Mariah Carey: "IT'S TIME" 👑

[nak]

I wonder why I Want To Know What Love Is was so exceptionally big in Brazil?

[Leigh]

Dec 17, 2020 15:31:53 GMT -5 nak said:

I wonder why I Want To Know What Love Is was so exceptionally big in Brazil?

I recall it being featured on some huge soap opera there (I’m not sure that alone was the reason, but I remember it helping for sure)

[bat1990]

Dec 17, 2020 13:40:49 GMT -5 Ernesto said:

Dec 17, 2020 11:44:18 GMT -5 mrricx said:

Here in Brazil people definitely know Hero and Without You, but not a lot of people know WBT. And, of course, I Wanna Know What Love Is lmao

   27 weeks at No.1 for "I Want To Know What Love Is" is quite remarkable. 

Wasn't the radio chart monthly at the time though?

[Deleted]

I agree that Mariah has a bunch of songs in contention for her “signature song” besides AIWFCIY. That’s the curse of having too many smash hits.

Oddly enough I always think Emotions should be it, bc of the whistle, but I’m not sure it’s up there with some of the other bigger uptempos.

[cking33]

It's funny to think that the songs of hers that have ended up being her most signature/recognizable songs, outside of Hero, weren't set up to be THAT huge, at least relative to her other single releases, or at least the circumstances around them wouldn't have foretold they'd become the strong classics they have become.

I guess that goes along with saying you never know how songs are going to age, but nobody could've foreseen AIWFICY becoming THE biggest Christmas song even when it was fairly popular at the time it debuted.

ABMB was the third single off "Daydream" after Fantasy and One Sweet Day and who would've known that song would become more streamed and consumed 25 years later than those other two that were bona fide smash hits (and still hold up well, and Fantasy's remix has a legacy unto its own, they're just not as popular as ABMB has been since).

We Belong Together, for as good as Mariah and the label might've felt about the song at the time, came out of nowhere at a time when it looked like her time as a No. 1 Hot 100 artist was over. A surprise smash no matter how great the song is. Sometimes great songs don't click at that level with the general public. That one did.

[nak]

Dec 17, 2020 15:37:54 GMT -5 Leigh said:

Dec 17, 2020 15:31:53 GMT -5 nak said:

I wonder why I Want To Know What Love Is was so exceptionally big in Brazil?

I recall it being featured on some huge soap opera there (I’m not sure that alone was the reason, but I remember it helping for sure)

interesting.

[Positive Tension]

Dec 17, 2020 15:59:47 GMT -5 woabritney said:

I agree that Mariah has a bunch of songs in contention for her “signature song” besides AIWFCIY. That’s the curse of having too many smash hits.

Oddly enough I always think Emotions should be it, bc of the whistle, but I’m not sure it’s up there with some of the other bigger uptempos.

When I first discovered Mariah's music, "Emotions" was for sure a standout and was definitely one of the main songs I associated with her for the reason you stated (the whistle), but over the past decade or so, I tended to overlook it as well.

I could be wrong, but I thought there was a long time she didn't perform "Emotions," and then she brought it back on The Angels Advocate Tour. While the four leads that followed overshaowed "Emotions," it probably didn't help if there was a long period of time it wasn't performed.

[Eqbk]

Mariah's signature song depends on what image/persona a person thinks of when they think of Mariah. If they see as her as "Queen of Christmas", then it's AIWFCIY. If they see her as an adult contemporary singer (the image she projected during her commercial peak), then it's Hero/Without You. If they're most familiar with comeback Mariah, then its WBT.

A special mention should be given to VOL, as that is the song that is cited by many singers she's influenced as the song that inspired them.

I don't see ABMB as a signature song of Mariah. Imo, a signature song has to be inextricably linked to the singer and that's not the case with ABMB. Its status is similar to where AIWFCIY was before Mariah became "Queen of Christmas". While it became an enduring holiday favorite, before Mariah and Christmas became intertwined, a lot of people didn't associate it with her or saw it as her song, even though it technically was her song. That's the status that ABMB currently finds itself. It's a timeless, enduring classic but isn't heavily associated with Mariah by the general public.

As as side note, all this talk about the source of IWKWLI's success in Brazil reminded me that a large part of AIWFCIY's success in Japan is due to it being the theme song in a Japanese drama. Her team should look into doing things like this in the future.

[Deleted]

Everytime someone mention I Wanna Know What Love Is all I can think of is the little kid in the music video with huge scary eyes and wonder how his eyes must look in a covid mask.

[back2blk]

Dec 17, 2020 22:23:49 GMT -5 @pma2015 said:

Everytime someone mention I Wanna Know What Love Is all I can think of is the little kid in the music video with huge scary eyes and wonder how his eyes must look in a covid mask.

Every time I think of that song I think about Mariah taking Nick’s advice to release it as a single here.

Then I punch imaginary things in the air.

[Deleted]

I believe Nick only suggested covering that song as the Without You but Nick had no say in single choices

[Positive Tension]

It was a terrible single choice, but after "Obsessed," I don't know if anything else off Memoirs would've been a top ten hit. I do remember there was one listening party where everyone was excited about "IWKWLI" but not the other songs. With E=MC2 and Memoirs' first two singles which were so different, it was like she was trying to please everyone, but it just ended up confusing people more.

[Jay D83]

Dec 17, 2020 23:28:43 GMT -5 Positive Tension said:

It was a terrible single choice, but after "Obsessed," I don't know if anything else off Memoirs would've been a top ten hit. I do remember there was one listening party where everyone was excited about "IWKWLI" but not the other songs. With E=MC2 and Memoirs' first two singles which were so different, it was like she was trying to please everyone, but it just ended up confusing people more.

"More Than Just Friends" says hello.

[daneeis]

Dec 17, 2020 13:42:20 GMT -5 cking33 said:

I’d say after AIWFCIY, We Belong Together is her signature song. I think that matters because of where it came in her career. It came a little later that I think a younger set of fans got introduced to her through that song. She hadn’t had a big hit like that since the Rainbow era (sorry I’m not counting Loverboy as a big hit) and 6 years can be a long time when it comes to young fans aging into music and artists they like. That definitely helped her with younger millennials who maybe were too young when she was huge in the 90s. So older music fans that knew her in the 90s loved that song and know it. But also younger fans are familiar with it since it came out in 2005. After that I’d argue Always Be My Baby and Hero are essentially tied.

This post rings true for me. I was born in 1994. I have no recollection of the Butterfly through Charmbracelet eras. (Yet, I remember Destiny's Child, Aaliyah, Ja Rule, Ashanti, Bow Wow, and Romeo from 1999-2003.) The only songs I knew from Mariah prior were Breakdown,Always Be My Baby, I Know What You Want, You Make Me Wanna, and Boy (I Need You). It's Like That turned me into a fan and made me purchase TEOM from Target. I became an even bigger fan during the E=MC2 and MOAIA eras, which led me to seek her past music on YouTube and other sites. I actually discovered Slipping Away on PMB about a decade ago.

[Deleted]

Dec 18, 2020 7:26:11 GMT -5 Jay D83 said:

Dec 17, 2020 23:28:43 GMT -5 Positive Tension said:

It was a terrible single choice, but after "Obsessed," I don't know if anything else off Memoirs would've been a top ten hit. I do remember there was one listening party where everyone was excited about "IWKWLI" but not the other songs. With E=MC2 and Memoirs' first two singles which were so different, it was like she was trying to please everyone, but it just ended up confusing people more.

"More Than Just Friends" says hello.

That's one of my favorite songs of the album but nah I dont think that would've been a hit. A BOP

I wish it got released as the 3rd single still.

[Deleted]

I love her cause I cant tell if she excited or she mocking them lol

[jenglisbe]

Dec 17, 2020 23:28:43 GMT -5 Positive Tension said:

It was a terrible single choice, but after "Obsessed," I don't know if anything else off Memoirs would've been a top ten hit. I do remember there was one listening party where everyone was excited about "IWKWLI" but not the other songs. With E=MC2 and Memoirs' first two singles which were so different, it was like she was trying to please everyone, but it just ended up confusing people more.

I don't think anything would have been a top 10 hit but "IWTKWLI" was a big 180 from "O" and also had that terrible video. Additionally the Memoirs era had no real 'theme' since the "Obsessed" hype was related to Eminem. Having said that "IWTKWLI" could have been targeted to AC radio and then something else to the major formats. There was no logical reason for "IWTKWLI" to be a full single pushed to all formats.

[Dreams]

Dec 17, 2020 23:28:43 GMT -5 Positive Tension said:

It was a terrible single choice, but after "Obsessed," I don't know if anything else off Memoirs would've been a top ten hit. I do remember there was one listening party where everyone was excited about "IWKWLI" but not the other songs.With E=MC2 and Memoirs' first two singles which were so different, it was like she was trying to please everyone, but it just ended up confusing people more.

Not one. Several, actually.

That should've been a "Houston Carey, we have a problem!" alert for her and the label right there and then. The fact that a subpar cover of an 80s AOR ballad was the highlight in listening parties...

[sundaymorningguy]

Memoirs she set herself up for a great Urban And Urban AC outing because a lot of songs work on those formats. She really could have solidified her positioning with those radio formats.

[Deleted]

Dec 18, 2020 8:39:43 GMT -5 sundaymorningguy said:

Memoirs she set herself up for a great Urban And Urban AC outing because a lot of songs work on those formats. She really could have solidified her positioning with those radio formats.

Agreed. There was no obvious pop hit follow-up to "Obsessed" but there were plenty of choices for Urban/Urban AC.

[osnarful]

During the "e=mc2" and "memoirs" eras it was LA Reid that chose most of the singles. That's why it was like it was.
For the "Memoirs" second single I would have chosen "It's a Wrap", which would have been a flop chart-wise but it's a great song and would be a fresher sound for her at the time.

[Deleted]

I feel we 2 minutes away from a Memoirs rankings again so let me just say I'm excited for what 2021 has in store for the LAMBS hopefully we get fed again.

[sundaymorningguy]

I know fans feel some kind of way about Memoirs, but it is one of my favorites. It is such an enjoyable, smooth listen. The only big flaw was IWKWLI, she could have left it off the US version and been fine.

[Deleted]

Dec 18, 2020 9:32:50 GMT -5 @pma2015 said:

I feel we 2 minutes away from a Memoirs rankings again so let me just say I'm excited for what 2021 has in store for the LAMBS hopefully we get fed again.

ISLAND MUST PAY FOR NOT RELEASING "MIGRATE"!!

[neverduplicated]

Memoirs is easily in my top 5 Mariah albums. It’s sonically cohesive and has incredibly witty lyrics. However the end of the album brings it down cause the last few songs change the vibe of the album too much. Agreed nothing other than “Obsessed” had hit potential, but I remember at the time a lot of us thought “HATE U” was the next coming of Christ and then had serious egg on our faces when it flopped hard. “It’s a Wrap,” “Candy Bling,” “Obsessed,” and “Ribbon” are my favorites.

[Dammn Baby]

[sundaymorningguy]

Migrate sounds extremely dated now.

[Jay D83]

Dec 18, 2020 10:12:05 GMT -5 sundaymorningguy said:

Migrate sounds extremely dated now.

Good because it was released in 2008 not 2020.

[back2blk]

I'm team Migrate, I'm also very much team Memoirs. That album has jams, bops, lyrics, and The Dream's vocal stylings sprinkled throughout, which gave us something refreshing from her. I just had issues with IWTKWLI being released, since it was not representative of the album's sound. I didn't mind it being on the album, I get why she needed a track like that on there, but let it be an album cut way down in the tracklisting that she would doubt we know. LOL

Also, Facebook reminded that on this day I went to see Mariah at the Beacon the first year she did the Christmas concert. I still can't believe I flew all the way to NY to witness what I thought was this one time event of her holiday music!

[jenglisbe]

Dec 18, 2020 9:34:21 GMT -5 sundaymorningguy said:

I know fans feel some kind of way about Memoirs, but it is one of my favorites. It is such an enjoyable, smooth listen. The only big flaw was IWKWLI, she could have left it off the US version and been fine.

I actually like "IWTKWLI" in general; it fits her vocally, and it makes sense ending the album since a lot of the songs are about men who did her wrong, and "IWTKWLI" is her saying I want someone to show me real love. It needed to lose the finger snaps, though, and should never have been a full single.

Dec 18, 2020 10:01:31 GMT -5 neverduplicated said:

Memoirs is easily in my top 5 Mariah albums. It’s sonically cohesive and has incredibly witty lyrics. However the end of the album brings it down cause the last few songs change the vibe of the album too much. Agreed nothing other than “Obsessed” had hit potential, but I remember at the time a lot of us thought “HATE U” was the next coming of Christ and then had serious egg on our faces when it flopped hard. “It’s a Wrap,” “Candy Bling,” “Obsessed,” and “Ribbon” are my favorites.

I still love "HATEU" and think it's one of her best ballads. That's different from whether or not it was a good choice for a single. I also think any single released at that point was doomed. "HATEU" should have been the second single, if it was going to be a single.