Mariah Carey blessed the Lambily with memorable moment after moment last year – and she’s not stopping anytime soon, it seems.
After a #MC30, memoir and rarity-filled 2020, the Elusive Chanteuse™ is making sure that Christmas isn’t the only holiday she makes extra festive, especially during these increasingly challenging times.
Although a bit fashionably late (blame the turnaround time required to get a song up on the DSPs, dahhhling), Mimi’s managed to spice up our Valentine’s Day in quarantine with a 7-minute (!) “Mimi’s Late Night Valentine’s Mix” rendition of her 2005 The Emancipation of Mimi mega-smash, “We Belong Together,” her longest charting hit.
Originally dreamed up during a late night jam session with her band and then partially performed on Live With Kelly & Ryan last week, Mariah decided to put the entire version of the lengthy rendition in its entirety on Wednesday (February 17) – and she’s clearly feeling creative.
The performance kicks off solid and sturdy enough as is, supplying those smooth R&B harmonies. Once she hits the 3-minute mark however, things start to take a genre-blurring detour, complete with some arena rock-ready crashing drums and guitars before heading to church across an organ, as Mariah starts crooning her way up to the heavens, gospel style. Whistle notes for days!
Deeper in, things get increasingly, mesmerizingly more jazzy, as Mimi starts to riff, finding all the different ways to morph the lyrics of the timeless into new melodies. It all feels especially relevant, having just listened to her eagerly pour over the jazz icons she worshipped and studied as a burgeoning musician. Now that is how you reinvigorate a modern classic, 16 years later.
It seems like Mariah’s only getting started with exploring: “More to come. Feeling inspired!” she simply teased on Twitter. Wherever she’s going with this latest venture, the Lambs shall surely follow.
Wile you’re at it, check out the (Mimi approved) review of The Rarities.
The Emancipation of Mimi is available now on vinyl.
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