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About Lee from UK: Favourite Songs: All I've Ever Wanted, Underneath the Stars, The Roof, Outside & Butterfly. Favourite Albums: Music Box, Daydream & Butterfly Instagram: @leemdylan

The music business is still a business (47,152) by Lee from UK I like how a lot of you here assume Mariah has a choice in whether she completes this tour or not. If it is part of her contract, which I am assuming it must be, then she's not getting out of it just because she is going through a separation. She has to make good on her contract just like the rest of us who get paid to do a job for which we signed a contract. It has been many a year since I have had actual arguments on this message board and even though I visit here often, I don't regularly post. But if some of you want to "go in" on me (as Abraham so eloquently put it) for my thoughts and opinions, I am all up for that. Bring it on. (Sunday 5 October 2014; 23:01)

Vocal resting? (47,131) by Lee from UK Why are people encouraging Mariah to rest her vocals? Really, what has she been doing since the release of the album? Singing the whole time? Not that I have seen. How much more vocal rest does the woman need? I love Mariah to bits, and will always be a fan, but I am under no delusion that vocal rest will improve what we hear. (Sunday 5 October 2014; 15:17)

Lip syncing (45,824) by Lee from UK As I said earlier, I have come to expect Mariah to lip sync most of her performances. However, watching the Meteorite performance back, I didn't realise how bad she was at it. There are lots of lipped performances where it appears as though she forgets where the whistle notes are and gets caught off guard. It always makes me uncomfortable. (Monday 4 August 2014; 22:19)

WMA "performance" (45,799) by Lee from UK This performance was everything I have come to expect from a live Mariah performance: mostly lip synced, underwhelming, and lacking of energy, dancers helping her walk around the stage etc. There were just enough tricks in their to make the non-fans believe she may have been singing live but for the rest of us in the know it was laughable. I really dislike the song Meteorite, I skip it as soon as the intro begins. My boyfriend thought it was a Madonna song. Why choose a song that has so much post production on it that would make it almost impossible to sing live convincingly? Mariah could have made an acoustic version of the song that would make it easier to sing live. I know it was the "opening number" and had to be full of energy but surely MILG would have been a better choice. After all, it's the only song on the album worth listening to more than once in a row. (Monday 4 August 2014; 15:39)

We Belong Together (45,687) by Lee from UK My Time Hop app has just informed me that it is 9 years ago today that We Belong Together topped the US charts. It really doesn't feel that long at all. (Wednesday 30 July 2014; 17:40)

My Saving Grace (45,449) by Lee from UK It's been a while since I listened to anything from the Charmbracelet era but I came across this again and I can't help but fall in love with Mariah's vocals again. (Saturday 19 July 2014; 17:07)

Thirsty in Paris (45,209) by Lee from UK I absolutely love this mix. I especially like the Ariana Grande interlude. "I will shut this shit down." (Thursday 3 July 2014; 21:29)

Off topic (45,090) by Lee from UK I know this was just before the "breakdown" but this is the Mariah I like in interviews. (Tuesday 24 June 2014; 19:14)

Standards of English (44,960) by Lee from UK It's not about White English vs Black English. It's about Standard English vs Non-Standard English. Mariah's lyrics used to sound intelligent, it didn't matter where you were you could sing the lyrics, talk the lyrics, quote the lyrics on websites and forums and sound intelligent. Lately though, if you were to quote some of Mariah's lyrics, you would sound very juvenile. This is OK if you are juvenile like Rhianna etc but Mariah is a grown adult. The majority of her fans are grown adults too. I actually feel sorry for those people who actually can string a sentence together correctly but choose not to in order to fit into some sort of stereotype. (Saturday 21 June 2014; 13:09)

this_is_qhm from the Philippines (44,901) by Lee from UK It seems that all of your highlights are my lowlights. I thoroughly dislike the lyrics "Oh you a G now?" and "turnt-up" and "gooder". I understand the use of colloquialism but I really don't think Mariah uses these in her every day language (she certainly doesn't in interviews) so I don't understand why she would sound this way in her music. There is nothing wrong with good old-fashioned standard English. (I mean come on "gooder"? Really, Mariah?) I dislike the GaGa-type delivery of the Warhol quote on Meteorite. Dembabies voices are freaky on Supernatural and saying Mariah belts on that song "like it's '95 again" is stretching the truth a bit. There are things I like about this album though and it goes by the name of Make It Look Good. (Thursday 19 June 2014; 19:40)

Considering Mariah Carey's new album (44,525) by Lee from UK This article from Gawker is so spot on and well written. I could not agree more with everything that was said. I feel like the person who wrote the article is a reflection of myself; a totally realistic Mariah Carey fan with the same expectations. What a thoroughly interesting and enjoyable read. Thanks for posting this article. (Friday 6 June 2014; 8:53)

Make It Look Good (44,330) by Lee from UK I can't stop playing Make It Look Good. In my opinion, this needs to be a single at some point. It is such a refreshing song. Mariah was going for a fresh sound with #Beautiful and I feel she continued it with MILG. I love hearing these two tracks back to back. At certain parts in MILG I love how Mariah makes her vocals sound like a harmonica. My partner is not a fan but even he enjoys this song. (Saturday 31 May 2014; 0:00)

Official website (44,258) by Lee from UK I agree with Randy that it is a little suspicious that Mariah's official website hasn't been updated. The only hint about a new album on Mariah's website is a small block playing "Thirsty". There is no reference to her website in any of the Facebook updates either. Only links to iTunes. In a way this makes sense as it is directing people directly to the music. Facebook is actually posting MIAM as part of its direct advertising as my partner, who dislikes Mariah's music, keeps getting pretty large adverts for the album amongst his news feed (not the ones that I am sharing either). I suppose in this day and age if you are going to connect with an artist, the first place you would look would be their Facebook page as opposed to their official website. The only reason I look at official websites these days is for back catalogue information and tour updates. I wonder if it's a cost cutting exercise. (Thursday 29 May 2014; 12:32)

Your questions answered (44,257) by Lee from UK I am one of those people who have been waiting for Mariah to produce something outstanding since 1997. There are other fans on this board who have been waiting 17 years. Some "lambs" here have been questioning why we are waiting. Why are we sticking around? Why haven't we moved on? Why don't find another artist to adore? Well, let me address these questions. Firstly, every time Mariah writes a new album there is a certain amount of targeting at her "old fans" with slogans such as "the return of the voice" or "she hasn't sounded this good since the 90s" or "this album is nostalgic of her earlier work". This comes from producers she is working with and record companies so of course we are going to stick around to see if Mariah actually delivers on this promise. Secondly, many of us have found other artists to adore, it just wouldn't be appropriate to bang on about them on a Mariah Carey forum. Clearly we are still fans of Mariah otherwise what would be the point of a 31 year old taking time out of his day to write messages about a singer to a bunch of people he doesn't know? Some of you are on the cusp of accusing us of trolling. (Thursday 29 May 2014; 12:25)

Anthony Basco (44,177) by Lee from UK I hear what you're saying and respect your thoughts. I guess I just had high expectations after all of the hype surrounding this album concerning the voice and the style etc. For me a good Mariah song comes down to two things: 1. The timbre of the voice. 2. The song writing. In terms of the timbre, I know Mariah likes to experiment with different techniques and textures in her vocals and usually I am a big fan of this. I loved the Butterfly album when Mariah really took this to the next level. The difference with Butterfly for me is the quality was there in her voice even though she rarely gave us full power. In terms of the song writing on this album, it just feels a little amateur. I don't mean to offend anyone by this, what I mean is that most of these songs sound like they could have been written by Rhianna. Even the gospel tracks sound a bit too forced for my liking (and I enjoy a lot of gospel music). In answer to your question, I don't think Mariah could do any more to please me. I don't think she is capable of pleasing me any more (no disrespect intended). I am still in love with 90s Mariah and I'm proud of it. Mariah has outgrown me and as upsetting as that is, I have found other artists to give me what Mariah doesn't. I still listen to Mariah's music though (just not as much as her older stuff). Since Rainbow, I only find about 3 tracks from each album that I add to my daily playlists. The rest I tend to cycle through every now and then. (Tuesday 27 May 2014; 23:44)

Singles (44,153) by Lee from UK If Mariah does go down the singles route, what are you predictions for singles and in what order? Even though this album doesn't scream single, single, single to me, I have my own idea of where Mariah is going with this. (Not counting #Beautiful, TAOLG or YME.) 1. Thirsty 2. You Don't Know What to Do 3. Make it Look Good / Money (S*/...) (Tuesday 27 May 2014; 15:20)

May from Denmark (44,152) by Lee from UK I can't hear any of the old Mariah in any of the songs on the new album. Some people may think this is a good thing but for fans like me it's a bummer. The only song I replay is Make It Look Good and I hope that this makes it as a single. (Tuesday 27 May 2014; 15:13)

Supernatural (44,124) by Lee from UK This may sound controversial but to me this song is quite sinister. The voices of Roc and Roe gave me chills but not the good kind. I feel like I am in a horror movie when I listen to this song. I have tried to get over this by listening to it a number of times on a loop but now I am left feeling like this is a song that would be played at a child's funeral, especially the last minute or so. It really gives me the terror goosebumps. (Monday 26 May 2014; 20:58)

Deflated (44,123) by Lee from UK There are only 2 songs I actually enjoy on this album. Make it Look Good and #Beautiful. I enjoy It's A Wrap and Betcha Gon Know but as we know, they were not meant for this album. It just feels like an album full of fillers instead of an album full of singles. I had high expectations of this album but it has fallen short for me. I had high hopes for One More Try but it just didn't take me anywhere. (Monday 26 May 2014; 20:54)

Johnny (44,121) by Lee from UK I don't understand your dilemma. Why not listen to the songs the way they were written and meant to be heard? If you don't want to listen to the swear words then just skip those songs. I don't understand the point in having swear words covered up in songs (especially if you as a listener know what the word being covered up is supposed to be). Knowing the word and not hearing it, is the same as hearing it as you know what it is. If for some reason that makes you uncomfortable then don't download those songs. I am against censorship of any kind. I think a warning should be given that explicit lyrics are present and then you as an adult should make the informed decision as to whether or not you are going to listen to it. (Monday 26 May 2014; 20:49)

iTunes streaming (43,894) by Lee from UK It looks like, once again, unless you live in the US (or Australia apparently), you won't be able to stream the album from iTunes. The rest of the fans have to rely on high pitched, sped up YouTube clips. They can't moan about illegal downloads when they do crap like this, they have to expect it. (Tuesday 20 May 2014; 20:31)

Mariah's singing accent (43,794) by Lee from UK I have recently been listening to a lot of Mariah's live performances from over the years and I have come to the conclusion that the reason I don't like Mariah's live voice these days is because of her vowel sounds. She has changed the way she pronounces some of her vowels; especially the ones on which she sustains a note. They way she sings them makes her sound nasally. It's hard to explain but her vowel sounds used to sound more rounded and smooth. Now they are a bit squeaky and scratchy at the same time. I don't know if anyone else has noticed or if it's just me but Mariah seems to have let her accent become more apparent in her singing voice since TEOM. Most singers don't appear to have an accent when they sing (unless of course you look at country singers) and Mariah never really used to have an accent in her singing voice either. To small humble me from England, she used to just have a generic American sounding singing accent that most English speaking singers tend to have (even most British singers). Now, however, there is definitely a different accent that can be heard on the vowels and they are not pleasant to the ear. (Sunday 18 May 2014; 21:19)

Lamb_O_Chop (43,793) by Lee from UK Thank you for posting that video. Can you imagine being in the audience and witnessing that happen? We all know Mariah lips most of the belting notes at the end of songs but to witness it in such a fashion is truly disappointing. I haven't mentioned anything about Mariah's Today Show performance because I wasn't expecting it to be good. After years of sub par live performance I come to expect shoddy vocals. But I would rather hear bad vocals sung live than good vocals pre-recorded. (Sunday 18 May 2014; 21:07)

Thirsty (43,549) by Lee from UK Ok, I finally have access to Thirsty. I wish I could say it was worth the wait. It could literally have been sung by anyone with vocal chords (it may as well have been Rhianna singing it). I hope this is not indicative of the rest of the album. (Tuesday 13 May 2014; 19:32)

Illegal downloading (43,548) by Lee from UK No wonder so many people choose to illegally download music. What's the point of releasing a song if it can only be bought or heard in certain countries? The only version of Thirsty I can hear is the sped up versions on YouTube which make Mariah sound like Rhianna. (Tuesday 13 May 2014; 19:21)

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