Customer Reviews

The Emancipation of Mimi

5 star:		(676)
4 star:		(152)
3 star:		(66)
2 star:		(43)
1 star:		(145)

 

 

Whatever Mariah did to prepare for this cd was ingenious. The choices are catchy - club conscious and youthfully contemporary (check out "To the Floor" with Nelly to hear what I mean) but not so urban it disenfranchises her very earliest fans.

My favorite track is "It's Like That" but the choices are incredible so it doesn't feel as if a single track is just filler material. I love how much vocal flare she uses to her fullest possible potential on this cd. She never wavers or cracks and it's wonderful to hear her in top form again.

"Mine Again" is for her fans from the beginning as is "Circles," a genuine love song that proves she-has-no-rival-as-a-pop-diva. I absolutely love her gospel sound in "Fly Like a Bird."

She has some of the most contemporary brilliance behind her like Twista, and Jermaine Dupri but she managed to hold onto what makes her who she is. She incorporated the best in current R&B and balances all the best of her own vocal league into a fantastic cd. VERY highly recommended.

Mariah Carey returns strong, proud and super confident with her brand new release The Emancipation of Mimi! Mariah considers Mimi to be another name symbolizing her true inner self-so even the title of the CD proudly and forcefully announces that she is trying new, fresh things on this CD. Mariah explains it herself in the liner notes for her new CD: her "emancipation" is "to free from restraint, control, oppression, or the power of another" or "to free from any controlling influence" or "to free somebody from restrictions or conventions." You know what? Mariah is a strong creative force and we all are better off for it! The Emancipation of Mimi really highlights how well Mariah can write and co-produce with other incredible talents such as the Neptunes, Kanye West, and R. Kelly. Mariah's new CD is full of songs featuring very personal lyrics-she is brave enough to share her real emotions with us here! The CD also proves even once again that Mariah's dazzling voice has not diminished with time! The album overflows with super creative lyrics and her exceptionally versatile voice makes it very special and a great addition to your collection!

The CD starts off strong with the song entitled "It's Like That." Not only is this a beautiful song, the musical arrangement is strong, aggressive and awesome! Mariah simply sounds great; her voice is perfect here! Then comes the song "We Belong Together"--thoughtful, beautiful, with a great beat! With "We Belong Together" Mariah sings about a love that is no longer.

Mariah also stays in the hip hop scene with songs like "Shake It Off" and the street jam "One and Only." And, if you like THAT, try also the Neptunes-produced "Say Somethin'" which she performs with Snoop Dogg and Pharrell Williams. Excellent! Mariah also does "Mine Again" with James Poyser on keyboards and "Fly Like A Bird" really shows off what Mariah can do!

Mariah works well with the other greats that I mentioned above; but there are even more talents on this awesome CD! Another Island Def Jam artist who you just might have heard of once or twice-a guy called Kanye West-collaborates with Mariah on "Stay the Night." What's more, three of the "Emancipation" songs are both co-written and co-produced by Mariah and James "Big Jim" Wright: "I Wish You Knew," "Circles," and "Fly Like a Bird." Trey Lorenz, Fatman Scoop, and Jermaine Dupri also provide vocals on this CD. The track "To The Floor" features Nelly.

One critic from Vibe magazine wrote that "Mariah gets back to her winning formula with Mimi." This almost seems like an understatement; the CD is really that good! Do yourself a major favor and get this-enjoy it today!

Okay, for all you Mariah fans that have been waiting for a hot, full-force comeback, this is it! I have been a Mariah fan for well over a decade now, and I've been waiting for her to re-emerge as the phenominal artist she was back in the 90's. With power-house vocals on ballads like "Hero," "Vision of Love," and "My All" as well as catchy urban dance numbers like "Fantasy," "Honey," and "Heartbreaker," Mariah dominated the charts throughout the 1990's. She has set record after record, both for female vocalists and just plain vocalists.

However, it has been evident that Mariah has struggled to find her place with her fans, critics, and commercial success since the late 90's. 'Butterfly,' lyrically poingiant and emotionally personal, still remains in my opinion, and the opinion of many others, her best album to date. 'Rainbow,' a rollercoaster of variety was also a solid effort, lyrically showcasing Mariah's depth as an artist. The album is pure ear candy. However, where most of her other albums have produced 3-4 good hits, both of these albums only produced 2 real hits, mostly due to lack of good campaigning for the songs and poor releasing.

Mariah went on to attempt acting in a severely underrated, but nowhere near good, movie and accompanying soundtrack. Mariah put her heart and soul into the lousy script of the "Glitter" movie. Her powerhouse vocals were no match for the lack of emotional depth and feeling and the poor production of the "Glitter" album. The critics tore the movie apart, and the tragedy of September 11, 2001-- the day the album was released--played a crucial role in the sale of the CD. The record spun out one hit, the un-interesting single "Loverboy," which made it to #2 on the charts only after Virgin records sliced the price of the single down to about 40-something cents. Mariah suffered a pretty serious emotional breakdown after the tragedy that was "Glitter" (hell, I would have too!) and it was becoming clear that this could very well be the end of the superstar.

However, Mariah did some serious soul-searching in one final attempt to replace herself in the spotlight. The lyrically excellent "Charmbracelet" put out a few mild hits, especially "Through the Rain" (remnicient of her former ballads) in hopes that they would re-connect Mariah with her fans. Indeed, "Charmbracelet" DID give Mariah some of her success back, but the response was iffy. The CD was far better than "Glitter," especially lyrically, but was musically lacking in what makes a singer a star.

After some time off, some more serious soul-searching, and an excellent musical production team, Mariah has put forth a CD that very well could be the album of the decade! The widespread reception of the first single "It's Like That" and the immediate and intense success of both the album itself and its second and third singles have all shown us that Mariah is back. With her old fans, with her new fans, with the critics, with the radio, with everyone!

'The Emancipation of Mimi' is by far her best effort in years. It is a hot, R&B and club-laced disc that you can spin in your CD player on your way to work or school, on the way to the beach, on the way to the club on the weekends, pretty much any time! The first and third singles, "It's Like That," and "Shake it Off" show us that Mariah is back with a new, bass-thumping groove. Both of these songs fit in well with any club playlist. Others that you'll have to add to your club CD mix are "Say Somethin'" with Snoop Dogg and "Get Your Number" with JD. The immensely successful second single "We Belong Together" is a typical R&B ballad enhanced by Mariah's vocals and excellent musical execution. Another hip hop ballad, "One and Only" spins a mile-a-minute rap verse with a guest appearance by Twista. All these songs are excellent: comercially, lyrically, AND musically.

But for the true and long-time Mariah fans, the tracks where Mariah truly shines are on the jazzy, night-club-like ballads such as "Mine Again," "Circles," the exceptional "I Wish You Knew," and the gospel closer "Fly Like A Bird." These are the tracks that truly show us that Mariah is an artist who has withstood the test of time and is here to stay for good.

The Songs...

1. "It's Like That" 9/10: A thumping, R&B party song with guest appearances by JD and Fatman Scoop. An excellent club song that kicks the CD off and shows us where Mariah is headed.

2. "We Belong Together" 10/10: Beautiful, bittersweet R&B ballad featuring a powerhouse conclusion by Mariah, a catchy beat, and smart lyrics

3. "Shake It Off" 10/10: Musically remnicient of Usher's "Confessions Part II," except with a bigger beat, this is another pure R&B thumper that would fit on any club or hip hop playlist

4. "Mine Again" 10/10: Probably the best vocals Mariah pulls off on the CD. An excellent, jazzy, powerhouse ballad complete with horns and a jazz organ. Kelly Clarkson, we're glad you didn't attempt this one on 'American Idol'!!

5. "Say Somethin'" 8/10: Good dance song with a mild and melodic breakdown verse with guest rapper Snoop Dogg. Nothing really powerhouse here, just good beat and conservative vocals. Fits well between #'s 4 and 6

6. "Stay The Night" 9/10: Another powerhouse R&B song by Mariah. Compare it musically to Ashanti's "Rain on Me" and you'll find some similarities. Only the instrumentation here is more authentic

7. "Get Your Number" 9/10: Hot club track complete with strong vocals by JD on the chorus and a smart and catchy breakdown bridge by Mariah on both verses. Turn the volume up on this one and blare it all the way to the club!

8. "One and Only" 10/10: Excellent mid-tempo hip hop ballad about a painful relationship. Mariah conservatively shows her mad side on this track, throwing obvious but censored profanities on both verses and raw emotion in the song's vocals. This song is a real treat to hear Twista's whirlwind breakdown during the bridge.

9. "Circles" 10/10: Wonderful jazzy ballad about the follow-up to a painful breakup. A little more up-tempo than "Mine Again," this track again showcases the vocals that have made Mariah into the success that she is today.

10. "Your Girl" 8/10: Brief, straightforward pop number that possibly reflects Mariah's earlier days of "Honey," "Fantasy," and "Heartbreaker." Complete with come-and-get-me vocals and lyrics, this should be a short treat for fans

11. "I Wish You Knew" 11/10: I rate this song above the normal rating, because it is superior to all the rest on the track. Mariah's vocals, lyrics, musical production, and everything else is just out the roof on this song. This is by far the best song on the CD. Made complete with a cool, fake live audience in the background, this jazzy ballad is ear-candy, heart-candy, everything-candy. I can't stop hitting the repeat button on this! True Mariah fans should enjoy the spoken word by Mariah in the bridge and the hot high note she hits towards the end. This song is worth the price of the CD alone! Exceptional songwriting and musical execution! Way to go Mariah!!

12. "To The Floor" 5/10: Definitely the album's biggest disappointment. When I saw Mariah was doing a song with Nelly, my heart raced a million miles a minute. I thought, "Mariah and Nelly paired together are gonna make a really hot track! This is gonna be one of the album highlights." I was wrong. What you really get from this is trite and boring lyrics, a bland melody, with a pretty good beat. This is a collaboration that could have been excellent with a better song. Still, it's a good one to dance to...

13. "Joy Ride" 10/10: Probably my second favorite on the album, this is a sweet pop/R&B ballad complete with excellent vocals by Mariah that range from really low to really high, and build from girlishly soft at the beginning to a powerhouse climax towards the end, and the best song conclusion on the disc.

14. "Fly Like a Bird" 9/10: A jazzy gospel closer that deserves a place on the Sunday morning bulletin. It is a little drawn out towards the end, a radio edit type of thing would make this better, but is a huge conclusion vocally and musically by Mariah. I have a hard time comparing it to the rest of the CD, because it's one of a kind on here, and the overtly religious lyrics seem a little out of place alongside the racier lyrics that appear on a few of the album's tracks. Nonetheless, it's another one of Mariah's gems that makes the album shine so much.

15. "Secret Love" 10/10: Although it doesn't appear on on the 'Mimi' CD, I got this one free for buying the CD from Wal-Mart. I liked it so much that I had to review it. An excellent, thumping dance number that should have been included as a bonus or hidden track on the US version of 'Mimi.'

I have been a Mariah fan since 1990, when my older sister introduced me to pop music. And since those days, I have been a Mariah fan ever since. I loved every album until I heard Raibow, which to me was not the same voice I feel in love with and may me realized that she's slowly fading away with her astonishing voice. Glitter and Charmbraclet weren't much better and once again, flop albums. But Emancipation is a definate win over me. The ballads are back, the gospel like vocals have returned, and improved songwriting has emegered all over again, like rebirth.

If you were a fan until the Butterfly album, then buy this! It is like a Mariah makeover and you know lots of work did go into this album. THe only downer about this album was some of the "club" tunes, for the most part, they are ok, but it isn't something that put me over the top.

Since about the end of 2004 people began "buzzing" about Mariah Carey's new studio album. When the buzz began people stated comments like "Mariah, like you've never seen before" and "Mariah's big comeback album is dropping in March" (which was the original release date) I can honestly say I became very excited about all the positive remarks I was reading and hearing. After researching and scratching for some insight of what was to come, I finally heard "It's like that". Which became her first single from the album. I have to admit a couple of things. One, hearing Carey's voice again was incredible. Secondly, the beat is catchy, and lastly, this song has a nice vibe to it. I couldn't wait for "The Emancipation of Mimi" to be released.
On April 12, the album finally hit stores in the U.S. Mariah began promoting the album like crazy. Appearing in Good Morning America, Trl, Best Buy, and talking to anybody who would listen.
The album debuted #1 selling 404,000 copies in it's first week. The highest ever debut for Mariah Carey. At this point the album remains #2 and shows no sign of slowing down.
As listed in her cd, emancipation means "to free yourself" Carey has made it a point in stating that she has finally been able to be herself. Saying things like "my fans will finally be able to know the real me." Now if I'm not mistaken how many times must we allow ourselves to believe that. Since the release of "Butterfly" Carey began saying the exact same thing. "I was held prisoner by my ex and now i'm free like a butterfly". Eight years and four cd's later she still promising us the same thing. How many different personalities does Carey have? When will we be able to know the real Mariah? Perhaps in her next three albums we will be able to be a step closer.
I personally agree with the media that Carey sounds more confident. Carey's vocals sound rested and in tune. Carey herself also looks rested, confident, and "in tune".
The album itself is a typical Carey album. Same common formula. Track #1 an uptempo track. Just recap "Honey", from "Butterfly"; "Heartbreaker" from "Rainbow"; "Loverboy" from "Glitter" and now "It's like that". Lyrics are racer than her usual G rated lyrics. For example, Carey says "I came to have a party, open up the bacardi", "purple taking me higher, i'm lifted and I like it." this perhaps is what Carey means of being the "real" her.
Her follow up single is "We belong together". Again same concept as before. The Ballad after up tempo method. For example, Honey-butterfly, Heartbreaker-Can't take that away, Loverboy-Care Enough and now It's like that- We belong together.
Carey rounds up the usual collaboraters, Jermine Dupri and Snoop Dogg. New additions include Nelly, Twista and her "real-life" minister.
Overall, I am pleased with the album. The U.S. is short on divas at the moment and Mariah's comeback is perfectly timed. With the downspirals of many of today's "divas" it's nice to know the good ole faithful Mariah is back on the spotlight. Everyone deserves a second chance and luckily for Mariah Americans have given her a second chance.
Congratulations! Mariah we welcome you into our hearts with "open arms".

I bought this cd, put it in the cd player and listened to it straight through--no skipping around--and my high expectations were completely fulfilled.

I love music. It's such a powerful medium. It can take you places--back to childhood, to the hopeful places in your heart that aspire for greatness, to the quiet places inside yourself that you rarely share with others.... EMANCIPATION OF MIMI was one of those albums that has the energy of something new and also is familiar...having elements that remind you of your favorite songs; some of the tracks seem to be very present and contemporary takes on songs that otherwise would have a clearly 'old school' feel. And I don't know if any of you feel this, but there is something under Mariah Carey's voice--an essence of gospel, if you will. The soul and perfection of her voice can 'take you to church' even if she's performing a pop or hip-hop number:-)

The writing, the beats, the style is brilliant. Mariah Carey is a maestro, and she makes me love even the songs that don't feel like any others that I've ever heard. I admire her for trying different things, not being afraid to go out on a limb artistically. And I'm glad she's back.

While I loved the entire album, I especially liked: 'Like This and Like That'; 'We Belong Together'; 'Get Your Number'; 'One and Only'; 'Mine Again';'Joy Ride'; and 'Fly Like A Bird'. I'm glad Mariah is back to give us all chills with her lovely poetry and angelic voice.

Gorgeous and Genius.

Mariah Carey regains #1 on the US Billboard Album charts.

At the moment, Mariah Carey's star shines the brightest of all her arch-rivals in music: recall Janet Jackson, Madonna, Whitney Houston, and the likes? This review does not intend to take a stab at those artists (who are talented in their own right), but let me start off by asking "who has the last laugh"?

My awareness for music started in the 90s. And you could not get past those 10 years without having at least ONE Mariah Carey CD. Just doesn't happen. As such, Mariah Carey's release of The Emancipation of Mimi is an EVENT in itself; and really, it kinda reminds me of those times, especially the period of 1995-1997 (encompassing Daydream and Butterfly), when Mariah Carey was (no comparisons intended) the Beyonce or Alicia Keys of music. Of course, one could aruge that Mariah Carey IS Mariah Carey and cannot be compared to anyone. Her voice, her music, her image and definitely, her transformation.

This review of the CD lets you in on what I, a person who might not necessarily be a die-hard Mariah Carey fan but have always taken the initiative to give her efforts a listen, have to say.

IMAGE:
The first thing that got my intention is the album cover. Black rings a bell - Daydream. Gold too - Butterfly? The image has been perfected, suits her fine. She's looking good too.

MUSIC:
We as music listeners are most concerned about this. I would say that the music leans towards the R&B inclination of Butterfly. Having thought about this, I am of the opinion that Mariah was indeed a visionary. She knew all along how she wanted her music to sound like, and 10 years ago, she left her ballad heavy songs for more urban sounding tracks and first presented it to audiences via Daydream, then more through Butterfly. Fortunately or unfortunately, Mariah's music was rather left-field (though there are some gems) on Rainbow, Glitter and then Charmbracelet. Really, those albums could be seen as experimental and transitional, something artists have to do before arriving at a 'higher level', if I may say so. Musically, people like to say that "She's Back". I beg to differ. Mariah Carey had not gone anywhere in the first place.

The music on this CD is not remarkably creative, and does not break new ground. But it is good music with very heavy beats. Nonetheless, the melody is strong, and caters to radio listeners today. Besides, the production and vocal arrangement is sleek. We are fed with urban/hip-hop/'Neptunes-produced' tracks today that the music on this CD can be readily accepted, and liked. One may question the staying power of the content on this CD 10 years from now, however. There is no One Sweet Day or Fantasy.

On the other hand, we are given "It's Like That", a signature first single from Mariah Carey's albums - catchy, upbeat, and leaving you wondering about AND wanting her album. On first listen, the song that appealed to me most was "Fly Like A Bird" (a gospel, high powered, inspirational song). Powerful, emotional and soaring, it closes off the CD excellently. I would describe the other songs on this CD as being something you might have heard before, only because the beats and music sound familiar to radio staple. "To The Floor" sounds a bit like "I'm A Slave For You" (maybe due to the Neptunes trade mark beats) and Say Something sounds like the current "Signs by Snoop Dogg and Justin Timberlake" hit. So yeah, the music is likeable, though not awesome. But this doesn't mean that the music is bad - just not "fly straight in your face WOW". One exception though: "We Belong Together" is treasure.

VOICE:
Which leads me to the point of distinction - Mariah Carey's voice. WOW. Really WOW. She's got full control of it, the power, the key, the breathing, the 3 octave gliding act. No wonder this CD is marketed as the Return of the Voice. The songs that seem almost common at first is given a face lift with Mariah's voice glazing the simple melodies. This is a case of singer making the songs rather than the other way round (which we can see with, no offence, Ashlee Simpson, Hilary Duff etc.)

Mariah sings to my pure awe and marvel on "Mine Again", "Fly Like A Bird", "I Wish You Knew". Very, very good voice - perhaps at a place no one can match at this time. You can hear it, really - the experience, the time, the polishing and the emotion. This IS singing. I would think that Mariah might pick up a Grammy or two for vocal performance this time around.

VERDICT:
3 stars for songs, 5 stars for singing - averaging 4 stars. The music is R&B and Adult Contemporary. Let your ears hear singing. It is glamorous, grand, and soaring. It is everything "Mariah Carey" stands for. You HAVE to buy this CD.

Yes it's true what you've heard...the "voice" has returned. I found Mariah's whispered hushed toned voice that she has used for the past couple of years to be downright grating, and I'm glad that she has gone back to really using her voice. But, that is not the only thing that's good about this album. There are songs with some pretty strong melodies all throughout. This is one of the best "conventional" R&B albums that I have heard in a while. The material is pretty much standard fare for top 40, and there is no new ground forged here, but everything that Mariah does, she does really well on this album. Even the rapper collaborations that she's done consistently on every album since "Butterfly", but that have rarely resulted in good songs, actually work on this album (especially her Twista collaboration, "One and Only"). Almost all of the slow to mid-tempo songs are great, and luckily, they dominate this release. But, even the uptempo dance numbers are pretty good, with the exception of "Shake it Off" that is. Much of "It's like that" didn't strike me as great either, but this song is totally redeemed by that gorgeous pre-chorus section. That Jermaine Dupri intro to "Get your number" REALLY should have been left off, but this is a suprisingly good song otherwise. The track listing only gives credit to Dupri but either Dupri does a great Nelly imitation or that's Nelly singing the hook on this track. The highlights on this album are abundant but the songs that stand out most to me are "We Belong Together", "Mine Again", "Stay the Night", and "Circles". I guess that this CD is supposed to be some sort of loose concept album about Mariah no longer feeling like she has to live up to other people's expectations. I'm not quite buying it but, whatever! :-). It's still a solid album nevertheless and it has left me looking forward to new releases by Mariah.

I admit that I was extremely skepticle that this album would be good. The hype for it seemed over the top and I wasn't impressed with Charmbracelet which was supposed to be her original comeback album, but the album was a bland album. The only reason it flowed was because the songs all sounded the same. The Emancipation of Mimi, however, has many different colors to it, which creates a diverse album that still flows well. Unlike Mariah's other albums (although I only have a few others) like Rainbow and Butterfly, the songs don't all sound the same. On those albums Mariah stuck with a general formula which she apparently follows significantly less religiously. With this effort she has expanded and experimented with other sounds, yet still reminiscent of her older work.

So the album starts off with a bang. It's Like That, a great song nonetheless, still I feel is not on par with Heartbreaker or Fantasy; my two favorite Mariah up-tempos. Still, it's hip-hop sound and care free message make it enjoyable. We Belong Together is one of the gems of this album. At first I thought this was going to be a boring song, but it's amazing. It reminds me of Breakdown, but more exciting vocally, with a more interesting melody and background music. Generally I find that this album contains much better background music that stands out as much as her vocals.

The album continues into a few cool, calm songs. Shake it Off is a nice little R&B song. Mine Again has elements of typical Mariah ballads, but at the same time I find myself listening to the music in the background as well, which actually has instruments rather than keyboards. It's a nice change. Plus her voice sounds AMAZING on this song! (I'm currently listening to it actually.) Then we taste Mariah with The Neptunes on Say Somethin, which I feel is another best of the album since I love this kind of music. The beat flows so smooth along with Mariah's voice. Just a great song to move to.

Continuing into more up-tempos, Mariah works with JD who sounds surprisingly like Nelly, but produces one of his best songs in a long time. I thought he was slipping, but with this he's proving a comeback is coming. One and Only reminds me of Clowns from Charmbracelet, only it has much better melodies and it's more fun with the aid of a rapper (in this case, Twista). What sets this album apart from her others is the numerous up-tempos, as the ballads suddenly take a backseat, which I must admit is a nice change. I like hearing Mariah's hip-hop/dance side. Circles, however, delves back into typical Mariah territory nicely. Your Girl is a poppy dance-along/sing-along song. It's really fun and different than anything on this album, kinda like older Mariah up-tempos.

I Wish You Knew is another nice, different sounding ballad, leading into the next song, To The Floor. I kind of expected more from Mariah and Nelly, but truthfully the song has grown on me upon numerous listens. It has a great beat and is another fun let
s-go-have-fun-tonight kind of song. Joy Ride reminds me of Bliss from Rainbow (content-wise) but sounds much different; so much so that I can't really compare the two otherwise. But the vocals on it are nice and strong, as they are in Fly Like A Bird, which is a great way to close the album. Mariah utilizes her voice and her backup singers nicely and creates a truly inspiring and uplifting song that the album lacked up until this point.

If there is a Mariah album you're considering buying, this is the one to buy. Especially if you like up-tempos and are looking for a less formulaic Mariah. And as for the return of the voice, I would say she always had it, she's simply using it better and making better choices as to when to use her softer whispers versus when to belt. With this album, she generally balances the dynamics nicely, which many of us have missed from Mariah lately.

This CD is practically flawless! I and all the other Mariah lambs have been waiting for this album for quiet sometime, especially after the stellar performances Ms. Carey gave on the Charmbracelet Tour. For some reason this is billed as a comeback album and a return to form after her last two CDs. Glitter was vastly underrated and was never supposed to be a "Mariah Carey Album". It features some great songs and some of Mariah's strongest vocals. Charmbracelet was hindered by the whispery vocals and some not-to-strong songs but it was still a good CD.

Fans will be pleased to know that Mariah is singing in full voice for every song, as shown in the hot first single "It's Like That" and the excellent second single, the ballad with a beat, "We Belong Together". Other highlights for this album are the ballads "Mine Again", "Circles", "I Wish You Knew" (which is sung as if in front of a live audience and features Mariah speaking to the audience), and "Fly Like A Bird". "Fly Like A Bird" just struck me suddenly in a way that no Mariah song has. The song is very uplifting and every part of the song is just perfect. The subtle vocals in the beginning to the full on belting with the choir at the end. The song has brought tears to my eyes and is my favorite track!! The good thing about alot of the ballads is that they are sung live with a band and it just adds a more organic, original, 70's soul feel.

The hip-hop-pop songs are also great (my favorite is One And Only with Twista) but its all about the ballads and Mariah's AMAZING AMAZING VOICE!!!! Go buy the CD, you will definately not be disapointed! Also check out Sprung and Secret Love, the bonus tracks on the international edition of this CD. I am a lamb for life and I think Mariah Carey is a goddess!