Love her or loathe her , the inimitable Mariah Carey remains one of music's most enduring and recognisable voices. Probably one of the greatest female voices of all time. Yesterday , Mariah unveiled the stunning comback single #Beautiful featuring R&B prince Miguel.
And quite frankly , it's Mariah's best track in almost a decade. A summery , sensual , deliciously hooky and laidback R&B groove , that is catchy and classy. It's already soaring up iTunes charts worldwide and truly deserves to give the ultimate diva another Number 1.
It's quite a revelation as these days any new Mariah album is met with a mixture of excitement and apathy. She's still a huge star but her 90's glory days are a long time ago. When Mariah is good , she;s unstoppable. When she's bad , well she's dire. Motherhood and marriage seem to suit her. Mariah sounds fresh , reinvigorated and ready to give Rihanna and Beyonce a run for their money. If this is what the rest of teh forthcoming untitled album sounds like , this could be a glorious era for the songstress.
For me , #Beautiful , is Mariah's greatest song since 2005's superb We Belong Together. That was taken from The Emancipation of Mimi , which saw Mariah bounce back in chart conquering fashion after a rocky start to the Noughties. Her infamous appearance on TRL on MTV coupled with the disastrous flop that was Glitter , saw Mariah suffer a breakdown.
However , even after the success of The Emancipation of Mimi , the 2008 follow up E=MC2 was largely disappointing.
The less said about 2009's flop , the lazy and unimaginative Memoirs Of An imperfect Angel , the better.
Now , in 2013 , aged 43 , and enjoying married life for a second time with TV host Nick Cannon and her kids , Mariah Carey seems happier and more focused. She's been around almost 23 years. She is one of teh most beloved singers of her generation and practically embodies the word "diva ".
This is an artist that gave us huge anthems and modern classics such as Hero , One Sweet Day , Always be My Baby , Heartbreaker , Fantasy.
#Beautiful sits perfectly amongst those old skool favourites and is as good as any of the recent output of Alicia , Beyonce , Mary J or Rihanna.
Mariah Carey is truly back and this song deserves to be huge.
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