Messageboard

About Billy from Greece: I don't know, and neither do you.

Re: "Across 110th Street" (47,889) by Billy from Greece Something more regarding its inclusion in the tour: according to the Same Same article reviewing one of the Australian "Chanteuse" shows, they write this: "Across 110th Street is a movie of an African-American and Italian-American police duo that grapeoplees with important themes of power and race relations. 110th street being the boundary for Harlem. If you've been to New York, 110th Street is a long way from One World Trade Centre. It's been characterised as being part of the genre of Blaxploitation." The Womack song is an anthem about the struggle to get out of the ghetto. Maybe there is a concept behind using it to open the show, in relation to the "chanteuse" persona MC supports in the show (gowns, jazz covers, sitting on the piano). Great song in any case. (Monday 10 November 2014; 15:03)

"You Don't Know What to Do" (47,789) by Billy from Greece So, apparently "YDKWTD" was written back in 2012. Check the beginning of the interview. (Tuesday 4 November 2014; 9:26)

MC interview (47,732) by Billy from Greece (Saturday 1 November 2014; 12:27)

Re: Will Hudson (47,645) by Billy from Greece Hi Will. You and Marcus on Oprah are one of favorite Mariah moments from the "Memoirs" era, especially when you started naming/singing her songs on stage and she responded. I'd love to know how your experience on the "I Want To Know What Love Is" video shoot was (were you there with her?), or if you have ever met her again since then. But wait a minute: you were also on the Jimmy Fallon "Art of Letting Go" mini-concert thingy. You are one lucky lamb. Also, I hope you have fully recovered health-wise. (Tuesday 28 October 2014; 19:37)

Awesome and better than ever (47,585) by Billy from Greece (Friday 24 October 2014; 23:22)

Singapore (47,584) by Billy from Greece Awesome show, gorgeous vocals. (Friday 24 October 2014; 22:57)

The Rakyat Post article (47,563) by Billy from Greece "She had also posted pictures of her twin boys, Moroccan and Monroe making pizza at a restaurant in the Ritz Carlton Hotel." Can they at least bother to get some info correct? I have to admit though I kinda laughed when I read it. (Thursday 23 October 2014; 14:35)

Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (47,515) by Billy from Greece Did anyone know that this particular category in the Grammys has been discontinued? According to Wikipedia, "From 2012, all solo performances in the pop category (male, female, and instrumental) were shifted to the newly formed Best Pop Solo Performance category. " Also, according to Forbes, not one artist's album has gone platinum in 2014. (Monday 20 October 2014; 15:44)

Irrelevant but... (47,477) by Billy from Greece I guess some of you are aware of who Mary Wells is. I was checking her really good "In and Out of Love" album from the early 1980s, and had forgotten that in the back cover of the albums there is quite a resemblance with MC. Check it out. (Friday 17 October 2014; 23:39)

MC cameo (47,439) by Billy from Greece (Wednesday 15 October 2014; 10:15)

That's funny (47,284) by Billy from Greece Leave Mariah alone. (Wednesday 8 October 2014; 9:54)

Re: Andrew (47,161) by Billy from Greece You say, "I want her to write relatable universal songs so that everybody can relate to them." So basically you want her to be a blank canvas with no distinct personal traits, to sing songs that are abstract enough so that people of all diverse backgrounds (racial, ethnic, religious, sexual etc) can find at least something to identify with and the buy her music. Good job. That's what all major record companies want from an artist. But if that's you want, maybe Leona Lewis' "Spirit" is the kind of music you should gravitate towards, you know, faceless bland songs carried by a good singer nonetheless. Sorry if I should aggressive, but Mariah is all about personality in her songs and that's what sets her apart from singing yet another faceless pop ballad. I'll take the brilliance and complexity of "Cry." anytime over a 'universal' song. No more "Heal the World" for me. And by the way, "Me. I Am Mariah" is full of hooks and immediate melodies. And again, not being ironic, but maybe Mariah is not the artist for you (and many other here, irrespectively of voice issues). Clearly she's doing nothing of what you wish she would do, even artistically speaking. Then, I don't get it, why spend time on her? I'm confused. (Monday 6 October 2014; 0:18)

Jazz Mariah (47,109) by Billy from Greece Jazz is just a natural for her. She is already in the third decade of her career. This is definitely the direction she should pursue more, shall I say, diligently. It fits her voice completely. By the way, she looks beautiful in the pics from the first show. (Saturday 4 October 2014; 23:14)

Re: enwar00 / Against All Odds (46,992) by Billy from Greece Enwar, this is one of the two available solo video versions of "Against All Odds". I initially saw the official video in early 2000 (almost 15 years ago, oh my) and it was the one I have now attached, which includes a montage of various stops from the "Rainbow Tour". I used to think (and still do) that she looked gorgeous in that mermaid-like light blue dress. Her hair was so long back then, seemingly without the use of artificial extensions. She was so fierce during the Rainbow era. Clearly, she was overworked, but there was something empowering in her presence. Aw, the Rainbow era. Getting all nostalgic now. (Sunday 28 September 2014; 9:49)

Twenty year-old gorgeousness/perfection (46,928) by Billy from Greece Finally, one of the absolute live performances of "Vision of Love" available in high quality for the first I think. The commercials are also included. Aw, the nineties. They don't make them like they used to, do they? (Wednesday 24 September 2014; 8:11)

Matchmaking (46,906) by Billy from Greece A shout-out to all the matchmakers on this messageboard making sure that MC gets the right man. (Tuesday 23 September 2014; 10:43)

"Say Something" (46,884) by Billy from Greece Can we discuss how hot both the hip-hop and club remixes of Say Somethin' are? Re-sung vocals on both of them. The club remix, though... banger. (Sunday 21 September 2014; 16:57)

Irrelevant but... (46,855) by Billy from Greece Lately (namely, almost the past year), I've been obsessed with Sarah Vaughan. Yet another aries diva, just like Mariah, Diana Ross, Aretha, Elton John (!), Chaka, and the list goes on. I remember Mariah mentioning her quite a few times (even earlier this year) as an influence, but I never really delved into her catalogue and body of work, until (relatively) recently. If you haven't done that either, do it. The woman is a wonder to behold. Her voice went through various changes through the decades, becoming quite dark and heavy towards the end of her career, yet retaining an undeniable allure. She may be considered an "acquired taste" (in the sense that her style is probably less immediate than Ella's) but the breadth of styles and genres she crossed is impressive. I personally prefer her post-1960s work (while her late 1970s work is some of her best). Listening to her improvisations on her "Live in Japan" set, as well as her little stories and the kind of humor interjected in between, reminded me a lot of Mariah, especially in the impromptu performance in Carlyle (2012). A true artist. (Friday 19 September 2014; 21:45)

Rolling Stone feature (46,829) by Billy from Greece There is a Rolling Stone feature on the 100 best singles of 1984 that has been circulating, and both (originals) "Bringin' on the Heartbreak" and "Didn't Mean to Turn You on" are included. In both tracks, Mariah's name comes up. Here's what the commentators wrote respectively, in addition to comments about the original versions: "Mariah Carey took it one step further in 2002 when she turned it into a full-on, symphonically orchestrated R&B song" and "Mariah Carey used the original instrumental bed for her 2001 version, which appeared on the soundtrack to her notorious quasi-biopic Glitter." Glad to see Mariah mentioned in such pieces. It shows that what she does/has done does matter indeed. (Thursday 18 September 2014; 10:33)

Tour musical director (46,781) by Billy from Greece Big Jim Wright is the musical director for the tour. Yet another step in the right direction. I love all of his contributions to Mariah's album, ever since "Rainbow", and I'm really happy they have a steady partnership throughout the years. I wish they did even more stuff together. And can we mention once more that "Cry." is an absolute masterpiece? (Sunday 14 September 2014; 10:21)

Mariah's catalogue (46,667) by Billy from Greece Although in recent years it was the death of specific artists that re-instigated public interest in them as personalities and in their body of work, I'm glad I'm appreciating Mariah in the present, for the abundance of music she has created and, subsequently, offered to the public. Reflecting on a very recent incident where a "fan" of Diana Ross ripped a picture of hers in front of her car when she did not sign it, I realize once more that even well-intentioned fans sometimes think that their favorite artists owe them something, be it the music they want to hear or attention. Aside from these issues, re-listening to "Charmbracelet" and "Memoirs" recently, along with the exquisite "Elusive Chanteuse", I'd like to say how much I admire Mariah as the artist she has chosen to become. Obviously, noone's perfect, and flaws are to be found. But, taking these albums as an instance, I find utterly admirable the way she re-invents the persona she has chosen to cultivate in public, which shows an insight that transcends the present moment. There is such richness in these albums that they can be approached like mini-"novels". Mariah has evolved from a girl with a fantastic voice to an artist whose spirit and creative imagination has infiltrated her work, resulting in thoroughly fulfilling musical experiences, that surpass anything middle-of-the-road, perfectly constructed/consumable out there. (Sunday 7 September 2014; 16:04)

Gorgeousness (46,555) by Billy from Greece And what about that fantastic harmonizing? (Monday 1 September 2014; 20:14)

1990/2014 (46,517) by Billy from Greece It's been a while since I listened to the early Columbia albums, and last night I played the first album. What I've always loved about this album, since the very first time I listened to it, is how distinct the intros to each song are (especially, "VOL", "AIYM", "AIL", "SFUA") that the immediately capture your attention. Also, "Alone In Love" is really special, structure-wise and mood-wise, while I also remembered the story about Warner wanting to include it in a movie soundtrack in the late 1980s (or something like that). Still, while we all know the head-turning effect of her voice since day one, I can't help but recognize that as a vocalist Mariah has grown immensely. Her voice has always been a wonder to behold, but listening to "Cry." in 2014 is a totally different experience than, for instance, listening to "I Don't Wanna Cry" (no pun intended). She has developed such intricacies and details in terms of her technique that are now even more difficult to imitate (than the big notes of the first years), while her interpretive skills are beyond reach at this point (look at "One More Try"). Although I love those early records with a passion, I have to recognize that it was indeed with "Butterfly" that Mariah the artist fully landed. (Sunday 31 August 2014; 12:19)

TMZ clip (46,386) by Billy from Greece Some of you are going to say "but she was just doing her job". Well it is one ugly and insulting job to do, isn't it? The girl incessantly asking Mariah to comment made me so aggravated that I can only imagine how Mariah felt during those moments. I applaud her for keeping her cool. Still, I so loved the moment, after all the fake "I'm sorrys" of the immensely insensitive stalker-interviewer, when Mariah said "No, you're not, thank you though." Classic Mariah. (Tuesday 26 August 2014; 9:31)

"One More Try" (46,281) by Billy from Greece Skipping the current flaming issue. I just wanted to say how epic Mariah's version of this classic is. It is so understated that it can be initially mistaken as underwhelming, especially when compared to George Michael's "divalicious" performance. However, it is totally on par with Mariah's other brilliant remakes, only with an extra touch of identification on her part as betrayed by her very introspective delivery. Inimitable interpretation. I'm also very glad that she retained the "breaking" of her voice/phrasing towards the end, as well as the final semi-wail ("autumn boy") which is as live as a studio performance can get. (Friday 22 August 2014; 22:13)

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