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

Re: Charmbracelet (93,949) (93,956) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I feel the same. I have my own ranking as to which album is better or worse than the others, but that doesn't influence my listening habits, not even in the slightest. I personally either let my mood, the weather, time of day, or even the album running time to be the deciding factor. I never listen to Charmbracelet in the morning. Too warm and mellow. Maybe a few of its songs, but not in its entirety. (Sunday 3 May 2020; 15:36)

Re: Charmbracelet (93,951) (93,955) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Everyone's Mariah journey is different. The wildly varying tastes and preferences in this board alone give us a good idea that there will always be a Mariah record for everyone who's willing to give her a chance. At its worst, Charmbracelet hitting top 5 is practically equivalent to a warrior exposing his weakness for everyone to see, and the likelihood of that is quite high. But at its best, it just may get to be the final push for a few potential/future lambs out there to finally dive into her discography. Either way is still realistic. (Sunday 3 May 2020; 15:21)

Charmbracelet (93,945) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines This album, while clearly far from Mariah's best, will somehow always hold a special place in my heart because it's the first album I was able to save up money for and purchase - in cassette. I was in my first year of high school; it was such a sad and awkward time for me, and Through The Rain was a huge hit in Asia for some reason, especially in my country, where it has since been covered by many of our local artists. It was also the first studio album of hers which I really have listened to in full, in sequence, as I have only known Mariah prior to that through her biggest hits. I knew back then that none of what I have heard from it was qualitatively as good or radio-friendly as pretty much any of the songs that I have already heard from her; and to many Mariah fans who have been with her since the beginning of her career, that may sound depressing and quite the worst way to start one's Mariah studio album journey, but I still wouldn't trade it for the world. It was still a special experience for me, just like anyone would value the first time they heard a full studio album of hers. Chambracelet, along with MOAIA, are Mariah's weakest efforts for me. The former is a mild, mostly sunny set of tunes that sound best when listened to on a lazy afternoon, and was clearly recorded at a transitional time in Mariah's life where she was uncertain of which direction to take next artistically. It's her "where do I go from here" album; she was yet to get used to and take advantage of the changes happening in her vocals. Every album that came before it had obvious highs and lows (except Daydream, where just about every track held its own and were mostly peaks). But for Charmbracelet, even with a few good tracks, that doesn't quite happen - almost everything is middling by Mariah's standards, and it all weirdly blends into beige or pale yellow by the end. You know there's an issue when something as polarizing as Boy (I Need You) (while repetitive and annoying) sonically stands out as one of the highlights - for better or worse. It's pretty milquetoast through and through - filling, but never quite satisfying. While lyrically containing some of Mariah's most vivid pieces since Butterfly, other than that, anything good Mariah has achieved here, she has done better elsewhere, before and after. To me, its biggest accomplisment is that it humanized her and revealed her to be more than just a chart fixture; a musical proof that redemption does take time. After a fall, it can be challenging for us to find our bearings and get back up. That's what Charmbracelet represents. Regardless, I am still glad it's getting attention. It may not be the best introduction to Mariah's talents, but if anyone out there unfamiliar of her discography just buys it out of curiosity thanks to this #justicefor campaign and still wants to continue discovering the rest of her work after listening to it, then that's still a win. If they are able to appreciate one of the worst, then the good news is that it can really only uphill from there. That was sort of my journey and I'm still here today. (Sunday 3 May 2020; 00:54)

E=MC2 resurgence (93,822) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines If this teaches us anything, it's that Mariah, despite having a core fanbase that has dwindled steadily throughout the years, somehow has managed to maintain a loyal fanbase that's more media-savvy in their approach of showing their support compared to fanbases of other legacy acts that dominated the 90's, such as Celine, Janet, Madonna and Toni. A search through YouTube would reveal more fan or critic content on Mariah's material than any of her 90's peers. Her US fans may not support her albums as much as the former 3 in terms of making a splash in first week sales (and a #1 debut is still a legit bragging right), but I'd much prefer Mariah's success to be of the viral type. She's the only star of her magnitude from that decade that I know of whose antics are, for better or worse, the most meme-able. More importantly, she's the only one whose social media fan movements actually translate into actual sales and chart success, and for her older, mostly forgotten albums for that matter - an even bigger achievement in a world where streaming is king. Digital album sales, especially at this weird time where there are fewer new releases to compete with, may ultimately be insignificant in the grander scheme of things (to their credit, this is probably the only sensible one of the all the mind-numbing arguments pressed Madonna stans are making on comment sections on this news), but truthfully, any of those other artists I have mentioned would be lucky to have any of their past (and less popular) releases to just randomly find their way back to the top 10 of even just the iTunes albums chart off of any reason. Most other legends only experience these types of sales boosts after a hugely popular tribute event or, well, after they die. For some, it may only cause a spike in sales of individual songs and not so much for full albums. But Mariah's enjoying this now (for 2 of her most overlooked releases) and regularly every Mariah season (aka Christmas). That's more than enough cause for celebration. It's also a testament to the consistency of Mariah's output. Yes, she does have subpar releases, but the disparity in quality between her best and her worst isn't as glaringly obvious as that of other artists. I couldn't imagine this resurgence ever happening to any of Madonna's post-Music albums save for Confessions, any of Celine's post-2002 albums, any of Toni's efforts after The Heat, or any of Janet's pre-Control or 2006-2008 output. Migrate or Cruise Control still should have been singles (probably waiting for a TikTok celeb to discover them), but E=MC2 is #1, so let's enjoy that while it lasts. (Tuesday 28 April 2020; 21:03)

Re: iTunes (93,814) (93,820) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I was, but ultimately opted to question why they passionately shade Mariah's discount-boosted sales while curiously don't do the same for the newer, more current artists today who discount their albums way more often and even at lower prices than Mariah's current promo. Never got any response from them, although they were too quick to reply to other lambs who defended Mariah by insulting them. So transparent. (Tuesday 28 April 2020; 20:22)

Re: iTunes (93,810) (93,812) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Make that a couple hundred at most. Many of Mariah's most passionate US fans have been known to purchase multiple copies of her albums as a show of support. I wouldn't be surprised if they're the same people who were hugely responsible for the pure sales of her last few albums. Now that it's discounted, that likelihood is increased. Granting that at the very least, 300 of the thousands of retweets of the justice hashtag for the album represents US fans who actually went ahead and bought it, that's enough to take it to the top at least for the day. It's a curious situation, and such feat is more impressive now than the Glitter one because it's actually on Spotify, it isn't part of a fan countdown to the release of a new album, and it is hardly the holiday season yet. But I think this is just a perfect storm of events, initiated by the fans who showed their support at an opportune time. Looked into the comments sections on news articles on Facebook about this and many people are really pleasantly surprised about the unexpectedly random resurgence. I am just hollering at the hardcore Madonna stans who, for some reason, have found their way there trying to downplay this fan movement in any way they can, instead of doing the same for their idol. Who knows, maybe this will happen to any of Mariah's other less successful albums in the future? I'm feeling Caution is up next. (Tuesday 28 April 2020; 15:35)

Re: Song of the day - Want You (93,768) (93,772) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines It's a good duet. It's got this 80's nightlife urgency to it. Underrated track. Of all the ill-advised collaborations on Glitter, this, in my opinion, works the best because it's the most melodic and sounds Eric at least sounds like he belongs on the track, while the others really sound like phoned-in features. (Friday 24 April 2020; 20:29)

Re: Article: Mariah Carey shares kitchen selfie holding two kettles (93,746) (93,750) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Well no one is actually excusing her laziness. It's just looking at it as, well, things could actually still be much worse. Everyone would like her to work out more, but since she isn't, then the head tilting, while annoying, is definitely something that we're more inclined to allow rather than her going the extreme Lil' Kim route and entrusting everything to doctors. Mariah's blessed with great genes, and exercise aside, she has taken care of her apperance to better results than many celebrities of her age, who have aged worse. If she hadn't, then who knows what she would be resorting to these days that's worse than a head tilt. We can only hope that someday she would pay the same attention she does to her face to her body as well, before things go from a mere issue of aesthetics to a health issue. (Thursday 23 April 2020; 20:46)

Re: Article: Mariah Carey shares kitchen selfie holding two kettles (93,739) (93,745) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines If the last decade has taught us anything, it's that the only reason for Mariah to be motivated enough to slim down is if she's gearing up for an album release or a major, prolonged TV gig. In between those, she does anything she wants. At her age, it's more challenging for her to maintain a trimmer figure, and since she doesn't have the drive and discipline to focus on her fitness ala J.Lo or Jennifer Aniston, she's left with no choice but to rely on fad diets, contouring, posing in weird angles and other ways to achieve the illusion of a slimmer profile in photos. After all, those are much easier than physical activities, which we all know are a chore for her. Whatever works for her, I guess. Despite her weight struggles, she still looks healthy, has great skin and hair, and despite any other enhancements and procedures she undergoes, I'm glad she still hasn't fallen victim to the worst beauty trends in recent years - the overly botoxed look (as evinced by abnormally prominent cheekbones) and unnecessary lip fillers (the unnaturally perpetual bee-stung look) that younger artists have been doing lately such as Jessica Simpson and Christina Aguilera, respectively. (Thursday 23 April 2020; 16:12)

Re: MC appears to levitate off invisible chair (93,721) (93,725) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines This happens to be the same woman who needs assistance teetering on heels from one corner to another. She therefore doesn't do mobility. (Tuesday 21 April 2020; 19:21)

Re: Emotions album (93,703) (93,710) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I feel like fans don't deliberately avoid it. It's just overlooked. It still is her bestselling album, so chances are it is one of the few albums that her casual fans and the average music lover may have of her (the others being Daydream, the debut album and maybe TEOM). Despite its success, maybe Music Box had the misfortune of being followed by her holiday album, Daydream and Butterfly - three much beloved albums that are widely considered superior to it, and that may have overshadowed it. Which is interesting since Music Box is home to a few of her biggest international hits and signature tracks. But then again, in a sort of similar fashion, Madonna's True Blue is her bestselling studio album and contains some of her most indelible hits, yet isn't held in the same esteem as Like A Prayer, her first compilation album or Erotica. (Monday 20 April 2020; 06:34)

Re: Emotions album (93,701) (93,704) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Sorry, Bill, but count me in with Licia on that. I'm just a different type of listener where the following factors affect how I feel about music in descending order: Melody (always the first thing that catches my attention) Production/instrumentation Vocal performance Lyrics/theme The artist (how I feel about them and their material) However, just like most of us, if I like an artist's work, then I am predisposed to automatically like what they put out. Not always a sure thing, though. All of my favorite artists have one thing in common - majority of their work meet all of the items in the above criteria. By your selection of top 3 albums, you seem to be the type of listener who likely values vocal performance first before anything else most of the time. (Sunday 19 April 2020; 10:07)

Re: What if (93,684) (93,687) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Not necessarily. Mariah left her first label at the turn of the millenium, and the 2000s were a wildly different climate musically. Diva pop declined in popularity especially post 2002. 90s artists had to adapt to that shift and even that did not guarantee that they would stay afloat - most were weeded out. Mariah was lucky enough to be able to recover thanks to a perfect storm of things that worked in her favor - her drive, determination, the strength of her 2005-2008 material, her management, her narrative, her image, and her sheer talent. It was reminiscent of Madonna's triumphant Ray of Light period. Also, although Tommy was like the Weinstein of music sans the cleaning up during awards season, he slowed down in the 2000s. (Saturday 18 April 2020; 09:51)

Re: Your Girl should have been a single (93,626) (93,629) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I love the song, it's one of the great throwback moments of the album and one of Mariah's breeziest moments on record, but even Mariah and her management knew that wouldn't fly with the public as a single. And even if it became a hit, it would just be one of those songs that Mariah would only be able to sing 5-10% live due to its demanding shouty delivery. (Tuesday 14 April 2020; 17:44)

Re: The Art of Letting Go (Golden balls edition) (93,625) (93,628) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Too much Triumphant for one album. Take the original one out and switch it with You're Mine or Money or even Faded and then it will make better sense. (Tuesday 14 April 2020; 17:40)

Re: Hero (93,601) (93,622) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Wait, Your Girl is hated? I personally have not seen such reaction from fans. I know it's one of the more neglected ones, and to those who actually remember it, it could be polarizing, but even then I'd still observe that there are more people who find To The Floor and Get Your Number more polarizing than Your Girl. It's a brilliant track. She's practically yelling for two thirds of it, but it's quite cute - short and sweet. (Tuesday 14 April 2020; 07:51)

Re: Article: Mariah warns her staff against April Fool's Day pranks (93,492) (93,493) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I agree that it is quite hypocritical of celebs to urge their fans (99% of which are much poorer than they are) to donate when they can contribute more to get to the goal faster. However, I also believe in using their considerable clout to influence their followers for good. If anything, at least that raises awareness at the very least. Now if that awareness actually translates to donations is a whole other story. This practice would be slightly less obscene if they tweaked it a bit. I remember John Cena's fundraising initiative to help the first responders during the California wildfires last year. He did encourage everyone to donate, but to kick things off, he started by donating half a million dollars for the cause and that on top of that donation, he challenged his potential donors that he was going to match whatever money they can raise and add it to the total donations. He even went as far as using his scheduled Entertainment Tonight co-hosting stint to announce it. Still not as good as dropping a ton of money himself without asking his supporters for any help, but definitely much more encouraging and less cringeworthy than what most celebs do. (Friday 3 April 2020; 10:35)

Re: Congratulations Jade (93,481) (93,487) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Congrats on your blessing. (Wednesday 1 April 2020; 16:59)

Re: Vote for Mariah's ABMB iHeart performance (93,467) (93,471) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I do 99% of my browsing on my daily mobile and I was able to vote. She's in second place and leads all of the other performers by thousands, but still far, far behind Backstreet Boys' lead. Like over 6k votes behind. (Tuesday 31 March 2020; 16:04)

Re: Article: Nick calls Mariah's hospital trip "nerve-racking" (93,463) (93,470) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Okaaaay. To say this is bewildering is an understatement. Excuse me but I'mma pass this off as an unintended result of some weird fever dream. Either that or happy April Fools' Day. (Tuesday 31 March 2020; 15:44)

Re: Article: Mariah Carey delivers intimate "Always By My Baby" (93,445) (93,451) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines It's further proof that Mariah performs better in more intimate settings where there aren't huge professional camera / production crews. I mean that has to be it. Other than that, there isn't a reason why she couldn't bring something like this to the stage in front of an audience. She sounded lovely and more importantly, sincere. (Monday 30 March 2020; 13:04)

Re: Late to the party (93,412) (93,425) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I agree that the pandemic is the biggest equalizer. The disease does not discriminate. What I meant by what I said was that the severity of its effects vary from country to country - and that having too much, just enough and too little refers not only to resources but preparedness. In the US, it has brought to light the fact that so many people don't have job security and how majority of their states aren't mandated to pay their workers during emergencies like this. In many other countries, it has exposed the cracks in the accessibility of their health insurance systems. It has shown how some countries have more ideal doctor to patient ratios such as Cuba, hence their more personal approach to healthcare. It has also offered a clearer view of how some countries and governments have better policies and disaster risk reduction and management teams in place and are therefore more prepared to deal with these situations, as well as those that are actually capable of providing the basic needs of their citizens versus those that even struggle to protect their most vulnerable population. In our country, it has highlighted how many of our asymptomatic, perfectly healthy high ranking officials get VIP treatment for getting tested multiple times while civilians who are manifesting symptoms are told to self-quarantine instead because there simply aren't enough test kits to go around, and that there aren't many testing centers. It has shown how our national government cannot enforce a total lockdown by its truest definition and so has to resort to implementing a communuty quarantine instead, because it cannot afford to provide the essentials for our people to survive for two weeks, let alone sustain it for over a month; and how those who are less fortunate and have no steady income are still forced to go out of their homes to look for ways to provide food for their starving families, worried that they'll die of hunger first than the virus. Our volunteer doctors and nurses here have very minimal compensation and severely lack the necessary protective equipment to carry out their duties. These are all negatives, but are somehow made less overwhelming by the generous, selfless deeds of many people and companies who go out of their way to help in one way of another, and it's beautiful, very encouraging and comforting to see efforts that offset the paranoia even just for a bit. A little love truly goes a long way. (Sunday 29 March 2020; 05:39)

Re: Mariah's benefit contribution (93,391) (93,414) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines I doubt even Mariah really wants to sing Hero - she's been practically complaining about it with the same intro spiel forever, but it still is her most recognizable evergreen, and is one of the few hits she can truly sing at most 90% live. Plus it has a fitting message. Although I'd rather her do the Never Too Far and Hero medley. A little too on the nose with this period of social distancing, but at least it could make things a little more interesting. (Saturday 28 March 2020; 18:29)

Late to the party (93,408) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines Happy anniversary, Mariah. 50 looks good on you. Hope everyone's doing fine. We send love, support and prayers to all our frontliners, medical or not - everyone who is putting their lives on the line to provide basic, indispensable services. You are our heroes. It is difficult to stay optimistic in a time where thousands are getting infected and dying on a daily basis. While this pandemic may have highlighted the disparity between those who have too much, those who have just enough and those that are lucky to have anything at all, it has also brought out some of the best of humanity. I have never seen a stronger outpouring of love and support from so many people, and it's heartwarming to see the voluntary efforts and initiatives from everyone, some of them even coming from those who you wouldn't peg to be the giving/caring type. When this passes, for all of our invaluable losses, it would be ideal to gain more from this than just lower crime rates and pollution levels globally. It's one hell of a wake-up call, so it would be a huge shame and upset to let it go to waste. Here's hoping that we would have learned to be more compassionate with each other and be more appreciative of the little things in life that we usually overlook - especially personal interaction. We owe these internal changes to those we were blessed enough to outlive. Until then, though, the fight continues. Stay safe, healthy and happy, y'all. (Saturday 28 March 2020; 14:20)

Re: Everything Fades Away (93,320) (93,321) by this_is_qhm from the Philippines What made it gel well altogether despite myriad of producers and themes is the late nocturnal vibe of it all. It sounds like midnight to the early hours of the morning, even with the upbeat tracks. Definitely not the best by Mariah's own standards, but by middle-aged artists' standards? By legends' latter discography standards? By today's music standards? It's really good. Otherwise it wouldn't have been showered with praise. (Wednesday 18 March 2020; 18:40)

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