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Post by kateln on Jan 3, 2017 17:37:53 GMT -4
My parents sent me their condolences about Mariah's performance since she's my favorite singer and I love her so much. I told them that would be the case if it were still 1990 and I was still 13. I remember back then...Mariah was known for being an amazing live singer, despite tremendous stage fright. Back then she used to wear something plain and black and actually sing. And now she dresses up like a bedazzled sausage and can't even be bothered to lip sync. Vision of Love and Someday were amazing. |
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Sunbaby
Blueblood
Posts: 1,182
May 10, 2007 16:59:05 GMT -4
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Post by Sunbaby on Jan 3, 2017 17:44:52 GMT -4
Early 90's Mariah! I loved her curly hair and her odd yet beautiful face. The humble girl-next-door image that Tommy Mottola and Sony crafted for her worked tremendously. Left to her own devices I think Mariah would've been a star - but probably not a superstar. The comparison coming to mind is Shanice, who also had that incredible vocal range but faded away after a couple of hits.
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Post by deeconsistent on Jan 3, 2017 18:37:38 GMT -4
I remember back then...Mariah was known for being an amazing live singer, despite tremendous stage fright. Back then she used to wear something plain and black and actually sing. And now she dresses up like a bedazzled sausage and can't even be bothered to lip sync. She was also known as schmaltzy, saccharine and phony and was the most critically derided of all of the big divas of that era: the Madonnas and Janets who couldn't hold a candle to her vocally, the Whitneys and Celines who were doing the same type of music, but weren't writing or producing. Early 90's Mariah! I loved her curly hair and her odd yet beautiful face. The humble girl-next-door image that Tommy Mottola and Sony crafted for her worked tremendously. Left to her own devices I think Mariah would've been a star - but probably not a superstar. The comparison coming to mind is Shanice, who also had that incredible vocal range but faded away after a couple of hits. Mottola's guidance definitely worked to her benefit in terms of her becoming a superstar, but when she started to flex some independence it resulted in some of her most commercially AND critically successful work. The r&b inspired songs she did on the albums preceding their divorce helped to reshape pop radio and the first album she released following her divorce was her most critically acclaimed up until that point. As much as I love a lot of that early music, I can completely understand how confining that personae must have felt and there were legitimate reasons for her to move away from it. It's easy to say "OMIGOD, that performance was a disaster. Why didn't she just stay exactly the same as she was 25 years ago?", but just like people were recently doing in the Madonna thread, there's a tendency to look at the past through rose-colored glasses and compare a person and artist that was inevitably going to change to some idealized version that sort of didn't exist. |
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Post by Ginger on Jan 3, 2017 18:40:03 GMT -4
My parents sent me their condolences about Mariah's performance since she's my favorite singer and I love her so much. I told them that would be the case if it were still 1990 and I was still 13. I remember back then...Mariah was known for being an amazing live singer, despite tremendous stage fright. Back then she used to wear something plain and black and actually sing. And now she dresses up like a bedazzled sausage and can't even be bothered to lip sync. Vision of Love and Someday were amazing. And Can't Let Go. And Love Takes Time. I've still got all of that stuff on my ipod. Mariah and I parted ways after Unplugged though. |
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Post by Coffeecakes on Jan 3, 2017 18:58:09 GMT -4
The worst thing about her constant preening and posing is she is just so thirsty to be sexy yet no matter what, she exudes nothing but thirstiness. It is pathetic.
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Post by Ginger on Jan 3, 2017 19:33:39 GMT -4
It's easy to say "OMIGOD, that performance was a disaster. Why didn't she just stay exactly the same as she was 25 years ago?", but just like people were recently doing in the Madonna thread, there's a tendency to look at the past through rose-colored glasses and compare a person and artist that was inevitably going to change to some idealized version that sort of didn't exist. I just remember the time when she actually sang and her voice sounded good, which I don't think is an idealization. When she started out, her vocal gymnastics were the centerpiece of her performances, not the diva garbage. I remember back then that people were saying the high-pitched screeching was not sustainable and was going to damage her voice, and maybe it did. I don't expect her voice to be as good as it was 27 years ago just because she's aged. But she's obviously gotten lazy and I don't think she bothers maintaining her vocal technique. Celine Dion is older than Mariah and last I heard she still sounds really good (and never lip syncs!). She's maintained her work ethic and her voice, which I think is all anybody asks. I'm not expecting any of the 90s divas to start cranking out hit singles again. |
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Sunbaby
Blueblood
Posts: 1,182
May 10, 2007 16:59:05 GMT -4
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Post by Sunbaby on Jan 3, 2017 19:47:22 GMT -4
Mottola's guidance definitely worked to her benefit in terms of her becoming a superstar, but when she started to flex some independence it resulted in some of her most commercially AND critically successful work. The r&b inspired songs she did on the albums preceding their divorce helped to reshape pop radio and the first album she released following her divorce was her most critically acclaimed up until that point. As much as I love a lot of that early music, I can completely understand how confining that personae must have felt and there were legitimate reasons for her to move away from it. It's easy to say "OMIGOD, that performance was a disaster. Why didn't she just stay exactly the same as she was 25 years ago?", but just like people were recently doing in the Madonna thread, there's a tendency to look at the past through rose-colored glasses and compare a person and artist that was inevitably going to change to some idealized version that sort of didn't exist. Sure, all of that makes sense. I don't think she writes a song like "Breakdown" or "Close my Eyes" early in her career though. There's definite a style to her songwriting that's easily identifiable but I think some of her early collaborators helped craft the "Mariah" sound. (Not to distract from Mariah's own ability to create catchy harmonies.) And to be honest, she lost me with Rainbow anyway.  |
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Post by deeconsistent on Jan 3, 2017 23:54:18 GMT -4
I just remember the time when she actually sang and her voice sounded good, which I don't think is an idealization. When she started out, her vocal gymnastics were the centerpiece of her performances, not the diva garbage. I remember back then that people were saying the high-pitched screeching was not sustainable and was going to damage her voice, and maybe it did. I don't expect her voice to be as good as it was 27 years ago just because she's aged. But she's obviously gotten lazy and I don't think she bothers maintaining her vocal technique. Celine Dion is older than Mariah and last I heard she still sounds really good (and never lip syncs!). She's maintained her work ethic and her voice, which I think is all anybody asks. I'm not expecting any of the 90s divas to start cranking out hit singles again. Celine has maintained her voice a lot more zealously than Mariah, but she frequently lips.In recent performances, more times than not she has done what Mariah was attempting to do on NYE:do parts live while letting the track handle the most difficult part. I wasn't saying that the idea of Mariah's voice sounding better in the 90s than it does now is an idealization. A cynical reading of the previous few posts, not interrupted by my post is "She needs to quit the entertainment industry", "Why bother? She's practically dead from alcohol poisoning anyway... plus I'm tired of looking at her fat, desperate ass." "Remember in the 90s when she was good?" Of course, one can argue that there was more nuance in the actual posts, but there really wasn't, not when you consider how these thread cycles always go around here. |
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Post by Babycakes on Jan 4, 2017 0:31:12 GMT -4
I wasn't saying that the idea of Mariah's voice sounding better in the 90s than it does now is an idealization. A cynical reading of the previous few posts, not interrupted by my post is "She needs to quit the entertainment industry", "Why bother? She's practically dead from alcohol poisoning anyway... plus I'm tired of looking at her fat, desperate ass." "Remember in the 90s when she was good?" Of course, one can argue that there was more nuance in the actual posts, but there really wasn't, not when you consider how these thread cycles always go around here. Whoa. That escalated quickly. I didn't even see any posts resembling anything like that, including mine upthread. I've only seen that she's become lazy, unprofessional, and delusional. If she's not up to the task of performing she should pack it in. Her weight wasn't mocked, just her uninspired wardrobe of ill fitting spangly sequined get-ups. I've given the same critique to Gaga for her lack of pants, and Beyonce and her ubiquitous unitard. This is not a fan thread. This board, and the internet in general will come for your fave eventually. You can disagree, but not exaggerate what was stated. You have a right to still be pulling for Mariah, or think she's not being graded fairly, but we also have a right to shade the shit out of her as well. Her voice hasn't been up to par in years. She has appeared drunk or at least tipsy repeatedly in interviews, and definitely the other night. If she still wants to be taken seriously, and wants to continue to be a top performer, she needs to pull it together. She could act more mature, dress better, and change the arrangement of her songs to fit her current voice, but she's still acting like it's 1997. |
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Post by discoprincess on Jan 4, 2017 4:01:13 GMT -4
She could act more mature, dress better, and change the arrangement of her songs to fit her current voice, but she's still acting like it's 1997. That's all I want for Christmas. (Pun intended.) Mariah's voice has had issues off and on dating back to the period after her breakdown (circa Charmbracelet), so that's not a new development. If she can't hit the really high notes anymore, that's okay. Adapt! Her voice happens to have depth in her lower register too. Mariah willprobably be eternally in Lisa Frank/Hello Kitty mode. She seemed to have aged backwards once she split from Tommy. Bless her heart. |
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