Three Signs That We Are in the Midst of the Mariahsance
In the last two months, music superstar Mariah Carey released her most critically acclaimed album to date, experienced unprecedented success with her classic Christmas tune, and even saw her biggest flop roar back to the top of the charts after 17 years of relentless mockery.
It has been 28 years since Mariah Carey released her self-titled debut album. Since then, she amassed 18 #1 songs, more than any solo artist in history (overall, she’s second only to The Beatles). She became the most commercially successful female songwriter in history (having written 17 of her 18 #1s). Her songs spent a record one and a half years at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. According to Billboard, she had the most popular song of the 1990s (“One Sweet Day” with Boyz II Men) and the 2000s (“We Belong Together”). She was nominated for an astounding 34 Grammys (winning 5). She sold more than 200 million records worldwide, more than any female artist in history. She wrote, produced, and performed the most popular holiday song released in the last half-century (“All I Want for Christmas Is You”). She scored 2 SAG nominations for acting in critically acclaimed films (the Oscar-winning Precious and box office smash The Butler). Oh, and she received a Congressional medal for her charity work with children and won the Vanguard Award from GLAAD for her dedication to the LGBT community.
Yet despite this astonishing resume, Mariah Carey has never gotten the respect she deserves from music industry professionals, music critics, and the media in general. She has long been unfairly reduced to a caricature — a vain diva, a ditzy sex symbol, and a past-her-prime pop star who refuses to retire. Of course, it doesn’t help matters that the last few years have her career have contained a few disappointments — a stint as a judge on American Idol that was derailed by drama with co-star Nicki Minaj, a couple of high profile live performances tarnished by technical malfunctions and vocal mishaps, disastrous management by Stella Bulochnikov, and a serious lack of new music. But only the foolish count Mariah out for good. After all, this is the artist who followed up a supposedly career-ending flop (her film debut Glitter and its poorly received accompanying soundtrack) with one of the most successful comeback albums in the history of the music industry (The Emancipation of Mimi).
In fitting with the “never count her out” narrative that surrounds Mariah, the final two months of 2018 have been filled with signsthat we are in the midst of a Mariahsance, a period of creative rebirth for the artist and a shifting discourse surrounding her legacy.
The Re-evaluation of Mimi: Critics are giving her the respect that has long eluded her.
On November 16, Mariah Carey released Caution, her 15th studio album. The album’s commercial performance has been modest since its release. It debuted and peaked at #5 and has yet to generate a big hit single. But the response from fans and critics has been utterly rapturous.
With 2018 still 10 days from over, Caution has already featured on the “Best Albums of 2018” lists generated by numerous high profile publications, including — but not limited to — Rolling Stone (#8 Pop Album), Billboard (#39), Slant (#12), Spin (#12), and Vulture (#10). Paper Magazine named it the #1 Best Album of 2018. Caution quickly became the best reviewed album of Mariah’s career, with an average score of 82 out of 100 on Metacritic. (In contrast, her 2005 comeback smash The Emancipation of Mimi, which was nominated for 10 Grammys and won 3, only scored a 64 out of 100.)
There has also been praise for the individual tracks. Buzz single “GTFO” was named one of the Best Songs of the Year by National Public Radio and StereoGum and second buzz single “The Distance” was cited as one of GQ’s Favorite Songs of 2018 and was named one of Spin’s Best Songs of 2018. “With You,” the only single officially released from the album to date, was also well received by critics and currently sits at #8 on the Adult R&B Chart and #19 on the Adult Contemporary Chart.
Overall media coverage of Mariah has been more glowing than ever. Countless articles have been published in the past month about how a combination of brilliant artistry and business decisions have led her to become the Queen of Christmas. Rather than being cheered on, certain critics of Mariah’s have been called out for their racist, ageist, and sexist commentary. When she was recently nominated for the Songwriters Hall of Fame (honorees have not been selected yet), the general response wasn’t “Really? Her?” but rather “It’s about time.”
Nowhere is the shifting conversation around Mariah more evident than in the hallowed pages of Rolling Stone, arguably the most esteemed and storied music industry publication. They have never been particularly kind to Carey in their past reviews, heavily criticizing even her most successful albums. Yet when it came to her latest, they wrote: “The queen of comebacks is at it again: Caution has reaffirmed Mariah Carey as one of the greatest, most versatile stars of both the 20th and 21st centuries.”
The Undisputed Queen of Christmas: Her perennial Christmas classic is more popular than ever.
Last week, Mariah’s inescapable Christmas classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You” rose to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. This may not seem particularly notable for a woman who has had 26 Top 5 hits on the same chart. But it was monumental for three reasons. First, it became the highest charting holiday song in 60 years. (The only holiday song ever to rank higher on the chart is embarrassingly The Chipmunk’s “Christmas Don’t Be Late,” which hit #1 in 1958). Second, it became Mariah’s highest charting song since “Touch My Body” became her 18th #1 in 2008. Third, it continues to be the most impressive chart performance by a catalogue single in decades (perhaps ever). Sure, a handful of old songs have returned to the charts and peaked higher, but these were all accounted for by brief resurgences following the untimely death of a legendary artist (e.g., Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Prince). Never before has a still active artist had an older song reach the upper echelon of the chart.
And there’s still time for it to go higher. The song always reaches its peak popularity right before Christmas and there are still two Billboard charts left to go this holiday season (one covering 12/14–12/20 and one covering 12/21–12/27). Even if she doesn’t ascend higher this year, there will undoubtedly be a media bonanza next year for its 25th anniversary. Her getting a 19th #1 from a 24 year old song is not out of the question and would break dozens of records.
The Lambs Get #JusticeforGlitter: Mariah’s fanbase is more united and active than it has been in years.
Mariah’s die-hard fans, who she affectionately calls “Lambs,” are large in number (dozens of major online fan communities exist), remarkably diverse (she is particularly popular in Asia), and passionate. Very passionate. The aforementioned stumbles of recent years divided her fan community. A portion steadfastly stood by her and knew that this was a blip. However, another portion dissented and responded with vitriol every time there was an imperfect vocal performance, a rescheduled concert date, or a tabloid story reporting diva behavior.
But it has been years since the “Lambily” has been as united as they are now. There are endless raves about the stunning live vocals she displayed on her just-wrapped Christmas tour in Europe. There are memes abound from her new album. There are fawning comments about how she looks, sounds, and acts healthier and happier than she has in years. There are fiery defenses of her legacy by those who didn’t get the memo and still engage in Mariah-bashing. And, most notably, there is the headline-grabbing fan-led campaign #JusticeForGlitter.
Prior to the release of Caution, the hashtag #JusticeForGlitter went viral and resulted in her much-maligned 2001 album Glitter rocketing to #1 on the iTunes album sales chart. The campaign originated from a handful of fans who felt that the album never got the respect it deserved due to its association with the flop film and that it was time for Mariah, critics, and lambs to re-evaluate it. Perhaps no moment of 2018 better encapsulates the “Re-evaluation of Mimi” than the least successful album of her career roaring back to the top of the charts 17 years after its release.
2019 and Beyond
Hopefully, the Mariahsance continues into 2019 and beyond. She has another stint in Las Vegas in February followed by a tour in support of her new album. She’s working harder than ever, so she undoubtedly will have more surprises in store for her fans next year. (Also, as mentioned, next year marks the 25th anniversary of the release of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and its parent album Merry Christmas.)
It is highly unlikely that Mariah Carey will ever reach the commercial heights and industry relevance that she enjoyed for the first 20 years of her career. But at this point what matters far more than a couple of additional hits is that her astonishing legacy gets the respect that it deserves. Thankfully, signs are everywhere that this is finally happening.
Other articles about Mariah Carey by this author:
Counting Down Mariah’s 48 Best Songs in Honor of her Anniversary
Why Mariah’s Mental Health Admission Matters
The Butterfly Has Returned to Las Vegas — Literally and Figuratively
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