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

Re: Rihanna (62,863) (62,897) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines While I still feel that it has topped the charts more than anyone, maybe even RiRi herself, might have expected, Work can attribute its success not only from its singer's appeal, but its polarizing quality. In the music scene, polarity is a good thing because it means people are talking. That's way better than indifference, which seems to have plagued Mariah's releases since #Beautiful, along with ageism, of course. (Wednesday 1 June 2016; 6:03)

How you know something is really wrong (62,895) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines 5. When you google "Mariah Carey" and the top search results include terms such as "too tight", "wardrobe malfunction" or something that even 90s Mariah would never have expected to be in the same sentence as her name today - "nip slip". 4. When #4 happens pretty much every time - more often than what you would expect or want from someone of her stature. 3. When neither the adorable pics of her with Dembabies nor her music (yes, not even the incredible music) aren't enough to balance the negative press she gets. 2. When, even in this highly visual age, not a single one of her music videos over the past six years has entailed an iota of creativity or decent storyline of any sort. 1. One poster here got it really right when she said that if "notoriously supportive" lambs (yes, like I am) suddenly start coming out of the woodwork to criticize Mariah, that's (caps) when you know something is really wrong. (Wednesday 1 June 2016; 3:34)

What would (When) I Feel It replace (62,806) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Remember (When) I Feel It? The gorgeous soulful 70's track that didn't unfortunately failed to make the final tracklist of TEOM due to the sample of The Dynamic Superiors' Here Comes That Feeling Again being revoked at the last minute? I personally feel that it is much stronger than some tracks on the album and would have made TEOM a stronger set. Let's say this problem never existed - if you were to choose which track it would replace on the said album, what would it be and why? Choices: A) Because. B) None, TEOM is perfectly fine as it is. C) Why on earth should we stick to 14 tracks? Make it the 15th, or at least include it on the re-release, dammit. (Sunday 29 May 2016; 9:59)

Correction (62,511) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Sorry, I meant "each song stands on its own". (Sunday 22 May 2016; 9:46)

Things I learned from listening to Ariana's latest (62,510) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines 1. Ariana (almost) got it right this time. While there are no obvious hits such as Problem or Break Free, the songs from her new record are consistently stronger than her last set. Terrible future collaboration aside (Everyday could've easily been replaced with the awesome Bad Decisions), each song has a stands its own. She wisely demoted Focus to bonus track status. Moonlight is breathtakingly lovely, Into You is towering synthpop done right, Side To Side is infectiously bouncy, and Greedy is irresistibly funky. 2. She is fully aware of the Mariah comparisons - she just doesn't care anymore. Dangerous Woman is just as varied as My Everything, but with the latter, her attempts at trying everything to distance herself from Mariah were so desperately obvious that it ended up sounding disjointed. With DW, she's doing music she actually likes and believes in, letting more of her personality shine through. The tracks function as a unit, tied together by this dark, slinky, undertone, whereas ME was an uneven hodgepodge. DW may still lack identity, but it's a solid, enjoyable outing. 3. She's one of the better artists of her generation. While still having a long way to go in terms of enunciation, there's no denying that voice. This time, she has better material to showcase it. And finally, some growth and risk-taking. Name any current mainstream artist out there who, these days, is still willing to open and close the standard edition of their album with downtempo, jazzy tracks. Some tracks are intriguing as well, such as the unusual mashup of trap and acoustic instrumentation that weirdly works well on Sometimes, the brilliant, almost James-Bond-theme- sounding Leave Me Lonely with Macy freaking Gray, while the bonus track Jason's Song (Gave It Away) is a nod to broadway that pays off. 4. Unlike Mariah who can vary her vocal delivery to suit a song, Ariana's interpretation skills are limited. Her voice also just sounds too young. Her girlish timbre makes something as mature as Dangerous Woman sound like a campfire chant at a girl scout convention. 5. At this point, 3 albums and 2 EPs in, it's clear that she isn't just some wannabe who consciously apes Mariah. Mariah's influence is simply inherent in her. No matter what this girl does, she won't be able to do away with that. The sooner everyone realizes this, the better. There's no sense in hating a girl who just happens to naturally sing and sound like Mariah at times, especially when she clearly is one of us. Too bad the media has other ideas. (Sunday 22 May 2016; 9:26)

No shade, just an observation (62,340) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I echo the sentiment of an earlier post here regarding Mariah's semingly "uneven" (for the lack of a better word I can think of right now) weight loss. I noticed that while Mariah's bodily weight loss is quite noticeable, her face doesn't seem to slim down as well. Her cheeks are a bit puffier than what one would expect from someone of her current body proportions. It makes me wonder if her weight loss could be attributed to a strict diet more than a regular exercise routine. I'm aware that it gets more difficult to lose weight as you get older, so I guess that could probably explain it as well. Don't get me wrong, she still looks the best she has since her Idol days, but the extra facial weight sometimes ages her especially in certain angles. I noticed Janet Jackson's face to be similarly slightly wider than it was in 2009. Could it be just an effect of aging? Any facial procedure? Genetics? A combination of those? Sorry, I don't mean to nitpick Mariah's physical appearance, I just would like to be enlightened as I know someone out here knows better than I do on this topic. (Wednesday 18 May 2016; 12:58)

Re: Mariah ABCs (62,319) (62,339) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines You mean U Make Me Wanna, though I totally get why you'd mistake that line for the title, as that's the part that Mariah sings and is the only part of the song worth listening to. (Wednesday 18 May 2016; 12:31)

GLAAD acceptance speech (62,201) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I really wouldn't know how to react if I actually heard "boobies and butts" coming out of Roc's mouth. That would be adorable and unsettling at the same time. Haha. (Sunday 15 May 2016; 12:12)

Re: I find it funny (62,112) (62,128) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines When it comes to Mariah's vocal decline, I believe it's unfair to compare her to singers such as Whitney or Celine, or anyone for that matter. Individual differences exist. First, Whitney and Celine were absolute belters (not the one-night-only kindbut marathon belters) and yes, more than Mariah has ever been. While Mariah was a belter for a certain period in her career, the way she "toured" in the 90s showed just how her voice wasn't meant to withstand the rigors of touring. She didn't do it because she knew the limitations of her voice. Her strength has never lied in her lung power. It was in her expansive range, her ability to play with vocal textures and her knack for songwriting. Sure, at her prime, she could belt as well or maybe even outbelt the rest of them, but not as often as them. Her voice has changed due to a lot of things she did wrong that she may or may not have known and that she may or may not have any control over. She could have laid off the drinks, but if fun for her at parties meant having alcohol in the mix, then she would not have enjoyed her freedom from Tommy as much. She could have taken her time and done less to avoid the stress, but if she did that in the 90s then we probably woudn't have as many songs to enjoy. She could have asked for professional help vocally, but then her mom's a vocal coach and who are we to know and say that she hasn't ever consulted anyone. She could have scaled back on the money notes, but then we wouldn't enjoy her songs as much if she had. She could've gotten surgery for her nodules, but when you have built your entire career on your voice, you'd naturally be scared of how yours may turn out like Julie Andrews' despite success stories from the likes of Adele and John Mayer. Her voice could have gotten stronger through constant touring just like Beyoncé or it may not have depending on her actual vocal stamina and tolerance for constant vocal stress, not to mention the actual effect aging has on her voice (even Janet Jackson, who has practically mumbled, whimpered and cooed throughout her career, sounds different in Unbreakable from how she did in All For You, and even much more in Control). So yeah, the vocal change does depend on a myriad of factors. The one thing that Mariah has yet to learn, though, is how to adapt to those changes studio-wise, so that her newer material won't be as hard to replicate live. Because even though her vocal decline is possibly the most mocked and most unofficially documented in mainstream music history, the irony is that despite all of that, people still expect her to perform live like she does on her studio recordings, if not better like she did in the early-mid 90s. If she takes live performance in consideration when composing new material, she won't have to rely on playback as much, and we wouldn't have to hear practically the same setlist every time. She could actually perform her newer songs live (unlike Cry. or Supernatural which were pretty much mimed the whole way through during TES). Still, let us give credit where it's due - she's shown a lot of improvement during the SSFT. It's not CB Tour great, but it's definitely something worth noting. I pray that shows on her next album which I hope will sound less strained than she did in MIAMTEC. (Saturday 14 May 2016; 5:55)

Re: The powers that be (62,058) (62,090) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines For me, these are the more radio-friendly tracks that sound the least dated in their respective albums: Mariah Carey: Sent From Up Above Emotions: none Music Box: I've Been Thinking About You Merry Christmas: none Daydream: Melt Away Butterfly: Babydoll Rainbow: How Much Glitter: Want You Charmbracelet: Subtle Invitation TEOM: So Lonely (One And Only Pt. II) / Secret Love E=MC2: Side Effects MOAIA: Ribbon MCIIY: none MIAMTEC: Faded (Friday 13 May 2016; 9:40)

Re: The powers that be (62,076) (62,089) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines True. But for me it's a tossup between Lullaby or Subtle Invitation depending on my mood. Those are the sexiest tracks on Charmbracelet. (Friday 13 May 2016; 9:09)

MOAIA (62,048) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines It's a breakup album, which is weird as it was made at a time when Mariah and Nick were happy. Anyway, I do get Andrew's point that the entire album does sound a bit same-y from start to finish, but that's mainly because of the production and the tempo. Still, the standout songs for me include those that incorporate styles Mariah doesn't do too often: Betcha Gon' Know - the imagery in this is quite cinematic Candy Bling - one of her songs that play on yet don't really seem to go anywhere (in a good way) until she belts out a bit towards the end H.A.T.E.U. - nice, hazy atmospheric background, clever use of boxing metaphor Standing O - the closest the album gets to pure pop, thanks to the punchy keyboards Ribbon - nice, sticky, sickly sweet sound - the aural equivalent of a sugar rush It's A Wrap - could very well be a scene in a play, a delectable slice of doo-wop (Thursday 12 May 2016; 13:30)

Re: Looking at MCA like... (61,997) (62,000) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I know (all caps + exclamation signs). You have no idea how much I wanted to post memes in here for the longest time. I can't be the only one. (Wednesday 11 May 2016; 2:45)

Re: When you feel the need, please don't (61,886) (61,893) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Exactly. Some out here act as if Mariah's career was something that somehow just fell on her lap or was handed to her. Yeah, because that's how you last for 26 years in such a cutthroat business. She worked her ass off, people, because she wanted this -badly. Whatever she has right now, she earned, because she dove headfirst into an industry which she for sure knew was not going to be easy. Look, despite a lot of great things that's happening to Mariah right now both personally and professionally, why the hell isn't she getting any good press about it? Why is the focus still mostly on whatever ill-fitting dress he is wearing or how diva-ish she's acting? The media focuses on the negative? That's not enough reason/excuse anymore. How the heck do you think does Adele manage to be ultra-likable these days? Aren't you just sick and tired of how Mariah is doing well and yet she still isn't taken seriously? Where's the justice in that, right? Only to find out upon closer inspection that it's mostly she who is standing in her way. Treating her with kid gloves isn't gonna do her or her fans any favors. You want her back on the charts? It takes more than a combination of good material and perfect timing to do that these days. The image has to follow. Mariah knows this. She was the girl who triumphantly came back after back-to-back commercial duds Glitter and Charmbracelet - without Tommy's help. She knows how she pretty much had to rebuild her career and how much humility and grace that entailed. Unless she has already given up, she'd have to be more self-aware of how her actions implicate her career. (Saturday 7 May 2016; 13:18)

Re: A vicious cycle (61,851) (61,852) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I just happen to be in one of those rare ranting moods. Sorry. I'm not disregarding Mariah's recent successes. In fact, I'm happy for her. It just frustrates me that for every step forward, her image takes her two steps back. If we are ever going to see another considerable commercial and critical success from her music-wise, she'd have to reach (or reclaim) a wider audience - something that won't be possible with all of these mostly polarizing posts from her social media accounts. The mill's always gonna churn out some negative news, and these unnecessary updates from her aren't gonna help. Focus on the kids. Or the backstage crew. Or the music. Reveal less of the gorgeous body. Minimize the diva antics. Be what the public knows she is - a one of a kind singer who doesn't need much to make a statement. (Friday 6 May 2016; 14:20)

Re: Social media presence (61,842) (61,850) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Amen. I'm feeling very frank today and I have to agree with Andrew on this one. Okay, kudos to her as she didn't go the Whitney route, but compared to her contemporaries (Mary, Celine, Shania), now she's taken less seriously as a person - that's right - a person, which is way worse than her not being taken seriously as an artist. Sure she's entitled to enjoy the fruits of her labor for the past 26 years and part of that is doing whatever the heck she wants, but I'm afraid that she has done irreversible damage to her image especially over the past 5 years. I miss those times when music got the best of her. Nowadays the celebrity of it all overpowers her image. What used to be effortless, classy sexy has now become borderline desperate attempts to prove to the world that she's still got it (she does, but now it's just getting embarrassing). The usually cute and funny diva antics have progressed to a point where they have taken a life of their own and have merged to create this whole new unrecognizable person. I wonder what 90s Mariah would think about 2010s Mimi. I remember Da Brat saying in an old interview that the more liberated Mariah we saw then was the "real" Mariah suppressed by Tommy. And for a long while I believed that until I realized just how OOC post-Idol Mimi can be and thought, "nah, that can't still be applicable today". These days, it seems like the only redeeming factors to her image are the pics that clearly show just how much she cares about the kids (her improved recent live performances have, as usual, gone unnoticed). She isn't Madonna who can take whatever controversy she's thrown and use it to her advantage; who can release an album that's guaranteed to sell at least 1-2 million units worldwide by the end of its accompanying top-grossing tour. She isn't even J.Lo who, despite being mediocre in pretty much everything she does, is still inexplicably adored by the public. She's Mariah freaking Carey, the exotic beauty whose voice propelled her to dizzying heights, some of which no one even knew existed. She's the legend who, for better and for worse, doesn't act like one. And while she's still known first and foremost as a singer, it's not lip-synching that endangers her career the most. If it did, then 70% of the current female singers won't be around anymore. In an industry run by shock value, intrigue, hype and likeability, relatability is the name of the game. And it can be challenging to relate to someone who feels like she has to show skin 95% of the time, whose social media presence is mostly controlled by idiots and who seems allergic to change. The hardest part for us as fans is always having to defend her, knowing that somehow, that shy, simple and humble Mariah still shows through the cracks of that overblown, superficial, hyper-airbrushed, super-glossy facade that she feels she has to put up since TEOM. (Friday 6 May 2016; 12:16)

Alicia Keys' "In Common", Mariah's sound overhaul (61,832) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I hated Girl On Fire. That song and its accompanying album flopped by Alicia's standards because it sounded like something that she has been doing since the beginning of her career, but with significantly less inspiration and soul. Which is why I'm pumped about her return. Now I don't know how In Common will do commercially, but it definitely sounds interesting. While it's nothing original and in fact it sounds like something suited to Selena Gomez's seductive breathy mumbling and her growing penchant for staccato singing (it wouldn't sound out of place of Revival), it's still something new for Alicia, and that makes it exciting. Mariah's brand of R&B hip-pop is in a league of its own, but the audience has grown overly familiar with it at this point. Remember how you felt when you first heard #Beautiful? It was a borrowed sound but it fit her like a glove, and it set our hopes up for an artistically rejuvenated Mariah, only to find out later on that it is one of just a few tracks on MIAMTEC that offer anything new from her. Since an image overhaul probably won't be happening anytime soon, maybe a sound reinvention will. Mariah doesn't even have to innovate. She can just experiment a lot more than her usual toe-dipping here and there. If Janet was able to finally get off of the sex odyssey she's been on since 1993 on her latest release, I don't see how Mariah can't just totally move on from 2005. (Thursday 5 May 2016; 6:28)

GLAAD award (61,668) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines GLAAD winners are not necessarily advocates. They can be just supportive of gay rights. Now while that pretty much broadens the potential awardees to the point that it includes everyone of us here and at least an eighth of the entire global population, we aren't exactly renowned or in the media, are we? She may not be an advocate in the truest sense of the word, and in comparison to other personalities her actions may seem small, maybe even insignificant, but just because someone isn't as open or as loud doesn't mean she isn't doing anything. If you really think about it, it isn't really that farfetched for her to be given such award. If Mariah suddenly won an environmental honor, now that (caps) would qualify as bizarre. (Wednesday 27 April 2016; 4:56)

Re: GLAAD award (61,641) (61,645) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I'm probably only speaking for myself when I say I've known about the GLAAD awards for 6 years now, and they recognize people, organizations and media that not necessarily tirelessly advocate but do help promote equality and acceptance especially for the LGBT community. While it may seem like they're hitching their wagon to a global superstar, I truly believe they just want to recognize efforts toward this cause. Just how well do we think we know Mariah and her philanthropic activities? I'm guessing there are many that she'd rather keep to herself and not publicize. She maybe an unlikely winner and this award my not be a big deal (or any deal at all) to most of us, but it's nice that she's getting recognized for her humanity. (Tuesday 26 April 2016; 18:15)

GLAAD award (61,633) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Mariah has a huge gay following and has attended various high profile events as a show of support. Of course that doesn't exactly scream "gay advocate" as Mariah deliberately avoids making public political statements of any kind, but who are we exactly to question her merits? This proves that lambs are her worst critics for better or for worse. Is it that hard to just be happy for her? Call this blind allegiance or whatever, but what exactly do we really expect from her? I understand how her musical output, her highly publicized celebrity life and her choice of wardrobe can be divisive, but doubting her merits to awards that I highly doubt she begged for is just a step too far. No wonder it's such a challenge for her to win the world over like she did before - she can hardly do it within this board. (Tuesday 26 April 2016; 11:45)

Re: E=MC2 (61,610) (61,611) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I somehow understand your wish as E=MC2 was the last album where her vocals were perfectly controlled. It's her least vocally challenging effort, hence there was little of the oversinging found in the two preceding albums and not too much whispering either. On second thought, that was the follow-up to her comeback effort. A lot was riding on it so it was precision-crafted to be a hit in every way, you can almost hear the calculation behind it. But what you can also hear is the it-girl confidence behind her voice that makes the album such a fun listen from beginning to end. It's exactly the type of music that Mariah would have been doing in that period if she were a decade younger yet she still pulled it off at 38. (Monday 25 April 2016; 14:46)

Fantasia - So Blue (61,494) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Desperate for a much needed break from all the depressing coverage of Prince' death (it hasn't even been 24 hours yet and the fact that I'm so affected despite not really being a hardcore fan speaks volumes of his influence), I stumbled upon this eclectic gem by Fantasia from her upcoming album. Her vocals are top-notch and the production is just impeccable - so opulent and classy exotic. I always admired how she doesn't follow trends and successfully hops from genre to genre. I hope Mariah gets inspired by her vocal revival during this tour and ditches everything expected of her and start really experimenting. (Friday 22 April 2016; 12:33)

Prince (61,479) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines No. Just no. I was not really a fan of his, but I did like a bunch of his songs. Such a huge loss for the music industry. May he rest in peace. (Thursday 21 April 2016; 20:02)

Re: "Butterfly" / "Me. I Am Mariah" (61,463) (61,469) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines True. She did tread the same paths with MIAMTEC as she was going through the same stuff. However, with Butterfly, she was in a more poetic state of mind. With MIAMTEC, the lyrics are more true to life, more deliberately descriptive. And while Butterfly can very well seem like a concept album due to its effortless flow, MIAMTEC's incoherent sound, to be fair, is largely due to the circumstances leading to its release. The body of work was 5 years in the making, and during that time, Mariah became a mom, did and left Idol, was in an accident, struggled a lot with her former record label, was having marital problems, etc. There was a lot of ground to cover. Not willing to leave any of those issues unaddressed and un-discussed, she decided to just include a song inspired by each experience in the album, making it sound disjointed but still tied together by this dark, depressing undertone that doesn't necessarily reveal itself through the production or the lyrics - you just know its mostly sad. So MIAMTEC sounding overlong isn't really due to the inclusion of sub-par material. She just had too much to talk about and tried to please every type of fan she had. But its gems (Cry., Faded, Dedicated, #B, MILG, YDKWTD, Meteorite) are undeniably up there with her best work. (Thursday 21 April 2016; 10:14)

Re: MIAMTEC vs Butterfly (61,446) (61,448) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines As great as both are, MIAMTEC suffers from scattershot production while Butterfly flows seamlessly - truly her magnum opus and to this day is still untouchable, not even by Daydream's undeniable commercial sheen or TEOM's masterful balancing of old school and contemporary R&B (which is definitely saying something). I also find myself wanting to compare, but I'd rather put it this way: MIAMTEC - her best of the 10s, so far TEOM - her best of the 00s Butterfly - her best of the 90s and her entire career (Wednesday 20 April 2016; 17:59)

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