Maps of Music

Me. I Am Mariah...The Elusive Chanteuse (2014)

Where the lyrics of Me. I Am Mariah...The Elusive Chanteuse take you, and where it was really made.

The album was first planned as The Art of Letting Go, but a title leak forced a rename, and the new title's first half comes from a childhood self-portrait.

Key places

Studio linked to the album sessions (2014)

Recording site Germano Studios — One of the studios registered as a recording location for this album. The pin follows the registered coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Studio linked to the album sessions (2014)

Recording site Jungle City Studios — One of the studios registered as a recording location for this album. The pin follows the registered coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Studio linked to the album sessions (2014)

Recording site A&M Recording Studios — One of the studios registered as a recording location for this album. The pin follows the registered coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Studio linked to the album sessions (2014)

Recording site Studio at the Palms — One of the studios registered as a recording location for this album. The pin follows the registered coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Studio linked to the album sessions (2014)

Recording site Capitol Studios — One of the studios registered as a recording location for this album. The pin follows the registered coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Fourteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey
• Released May 27, 2014 through Def Jam Recordings, her last studio effort with the label
• Features guest appearances from Nas, Miguel, Wale, and Fabolous
• Deluxe edition also features Mary J. Blige and R. Kelly
• Executive producers: Carey, Bryan Michael Cox, and Jermaine Dupri
• First half of the title comes from a self-portrait Carey drew as a young girl
• Second half of the title comes from a nickname

Background

• In development since 2011, originally scheduled for 2012 under the title The Art of Letting Go
• Single Triumphant (Get 'Em) released August 2012 had low impact and was scrapped as lead single
• Title leaked, the album was reworked and additional songs were recorded
• Release pushed back several times through 2013 and early 2014
• Follows Merry Christmas II You (2010) and the birth of her children in 2011
• April 2014: The Island Def Jam Music Group shut down, Carey moved from Island to Def Jam

Recording

• In mid-2013 Carey was seen in the studio with Mike Will Made It, Young Jeezy, Wale, and Nas
• Save the Day and a cover of Lullaby of Birdland were first planned for the album, later released on The Rarities (2020)
• Carey considered a surprise digital release, but Def Jam chose a traditional release with pre-orders from May 1, 2014
• Album streamed early via iTunes First Play on May 20, 2014

Cover

• Standard edition: Carey poses with arms behind her head in a nude-colored crocheted swimsuit
• Deluxe edition: close-up of Carey's face on the same sun-kissed background

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born March 27, 1969 in Huntington, New York, on Long Island.
• Youngest of three children of Patricia Hickey, a former opera singer, and Alfred Roy Carey, an aeronautical engineer.
• Began singing at age three; graduated from Harborfields High School in 1987.
• Worked as a demo singer and backup singer, including for Brenda K. Starr.

Career

• Signed to Columbia Records after Tommy Mottola heard her demo tape in December 1988.
• Debut album Mariah Carey (1990) topped the US Billboard 200 and won Best New Artist at the Grammys.
• Became the first artist whose first five singles reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Music Box (1993), Merry Christmas (1994), and Daydream (1995) achieved major global sales.
• Later albums moved toward hip-hop and R&B, including Butterfly (1997) and Rainbow (1999).
• Comeback album The Emancipation of Mimi (2005) was her fifth number-one album in the US.
• Known as the 'Songbird Supreme' and 'Queen of Christmas'; one of the best-selling artists in history with over 220 million records sold.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic Metascore: 67 out of 100 from 15 reviews, generally positive
• AllMusic (Andy Kellman): 3.5 out of 5 stars, says Mariah is still capable of strong R&B when she is up for it
• Kellman also found the standard edition weaker for the clumpy Money, the cheap-sounding One More Try, and the stiff Thirsty
• Billboard (Kenneth Partridge): 77 out of 100, describes a mix of pop-classicist balladry and hip-hop-tinged summer jamming
• Entertainment Weekly (Melissa Maerz): B grade
• USA Today (Elysa Gardner): 3.5 out of 4 stars, calls the chanteuse a survivor
• Newsday (Glenn Gamboa): A− grade, says Mariah goes for timeless-sounding music with grand results
• Pitchfork (Jordan Sargent): 7.7 out of 10, says the tone is defiantly like Mariah
• Rolling Stone (Nick Murray): 3 out of 5 stars, says stylistic cohesion is as elusive as the chanteuse herself
• The Guardian (Caroline Sullivan): 3 out of 5 stars, cites a good deal of clutter but Mariah at her most soulful and melodic
• Slant Magazine (Eric Henderson): 3 out of 5 stars, describes many undisciplined R&B pastiches
• The Boston Globe (Sarah Rodman): mixed review, says even the good moments are sabotaged
• Los Angeles Times (August Brown): 2.5 out of 4 stars, says Mariah reined herself in vocally
• Fact (Aimee Cliff): 2.5 out of 5 discs, compares it unfavorably to Beyoncé's self-titled album
• musicOMH (Amelia Maher): 2.5 out of 5 stars, says Mariah falls short this time
• New York Daily News (Jim Farber): 4 out of 5 stars, says Mariah is not elusive in the least

Records

• US Billboard 200 debut: number three with 58,000 copies in the first week, her 17th US top-ten album
• Eight weeks on the Billboard 200, her shortest chart run to that point
• Topped the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart
• UK Albums Chart: peaked at number 14 with 6,547 copies in the first week, then fell to number 54 in its second week
• As of April 2015, US sales reached 122,000 copies, her lowest-selling album at that time
• Ranked number 18 on Rolling Stone's 20 Best R&B Albums of 2014

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Title leaked, prompting a rename; Walmart had pre-orders up on June 16, 2013 under The Art of Letting Go
• Carl Williot of Idolator called the title absurd and insane, and criticized the punctuation in the track listing
• Time's Dan Macsai called it the greatest, most over-the-top album title of all time
• Title track appears only on digital editions, a spoken reading of the text under the disc tray of the jewel case
• Carey's deluxe cover shows a close-up of her face, while fans felt some covers looked retouched to the extreme
• The album was her final release under the Def Jam deal

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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