Saturday 19 April 2008

Mariah Carey set to bump the Beatles

Records were made to be broken, and frankly, it's about time someone passed Elvis and threatened the Beatles for making the most No. 1 singles. Plus the hit machine that is Mariah Carey brings healthy diversity - a multi-ethnic woman - to the field, and technically she's a much better vocalist than Elvis or any Beatle.

Still, who is Mariah Carey? There doesn't seem to be much to know beyond basic objective facts: She started piling up hits in 1990, slumped for a while and then rebounded with the wildly successful 2005 release, "The Emancipation of Mimi". Nothing obviously profound radiates from her candy-bar-like personality: She's a little sweet, a little nutty and full of empty calories.

Yet here she is, not yet 40 and scoring her 18th No. 1 hit (Elvis had 17) with "Touch My Body", the playful first single from "E = MC2". The album is poised to be one of the biggest sellers of 2008 and just might churn out enough No. 1s to get Carey past the Beatles' record 20.

Such an accomplishment for what amounts to a status-quo collection of urban-pop relationship songs. But the difference is Carey, whose powerful pipes are the perfect complement for the genre's fidgety and propulsive style. She's also surrounded by an embarrassment of riches in terms of producers and guest performers, who include a modulated T-Pain on the booming opener "Migrate" and a Young Jeezy, who grinds with her in the heavy machinery of "Side Effects".

Carey's her usual spritely self, soaring in full-bodied bliss over the thick undercurrent of "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" and adding a dash of class to the ginger yet-insistent electronic dance of "I'm That Chick" and the irresistible rhythmic push of the marching "O.O.C."

Her emotional range doesn't extend beyond the heartbreak of "Bye Bye" and "I Stay in Love", which offer only a tad more depth than the light-S&M/exhibitionist tone of "Touch My Body". However, "E = MC2" is exquisitely crafted, and few compare to the singer's delivery.

Baby boomers who might be smarting because Carey took their icons down a peg can take some smug satisfaction that she has been more of a product than an artist, and she's unlikely to have the social impact of her predecessors. But Carey's fans don't care, and she keeps on rolling.

(Scripps News)



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