Mariah Carey - E=MC²

As you all know, Mariah Carey has dropped her eleventh album, which debuted on April 15th, 2008, was pretty darn good.  She has yet again put her name in the limelight, putting out two very solid singles for the album, and also really showing her versatility as a singer (on the tracks of the album).  Carey's voice really allows her to do whatever she wants, and can be seen on most of the tracks on the album.  As you will see throughout the post, unlike her last album, in which she did retain a lot of her, "sex appeal," this one gets back to some of the same album packaging and photography that was seen in her album, Rainbows.  While this may be the case, the album itself still shows a more sophisticated and adult-like Carey, and the lyrics and music also coincide with her new independent/maturer life.

The first single off the album was entitled, "Touch My Body," which got tons of air time on the radio, and was (and still is) an extremely popular song on the web.  The music video was pretty solid, and it featured 30 Rock star, Jack McBayer.  The single was the eighteenth in which Carey had reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.  With this milestone, "Touch My Body" has pushed her into second place with "number one singles," and is also now in third place for writing "number one singles."  As you can see, the single definitely probed the album and sales for the album in a very strong manner.  I would not be surprised if this single was nominated and won  a couple Grammys.  Overall, for her first single, "Touch My Body" was really great, and this can be seen through the 286,000 digital sales that were sold in only the first week of the single's release.  All in all, not only did the single sell well, but also is a great track on the album.  As I had said in my past Mariah Carey review, singles like, "Touch My Body," "It's Like That," and "We Belong Together," are all tracks which really not only helped sales for the album, but also were tracks that show how dominant Carey really is.  A while back, people thought her musical career was over, and that she would never be selling off the chart records and number one singles again.  But here we are, seeing Carey prove the music world wrong, and the single, "Touch My Body" definitely exemplifies that she still got it.

Her second single off the album was released four days ago (a day before the eleventh studio album was released).  The track was entitled, "Bye Bye," and was pretty good.  It was no match to her first single of the album, but good enough to still make me want to listen to the album as a whole.  Her voice in this track is really what makes the track what it is.  She is able to hit all the notes, on all the scales, and her voice is really what could have made or broke this single.  In this case, it "made" the single what it was, and should gain some popularity in the coming weeks after the albums release.  It is featured as track number thirteen on the album, and definitely addresses some aspects of Mariah's life and past.  While you might be saying that this single could never be number one, the track itself will more than likely hit that plateau.  If you look at the lyrics on the track, and listen to the way she sings, you'll see it for yourself, the song can relate to most people in today's world, and is also a song which can bring a tear to one's eye.  While other critics out there may say the track is, "too simple," and that it is just, "an insurance track," I beg to differ.  If you are someone who is reviewing the album as a whole, you can see how the whole album is about her past, and how it all has to do with what she has had to go through during her life.  The track is really good, and if you are a Mariah Carey fan, and you don't have the album yet, check out the single online or preview it on iTunes/Amazon!  It is rumored that for the music video, Carey will be teaming up with Nick Canon, and the music video will be released on April 21st, 2008 (on TRL).  If you want to listen to the single before the music video is released, Mariah Carey performed the song on American Idol, so Click Here if you want to give it a listen, and see her performance on Idol.

So now that you know a little bit more about the singles, lets get down the the album as a whole.  As I mentioned earlier, Carey for sure tried many different types of genre's on the album.  On the track entitled, "Cruise Control," you can hear the reggae beat and how she does with it.  I must say, that track is a good one, as the beats and her voice mesh very nicely together.  The album itself sold 154,000 copies on its first day of release (in America), and in my opinion was equally as good as her 2005 comeback release of, The Emancipation of Mimi.  Overall, the album was really good, and definitely is a quality return album after her emancipated tenth studio release.  If you are a Mariah Carey fan, go out an pick up her album, and if you were a past fan of hers, who just hasn't listened to her stuff since Charmbracelet, I would suggest either previewing this and her last album on iTunes, or giving the singles a listen through YouTube or some other online music video site.  Overall, a quality album by the Pop/R&B singer.

Track Listing For E=MC²:

"Migrate (Feat. T-Pain)" (8.9 out of 10)
"Touch My Body" (9.6 out of 10)
"Cruise Control (Feat. Damian Marley)" (8.8 out of 10)
"I Stay In Love" (8.2 out of 10)

"Side Effects (Feat. Young Jeezy)" (8.7 out of 10)
"I'm That Chick" (8.4 out of 10)
"Love Story" (8.5 out of 10)
"I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" (8.7 out of 10)
"Last Kiss" (8.1 out of 10)
"Thanx 4 Nothin'" (8.3 out of 10)
"O.O.C." (8.8 out of 10)
"For The Record" (8.3 out of 10)
"Bye Bye" (9.3 out of 10)
"I Wish You Well" (9 out of 10)

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