she wasn't really over Mac yet. Anyone could have seen the engagement being called off less than a mile away. Tabloid fodder rarely translates to over a week of worldwide iTunes and Spotify domination. Interest may have been behind the initial spark, but the fact that it's still doing so well, even better than No Tears Left To Cry did, shows that it's already bigger than her. People actually relate to it. And it actually has a great message and attitude, especially knowing how songs about exes these days are pretty much expected to be negative, they're basically cliche. (Sunday 11 November 2018; 16:28)

Re: Thank you, next (85,812) (85,813) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Webmaster, I get that you wanna get everything nice, properly capitalized and spelled, but the correct title of the song really is "thank u, next". Yes, all in lowercase. (Sunday 11 November 2018; 00:42)

Thank you, next (85,812) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines So Ariana is predicted to debut at #1 with the grateful kiss-off track after 5 years of trying with the most polished, calculated and commercial pop attempts since Katy Perry. It's sounds nice, it's cute. But it also make you think of just how bad top 40 music is these days, when a song this which could easily be considered filler on any Ariana Grande album can top the charts. It's also weird that something as light and airy-fairy as this is a bright spot in the mostly bleak charts. Unnecessary profanity aside, I guess it's sentiment is a great contrast to Taylor Swift's standard brand of lethal songs about her exes. Its success shows that you can get crazy personal while still being relatable to many young women. Good for her. (Sunday 11 November 2018; 00:31)

Did I Do That? / There For Me (85,810) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I gotta admit that Did I Do That took a really long time for me to appreciate. The melody is too slight and the guy yelling in the background is one of the most annoying parts to make it on a Mariah song ever. But I do appreciate it because it is pretty much Mariah's first diss song. She probably fought for it to be on the album, along with CTTA and Petals. It was an important track for her because it allowed her to vent her frustrations, plus it was her middle finger to Columbia and Tommy. I would still rather have it on the album than the very meh There For Me. If that made the album, it would have been the most dated-sounding cut on it. Compare it to the other ballads and you'd hear why it was left out. It just wasn't modern enough. Rainbow was released in 1999 - Latin, bubblegum and urban were pop those days, and There For Me, which sounds like an 80s throwback, would have been out of place in a rather very urban contemporary R&B album. (Saturday 10 November 2018; 23:40)

The Mariah Experience (85,773) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines When was the last time Mariah held an event like this? E=MC2? Did she do it for MOAIA and MIAMTEC? This reminds me of her Charmbracelet period where she made a lot of effort to reconnect with her fans (a tour with a more intimate feel, album signings, radio interviews, other more personal, "low key" promotional stuff). It's a good thing. (Friday 9 November 2018; 23:48)

Re: Caution Japanese track (85,725) (85,726) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Relieved that it isn't I Don't. I am totally all for the renewed focus this new album has. Its brevity also sends a message. Mariah seems really determined to leave whatever she did in the last 4 years in the past. Good. (Thursday 8 November 2018; 17:27)

Re: Caution track #6 (85,718) (85,721) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Mariah has at least 3 recordings prior to Giving Me Life (album tracks that are not remixes) that exceed 6 minutes. Coincidentally, all of them are cover versions: The Beautiful Ones and Last Night A DJ Saved My Life as pointed out by others, and more recently, One More Try which is around 6:21. Giving Me Life is going to be her longest original song so far. (Thursday 8 November 2018; 11:24)

Caution song lengths / running time (85,716) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines So if sources are to be believed, Caution is gonna clock in at 38 minutes. Giving Me Life, the Dev Hynes (Blood Orange) collaboration, is said to be 6 minutes long - the longest track in the album, followed by 8th Grade at over ten seconds shy of 5 minutes. The title track is just several seconds longer than A No No, so I hope that means it's a tight upbeat banger. No definite info yet on what the bonus track for Japan is gonna be. (Thursday 8 November 2018; 01:03)

Brenda Kaplan "Starr" (85,701) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Apparently she posted this video on social media over a week ago where she was expressing how she thought it was nice that Kelly Clarkson acknowledged her on The Voice. Now that in itself is not bad at all, but what irked me was how she said it in the context of her being upset and tired of the remarks of some bashers (likely Lambs) who were saying she's still bitter about Mariah's success. It was quite defensive, shady and frankly, pathetic how affected she was. Watched that and I was like, okay hold up. 1. Where the hell is all this bitterness coming from? Mind you, this rant of hers was juxtaposed with her stating how she loves her career and her kids. Really hun? 2. Just so we're all clear, her not being able to live up to her stage name was a confluence of many factors that were beyond anyone's control, and no one should ever really have to drag Mariah into any conversation about her career not taking off. And most importantly, 3. Kelly Clarkson did not actually acknowledge Brenda, she basically was saying that she knew Mariah's humble beginnings, saying, "Brenda K. Starr, yeah, I've read it all" or something to that effect, playfully cutting Mariah's story of how she started and then they both laughed. That is not acknowledgment. If anything, that's just another expression of how much Kelly admires and loves Mariah, being aware of her journey and all. At this point, Brenda should just be thankful she still has supporters. It's unfortunate enough that her career has been reduces to a trivia question that could pop up on any gameshow just like Andrew Ridgeley (but at least Andrew was one half of Wham). And her defensiveness has just proved all her haters right. (Wednesday 7 November 2018; 13:01)

Mariah vs. Michael (85,601) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines So Mariah and Michael Bublé are going head to head on November 16. Nothing from both Caution and (apparently pronounced Love) have really taken off, although both artists have loyal core fanbases that have dwindled through the years, albeit maybe more so for Mariah. The jazz-pop community tends to support anything Michael releases. We can't say the same for Mariah's wider yet more fickle R&B-pop fans. Both their sales have declined with their last 2 releases, so they're pretty much even at this point. I'm gonna get both albums, although I'mma get Caution on its tracking week and get Love a week later. Mariah hasn't had a #1 album in 10 years, so it would be really nice for her to have one by the end of the year. I'm just a bit worried about the purchases Michael might get from former fans who might have been misled by the untrue rumor of his retirement and that Love would be his last album. But Mariah has the stronger, catchier, all-original material and is supported by better promo so far, so I hope it works out for her this time. It would be a great Christmas gift to the woman whom we owe much of the festive holiday joy every year. (Sunday 4 November 2018; 15:42)

Caution World Tour (85,565) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines It's a great idea that Mariah has decided to kick off her upcoming world tour in her own country first. She should reunite with her domestic fans, especially those who can't afford to go to Vegas to see her residency. The public's response to Caution and its tracks have been lukewarm so far - praises abound, but none of that have really translated to sales or chart positions, or even additional hype from music and entertainment sites. I hope this tour that'll keep her in the US for a while really allows her to promote the album and its singles better, because chances of it doing well internationally stilll sort of depend of how well it has done in the US. (Friday 2 November 2018; 22:11)

Re: X-Girlfriend (85,544) (85,548) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I feel like those who think the two songs are similar are actually referring to the overall vibe especially the rap-singing, punchy instrumentation, background vocals and skittering beats rather than the melody or chord progression. On another note, the way the Gilligan Island reference is sung recalls the verses on Touch My Body. I therefore derive the equation: Shake It Off + No Scrubs + 1999 urban pop + X-Girlfriend + every other song that has sampled Crush On You + Heartbreaker + Touch My Body = A No No This therefore is a very Rainbow track topped off with a bit of TEOM and E=MC2 gloss. (Friday 2 November 2018; 15:03)

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