Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse
| Mariah Carey
Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse
Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse is the fourteenth studio album by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on May 23, 2014, through Def Jam Recordings, her only album on the label. The record had been in development since 2011; during its production, Carey hired friend and collaborator Randy Jackson to manage her career, before replacing him with another frequent collaborator, Jermaine Dupri. The album consists of guest appearances form Nas, Miguel, Wale, and Fabolous, as well as gospel and R&B duo Mary Mary, in addition to Carey's twins Moroccan and Monroe. On the deluxe edition of the album, R. Kelly and Mary J. Blige respectively make appearances on remixes of two songs - Betcha Gon' Know and It's a Wrap - taken from Carey's twelfth studio album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009). These remixes were originally intended to appear on Carey's canceled remix album, Angel's Advocate (2010). --Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Billboard
Musically, it’s her typical mix of pop-classicist balladry and hip-hop-tinged summer jamming, and if she doesn't exactly go strutting into new territory, it’s because she knows most people like her right where she is.
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Pitchfork
The record seemingly acknowledges her increasingly murky future by looking back at loves and sounds of the past.
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Slant Magazine
It's the most overt moment of Mariah having her Strawberry Cheesequake and eating it too. Personal, crazy. Crazy personal.
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Rolling Stone
Stylistic cohesion is as elusive as the chanteuse herself.
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Soul Tracks
As it continues the struggle that has been the hallmark of her career, this is an album that will remind listeners that she is a mature artist who can easily handle any song in any genre. Recommended.
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Pretty Much Amazing
Music's most successful female soloist returns with a flaccid, hilariously-titled LP.
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The Guardian
Heroic self-belief and big songs
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Uproxx
It doesn”t feel progressive or groundbreaking in any way, but also is so much better than all the delays would have led us to believe.
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Pop Matters
She isn't an elusive singer. She’s just a comfortable one, and that’s a good thing for her. She doesn't need to be, nor should she ever be elusive. This album proves that in spades.
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AXS
Her powerful vocals and the record’s wide variety of R&B elements make it one of her strongest albums in years.
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Digital Spy
Touching moments of insight mixed with peaks of glittering over-the-top pop.
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Newsday
Songstress nails it on latest effort
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Slate
As for me, I’ll happily follow along to make up for lost time, and toast the persistence of her half-unhinged creativity and her double-hinged voice.
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Brent Music Reviews
After a five-year hiatus, Carey ‘came to play ball’ here – she ‘brings the heat’ on this comeback LP.
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The Boom Box
It turns out to be perfect for all seasons.
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Entertainment Weekly
Nostalgia is a big theme here, both lyrically and musically
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USA Today
Elusive or not, this chanteuse is a survivor, and that's a rare thing in today's fickle, polarized pop landscape.
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NY Daily News
Contrary to its title, the new album may be her least elusive work. Rarely has she made her talent more clear.
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All Music
This shows that she's still capable of delivering 40 minutes of strong, supremely voiced R&B when she's up for it.
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The New York Times
A Queen’s Accidental Gospel
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Pop Culture Daily
At times, there were tracks that showed her greatest strengths and talents. However, there were other moments where the blend that she tried to make just didn’t work.
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Los Angeles Times
No one doubts her ability as a belter, but now she's cut a perfectly modest, sonically contemporary album without any need to show off her glass-shattering range.
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The Boston Globe
What is unfortunately not elusive on the album are a clutch of interchangeable slow-to-midtempo tunes long on pulsating atmosphere—several with distractingly fidgety rhythmic tracks—but short on melody or verve.
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Lehigh Valley Live
It borrows from Carey's earlier work — and while the powerful singer still has the vocal chops, her songs find her looking too much to the past.
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Super Adrian Me
As a fan, I am disappointed. Yet as a fan, I continue to love the music of Mariah, new or old, because at this point, it is usually not about the music, but about the experience and memories her music and wonderful voice brings.
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Cleveland
It seems a bit long as it crawls to a whimper towards the end. However, at its high points, the album finds a diva in her 40s who still knows how to choose the right collaborators.
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Renowned For Sound
The album is with it vocally, contemporarily and worth the wait for most of those who highly anticipated some new Mariah material.
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Luscious Judy
The album is incredibly cohesive given the amount of producers, 12 total, and that is to her credit behind the scenes and as a performer. Music is her science and she is the Einstein of her peers.
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Music OMH
For an album that should have seen her return to the throne of chief diva, this falls short.
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34th Street
We hear the old Mariah here and there, but the silly song titles and lyrics cause everything else to go awry.
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Philadelphia Magazine
Newest Album Fails to Hit the High Notes
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Female First
Mariah shows throughout this record that whilst her voice may have been put through the ringer in the past, it still sounds as good as it ever has done and when given the right song, she still has the ability to surprise and impress.
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Kel and Mel Reviews
While her voice manages to save most of the tracks from complete doom, some of the best songs on the album are the ones that sound like they feature her instead of the putting her front and center.
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Graeme O'Neil
You can’t ignore the blunders that the album has, but it really makes an effort to change up Mariah’s usual style but doesn’t alienate her fans either. It’s creative, fun, and surprising.
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Spectrum Pulse
This album is decent, I guess. Not anything close to her best, but far from her worst. Fans will love it, non-fans won't have any new reasons to care.
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Gawker
Her voice hasn't sounded this good on an album since I don't know when.
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Chicago Tribune
Iit's one half of a darn good album and one half of an album that makes me want to break things.
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Twist
This is, without doubt, her most focused work. Only Mariah can hit another peak in a long, storied career just like hers.
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The Hindu
While it may not seem very promising, any Mimi fan will tell you the 44-year-old songstress hasn’t lost her charm.
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Wilson & Alroy's Record Reviews
Throughout, Carey and her usual producers (plus Hit-Boy) take on all the fashionable dance-pop styles...
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107 Jamz
She's got some nice uptempo tracks and the ballads are just right for that bedroom action.
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Urban Toronto Tales
It went straight to my soul, it made me feel good, it had me pulling up tracks 3 and 4 times just to hear her hit those notes again...and I didn't expect it to do anything less than that.
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HiFi Magazine
It isn’t exactly the return to normal she rightfully deserves.
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Drowned World
This album was created for the fans and she succeeded in giving us what we wanted.
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Lessons from Happy Hour
Through her melismatic phrasing, signature five-octave range, complex harmonies and undeniable ability to wrap an emotion in a lyric, she delivers arguably her best musical effort since The Emancipation of Mimi.
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Press Play Ok
But this. This is Mariah. 100% unapologetic and quite rightly so.
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Parle Magazine
The album is no Emotions, or ‘Emancipation’ but achieves what it sets out to do.
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The Star
Mariah doing Mariah. If you’re into that, you’ll have no complaints.
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TBO
The batch of tracks on her 14th record are enjoyable, but they don’t have the pizazz and spark of her past albums.
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The Lowdown Under
As fake and photoshopped that album cover photo is represents exactly the level of musical honesty you’re about to encounter listening to this.
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Now Toronto
After turning her attention to motherhood, Christmas music and home shopping in the past few years, she's back to adding her sparkly touch to summer-ready pop tunes.
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The Filtered Lens
It isn’t a wholly fulfilling album, but it succeeds with it’s diversity, flowing through different genres and emotions, while never straying too far away from a consistent pop/R&B sound.
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MIMO
This plays as a sunset album from a diva with nothing to prove.
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Artist Manifesto
It is honest and easy to get hooked to, and there are a number of standout tracks.
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Thomas Bleach
It isn’t groundbreaking but it is the perfect background music with a few killer songs standing out but a few needing to be skipped.
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Irreplaceable
She really put a lot of herself in this album.
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There's a point in there somewhere...
Unlikely to win her any new fans, and not exactly pushing any musical boundaries her 14th album deserves to serve her well, because it’s far stronger than the troubled lead up to its release would have you believe.
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Evigshed Mag
It is an emotive journey rich in emotions that she shares with us.
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Toya'z World
It is a very solid body of work and I'm happy to say she did not disappoint with this album.
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The Fresh Music Page
In short this album reminds me of mid 90's Mariah. Classic pop ballads, a bit of R&B, Gospel influenced vocals and Mariah meets hip-hop. She is in excellent voice on this album.
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Raheem DTV
It does have hints of old Mariah and even songs that could have been recorded for Emancipation of Mimi but something is missing and it leaves you feeling as if this was almost there but not quite.
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The Sonic Reverie
This album is a reflection of who she is and is entirely for her fans.
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Al
We're not a fan of the album title at all. But we are a fan of Mariah's angelic vocals, which are full display here. Too bad they often take a backseat to her attempts at being hip and cool.
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Para Todos
Each track is single worthy. The album almost shares a story through its listing capturing the many successes she has had.
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Attitude
It strikes the right balance between the Mariah of yesteryear, and the Mimi we know today, and with time I believe this album will be regarded as one of her best.
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Anhedonic Headphones
If you are a long time fan of Mariah Carey’s, hopefully you have grown with her, and will find this to be a fulfilling, if slightly uneven, release.
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Entertainment ie
While she may not be to everyone's taste, her taste in old school sounding music is beyond reproach.
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Fact Magazine
It seems almost redundant to criticise Mariah Carey for being too Mariah Carey – which, without wanting to get tied up in knots, is kind of exactly what being she is all about – but even the most delicious things can get a little bit too much.
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