I totally disagree with you.
Have you really heard the whole album? It's great.
And mind you, her song "Migraine" is entitled MIGRATE. Please keep your facts straight before you become believable. And please . . . listen to the album again, before you trash it, and her whole body of work in the process. Thanks.

Maybe it's just me, but this "critic" seems to have an agenda to slam Ms. Mariah for no reason other than just not being one of her fans. None of his critiques had any merit, whatsoever! I've listened to some of the leaked tracks on youtube and I have to say I am in love with this album. Yes I am a fan, (more with her schtick than with her music) but most of her albums for me only have a song or two that I really like - I'm already loving 90% of this album - seriously! Some of the songs portrays a darker side of Mariah that I find just so irresistible (couldn't think of a better word). Listen to "For the Record" - it's so good!

I challenge this blogger to give me the name of one successful woman in the POP/R&B world who doesn't partake in some "ridiculous shenanigans!"

I agree with this critic actually. I am a Mariah fan, but you must admit, this a not a 38 year olds album. Her skirts are getting shorter. And her vocals are mediocre. Her lyrics are very dumbed down. She's really lucky she has quite the fan base of confused little girls who don't realize whats really important in life. And its not glitter, rainbows, sunshine, bubbles or cotton candy.

Brian, why should Mariah sing about what YOU find "really important" in life? There are several artists out there that have no desire to venture into the darkness, so to speak, and "act their age." Moreover, why the hell should they? Is it "artistic integrity" to merely act the part or is it artistic integrity to put out something that is true to one's self? If this is who Mariah is, more power to her.

I'm tired of the notion that fans or "real life" has some sort of objective ownership over what a performer should or should not be singing about or how he or she should dress or all sorts of other nonsense. If Mariah wants to wear "shorter" skirts, more power to her. She looks damn hot doing it.

Should she be singing about the Iraq war, the recession, and so on? Throughout musical history, we've had bands and singers who have focused on escapism. Life wasn't about women, martinis, and great times all around for most people, but that didn't stop Dean Martin from putting those records out. For many people, music is an escape and artists like Mariah allow for that escapism.

Finally, do you really want to listen to a 38-year-old's album anyway? Had Kylie Minogue's X been anything more than danceable mindless pop, it would have been terrible. I suppose overcoming breast cancer and being in her late-30s means Kylie needed to "settle down and get real" by Brian's standards, but I'm just not cruel enough to suggest that.

YEAH JORDAN - WELL SAID!

#3: I'm a grown up gay male with a good job and a balanced life and there are tons of guys like me who adore Mariah. She has such a broad fan base. Who cares if her lyrics aren't "deep". She's amazing.

And to the author, since when do you decide when a woman should stop wearing mini skirts? Your last sentence says it all. She's been doing this for 18 years. What an incredible career.

your a joke, music isnt always about revolutionizing the world, its about entertainment and thats what mariah carey is best at doing, and as classics go she has created several in; always be my baby, hero and vision of love

I think everybody gets the music they deserve.

I have watched Mariah go from CURLY VISION OF LOVE to BUSTA sex kitten; ya know for 18 years in the INDUSTRY; I can only give her nothing but props.

To the writer LISTEN to her DAYDREAM CD and put on the last song: "LOOKING IN" that will give you the synopsis of her whole career. Mariah gives us what she thinks the public wants to see. Those who know her; 'know" her. Madonna is still going strong; and Kylie; these women are out there having fun.

For me E=MC2 is EMANCIPATION OF MIMI 2 and I'M GLAD she still has a hangover from it; THAT ALBUM was SICK! Relax, you yourself have a martini; and let the girl does what she does and is frankly paid to do: ENTERTAIN and SING.

All I SAY is this: "IT'S LIKE THAT..."

Again, another Elvis fan...tsk tsk.

I have also followed Mariah Carry and I feel she is good while performing on stage but when you wish to sit back and relax, her albums are not the ones I would suggest.

Hi guys, thanks for the 'spirited' feedback to my review. First, please note that when I review an album, I take in consideration a lot of things like back catalogue, artistic vision and comparisons to contemporaries. Mariah fails to keep on track with the above and you her fans know this so I'm not sure what the grouse is about. You're not a fan of her's for the above reasons, you're a fan because she's pretty, has an amazing voice and embodies secretly what you wish you were. Yes, she's the best selling female artist in history but that IS NOT a gauge for how good she is, merely how marketable she is in a pop-driven market like America. Admit it, you'd never mention Mariah in the same sntence as a Aretha Franklin, Lauyrn Hill or a Bjork because her musical contribution has not been as important...that's all the review points out. Besides,put this album alongside her best 'Fantasy' and it falls very, very short. Is that progress?

You make me laugh with your contentions. You can't compare apples from oranges. Each artist has his/her own thing. It's stupid to put them side by side. If you insist, "YES, I'M POSITIVE THAT MARIAH CAN HOLD HER OWN BESIDE THOSE AFOREMENTIONED ARTISTS". I say that not as a fan, but as an observer. To you, this may not be true, but you will discover that not everyone thinks like you do. Furthermore, Bjork? You compare Bjork to Mariah. That's what my second sentence is trying to tell you. Bjork is not my cup of tea. Too weird. Others may dig what she does but I don't. I'm not bashing her, you see. It's just that she's a different artist that caters to another set of people, and frankly, I'm not one of them. She may have artistic merits, I don't know. I won't pretend I know a lot about art, I'm a science man, being a doctor. So, just leave alone Mariah Carey's body of work if she's not your cup of tea. You will get a lot of reactions like this reviewing her work. I love what she does, and her music is comfort for me. Clear?

Another thing, you are very presumptuous to say that "you're a fan because she's pretty, has an amazing voice and embodies secretly what you wish you were". I'm sorry, but I did not love her for any of those things alone and definitely not those things first. Her music connects to me, melodically & lyrically, and that's the important things. I can't count the instances when I listen to her songs and find comfort when I go through something bad. The hits that you know, are not the only work she has done. She has a lot of songs that not many people know but are very good and I can relate to. So, I suggest, you open your mind and REALLY listen to her other bodies of work. If that's torture for you, I'm sorry. Again, that's personal preference. So, to reiterate, if she's not your cup of tea, then leave her be. Review the albums of the artists that you like. In that way, you won't come across as a know-it-all, prejudicial music reviewer. I hope you learn from the feedback that you get. Thanks.

Okay, the stans really need to stop it. No one is going to like Mariah the same way you do! And besides, the critic is totally right. This album lacks what Mariah has been able to do in the past. I gave her props with her last album but there's no feeling, no maturity, no growth. And I love this woman, as my other family members do. But Mariah should be ashamed of herself parading in all those skimpy little skirts and singing about nothing. She's 38 for Christ's sake! Come up with a better gameplan. Everytime a critic doesn't like an album, don't go in on him/her. Respect their opinion, like they respect yours.

She's just ok I guess
Not earth shattering
No longer glass shattering either :)
But when she growls soulfully, that makes me tingle in places:)
Why doesn't she just sing her ass off and maybe get some help with the lyric writing and definitely class it up
Shes got a great voice
She could get a lot of respect if she changed her image to an age appropriate one... The closest she's come is We Belong Together -
live at the grammys.... nice dress, great focus on the vocals, heartfelt and passionate

Please give us what we want... If that is what you are hoping to accomplish Mariah

"Respect their opinion, like they respect yours."
They do? They shove their opinion down our throats. . . . and any others who would read their "reviews". Nancy, come on! Get real.

"But Mariah should be ashamed of herself parading in all those skimpy little skirts and singing about nothing. She's 38 for Christ's sake!"

And old enough to dress herself how she wants, I'd imagine.

"Come up with a better gameplan."

Shorter skirts!

An adult can do whatever they want, dress however they want, and be whoever they are. And Mariah? She can do this too. Perhaps if you took time to actually listen to her works throughout the years and done some close readings on her songs, you may find that although she is an adult, deep inside, she's still a kid at heart. Nowadays, no one should act their age, because that's how you age faster. Mariah isn't choosing to do this, and neither should we, nor should we want this for her, because if this was enforced, she will fall right out of the music industry and lose touch with her fanbase, and her fanbase wants to have a good time, escape life for the moment, and just live free for four to five minutes of the song!

Puhleezzz...this review is crappy..its just one of the anti-mariah i this whole fuckin world.

She wouldn't sell more than 160 million albums and 18 number 1 singles for nothing..

Her music is great, she has that powerful voice as ever and she will and always be number 1....If her songs do not please u at all then its all your problem...Leave her alone and let her shine...she deserves it..

what an AMATEURISH review. this man is a BLOGWRITER for a reason...he wouldn't be able to write for a legitimate music magazine!

read the reviews by Entertainment Weekly or Blender - you'll get well-written articles by music critics (with actual credentials), not this piece of amateurish, pretentious crap.

Wow I think this review is completly pathetic i have listen to her for along time an you has a song for every stage I go through her music does something for me don't trash somebody if she is so bad you do what she does on a daily basis and if you can't stop talking . Don't cretic somebody ( mariah ) if you can't do it better what is your place in pop history defiently not this article ...

Wow, the reviewer really shocks me... If the reviewer really listend to, and knew songs from Mariah's back catalogue, the reviewer would realize that Mariah was in some respects, a pioneer. Fantasy was one of the first rap-sung collaborations out there.

And, llast I checked, commercial success was not an indication of artistic woorthlessness.

It's understandable that Mariah would make it to number 1 in the us and not across the globe.

Europe has always been a bit more open to artists
that are willing to take a chance music wise compared to USA.

Mariah's music and style have been stuck in the ghetto for almost 10 years now. The rest of the world has their finger on the pulse of fresh and progressive music, sounds, and style.

Mariah has fingered up her own ass
both commercially in the charts...as well as artistically in the US.

E=MC2 is just a sham album. Nothing to brag about.