Oh definitely. It is to her what I Will Always Love You is to Whitney, and My Heart Will Go On is to Celine.
Except Mariah's standard is actually good!
Its a shame people think Mimi doesn't have that one iconic song when she has AIWFCIY because
a) People still think its a cover
b) Its a Christmas song
I think Mariah's catalog of having a number of iconic hits makes it harder to pick one song that truly stands out. Just like Madonna, although to a lesser extent.
*looks at top 2*
I'm over this rate at this point. Here is what the top 10 SHOULD have looked like (though I am still pulling for Fantasy)
Vision of Zeus
Godmotions
Slaylover
Anytime You Need To Slay
Fantasy (God's Special Mix)
Underneath the Heavens
Breakdownsus
Never Too Far From The Lord
We Belong With Jesus
Fly Like The Lord/Honeysus
Its a shame people think Mimi doesn't have that one iconic song when she has AIWFCIY because
a) People still think its a cover
b) Its a Christmas song
I think Mariah's catalog of having a number of iconic hits makes it her harder to pick one song that truely stands out. Just like Madonna, although to a lesser extent.
This is true, Mariah has some huge songs which were either 1) massively influential (VOL, Fantasy) or just massively successful (AIWFCIY). It's the price she pays for being one of the top artists in music history though.
This is true, Mariah has some huge songs which were either 1) massively influential (VOL, Fantasy) or just massively successful (AIWFCIY). It's the price she pays for being one of the top artists in music history though.
I'd call AIWFCIY massively influential too. I think its why we have songs like Only Wish by Britney and other bubblegum pop christmas singles.
I'd say songs like Hero, Without You, Always Be my Baby, Dreamlover, and maybe, just maybe We Belong Together are extremely successful and memorable, but are not influential at all.
Then again I think We Belong Together influenced mariah's song structure style and helped develop the trend of the R&B ballad for songs like Be Without You.
Average: 9.105 Highest:10[Ace Reject, Honey, KyKy, KoolAidKing, Soda Pop Queen, EJQL8, Beyond Say, Pop pop 123, Neptune, skyler, nicklada, Sawdust, fortheloveofmusic, berberocka, StateoftheWorld, Great Username, Wecangetstarted, MiguelPortugal, madonnas, Taste of Honey, dreamloverfantasy, Jaay, Jessa, alkralkra] Lowest:4 DOC
The finest single of Mariah Carey's career, arguably. So un-pop it's ridiculous. It could never succeed, as it's painterly in detail; something pop radio would never accept. Cannon worthy stuff though.
Average: 9.314 Highest10[Ace Reject, ECNEICSNOC, Mariah4life, KoolAidKing, Wil, Flashing Lights, Neptune, nicklada, skyler, waryofothers, MP2K, Tariq, fortheloveofmusic, berberocka, StateoftheWorld, Luigi M, RockStarShit101, madonnas, Praise Mariallah, Taste of Honey, dreamloverfantasy, supaspaz, Jessa, Green] Lowest7 GREAT USERNAME, PECINTA MARIAH
I've gone indepth before about the genius of this song, about how young it feels, and how it could not be more graphic and yet more innocent in its depiction of ... ecstasy. Mariah's fifth consecutive number one in the US, and her most liberated. The song in which she finally let her hair down. Also famously built around - but not credited to - Best of My Love by the Emotions.
Well, if one was to buy the album now, they'd see the writers of that song in the liner notes. Because Mimi and Co were sued!
Average: 9.326 Highest10[Ace Reject, ECNEISCNOC, Honey, Mariah4life, KoolAidKing, Soda Pop Queen, KyKy, Beyond Say, Pop pop 123, Flashing Lights, Neptune, nicklada, skyler, Sawdust, Tariq, MP2K, fortheloveofmusic, berberocka, StateoftheWorld, Great Username, Damien M, RockStarShit101, madonnas, Doc, Taste of Honey, dreamloverfantasy, supaspaz, Green] Lowest1 STRANGERGAB
The Almighty. Hard to believe that, twenty two years ago, this was the song of the summer.
Number one for four weeks (did I get that right?), Vision of Love is the song that started it all. Not just for Mariah, but for virtually everyone you listen to. A midtempo shuffle that knowingly looks back to the doo-wop of the 50s, the New Yorker's Sascha Frere-Jones called it "the Magna Carta of melisma." He was dead on, wasn't he? What's so amazing about this song is how it doesn't even sound like it was written; it sounds like it arrived, fully formed, for the world to hear.
If not for a certain low vote, this song would have finished at number two.
a true classic, and the first time i'd ever heard the word "inevitably." she's such a wordsmith! Shockingly enough, this was mariah's first r&b female vocal performance nomination.
Average: 8.991
Highest: 10[Mariah4life, KoolAidKing, Soda Pop Queen, EJQL8, Flashing Lights, Neptune, nicklada, skyler, Sawdust, Tariq, MP2K, Damien M, Great Username, Wecangetstarted, StateoftheWorld, berberocka, fortheloveofmusic, RockStarShit101, MiguelPortugal, madonnas, Doc, Taste of Honey, dreamloverfantasy, Green]
Lowest: 0[Kworb]
SHADE!
The start of something new. Pretty much the divider, as certain Mariah fans hated what she became after this, while others only started to love her because of this. A powerful statement of emancipation and bodily secretions, Honey set the tone of the Mariah we know have.
Average: 8.955
Highest: 10[Ace Reject, Honey, Mariah4life, Soda Pop Queen, EJQL8, Beyond Say, Wil, Neptune, nicklada, waryofothers, Sawdust, tcweh, berberocka, StateoftheWorld, Great Username, Damien M, Praise Mariallah, Taste of Honey, dreamloverfantasy, alkralkra]
Lowest: 5[Strangergab, Kworb]
Of all the things that this rate has gotten right, this is the rightest. Mariah's best ballad - at least, of those released as singles - is her highest placer. Brava y'all.
Mariah's first U.S. single to not go number one, perhaps it didn't work for the same reason some of our European/Latin American users did not get it (Hello Kworb and Strangergab!) - it is unmistakably Rhythm & Blues. [A perfect Quiet Storm song, to be specific.] But by tethering itself to a specific time, place, and genre, Mariah created something truly special. Unlike the rather generic boilerplate adult contemporary ballads, Can't Let Go doubles down in "black music" signifiers of the time. It also presents a more youthful Mariah, one the audience had never encountered. For the first time, she sounds like a 21/22 year old girl, transitioning into young womanhood. Notice the first verse, so gentle in vocal execution and lyrical detail; she sounds as if she's in any high school, watching the boy of her dreams walk down the hallway with his new girl. Her pain feels real, and the vocal is spot on. No adlibs or runs for the sake of her ego, EVERYTHING is germane to lyric and music. Stunning.
Thanks so much for righting what the charts didn't.
