StrangeButTrue said:

Has Mariah ever talked at length about her version of "The Beautiful Ones"? Specifically her decision to feature it as a duet? I was listening to it the other day, I won't post it her as I don't condone it lol but it's an odd one indeed. It starts out kind of promising and hits a hard thud. Billing it as a duet with Dru Hill when it's difficult to tell their voices apart especially with Mariah singing "with" them at points. A strange decision to make it a duet with a group of men. . Also surprising as many of Mariah Carey's covers, especially ballads, tended to be outstanding like I Still Believe, Open Arms and I'll Be There. Also did Prince ever talk about letting her have a go at such a challenging tune? I am not a huge MC fan because she tends to be erratic and this is a prime example of a missed opportunity.

Considering the fact that Sisqo was only 18 when this duet came out it was a good time for exposure for him. I believe out of contract, they had to say Dru Hill sinstead of just Sisqo since he was far from being a solo artist at that time. Outside of Prince appearing on stage with her shortly there wasnt much discussion. She did say this was her fav Prince song though from what I remember.

I don't know why Prince fans hate this cover so much. I like it. I've heard far worse Prince covers. But, I have said before, the only thing I didn't like about the song is Sisqo/Dru Hill were the stars of the song. Like the song belonged on their album and should have been billed at Dru Hill featuring Mariah Carey. It was a huge mistake for her to let them outshine her on her own album. She should have owned that song or skipped the duet.

kitbradley said:

I don't know why Prince fans hate this cover so much. I like it. I've heard far worse Prince covers. But, I have said before, the only thing I didn't like about the song is Sisqo/Dru Hill were the stars of the song. Like the song belonged on their album and should have been billed at Dru Hill featuring Mariah Carey. It was a huge mistake for her to let them outshine her on her own album. She should have owned that song or skipped the duet.

.

Its not so much hate as kind of slackjawed confusion. I mean, the song from the male perspective is interesting as its an issue of vulnerability/not being good enough for her.

.

I wonder if Dru Hill was brought in soley for the big "do you want him or do you want me?" as it would have sounded a bit desperate from a female perspective? Also, Mariah sings along in almost all verses, I wonder why that decision was made versus a traditional duet format where 1 person sings 1 verse. The tune isn't meant to be a duet and becomes kind of confusing in this arrangement as both perspectives seem to be coming up short.

I thought the production lacked punch. It was too slow. Their chemestry just was not there either, unlike Whenever You Call with Brian Mcknight

I like the song.

I've only recently began to appreciate this remake. Having said that, Butterfly was a pretty awesome album start to finish....anyone else a butterfly lover?

alphastreet said:

Thee only reason I purchased that cd was because of this song.

I really like the song.