The possible flop of Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel may not be a bad thing according to many long-time fans who say this could force Mariah to re-examine her act and be more resourceful with her talents.

Exactly.Mariah is too talented for the type of crap material that she records these days.

SoulAlive said:

I'm so sorry, can u clear that uip for me, please?

Do you want her to go back to her power ballad days, or do you want a balance, or Butterfly, or do u just want some growth... I'm not getting it.

Because to me, Mariah's recent output has been head and shoulders stronger than Janet's and Madonna's. I LOVED E=MC2, I liked Disipline, and I pretty much hated Hard Candy as a whole. Memoirs is also better than Discipline and Hard Candy imo. And I am a big fan of all 3 of these artists, so its not a preferencial issue. Its just strange to me how Mariah gets the most flack and the least credit when (imo) she's releasing much better and consistently than her peers are.

I must be missing something...

sleepyq said:

"Can't Let Go","Always Be My Baby" and even "Fly Like A Bird" are excellent songs.Nothing on the last two albums can compare to those.I just think that Mariah is capable of so much more.Crap like "Touch My Body" and "Obsessed" is beneath her.

And seeing as the only person to sell was Susan Boyle, that should be a clue right there. People are tired of egotistical type performers. They like the rag to riches stories. Duh!

The fact remains that Memoirs of a Flop straight skydived off the charts. Rated R hasn't since the day it released. It IS a consistent selling album. Deal.

older article prior to release of her album, but thought it relevant to this topic.

SoulAlive said:

I'm so sorry, can u clear that uip for me, please?

Do you want her to go back to her power ballad days, or do you want a balance, or Butterfly, or do u just want some growth... I'm not getting it.

Because to me, Mariah's recent output has been head and shoulders stronger than Janet's and Madonna's. I LOVED E=MC2, I liked Disipline, and I pretty much hated Hard Candy as a whole. Memoirs is also better than Discipline and Hard Candy imo. And I am a big fan of all 3 of these artists, so its not a preferencial issue. Its just strange to me how Mariah gets the most flack and the least credit when (imo) she's releasing much better and consistently than her peers are.

I must be missing something...

Timmy84 said:

yoink...

older article prior to release of her album, but thought it relevant to this topic.


Mariah Carey Backlash
New 'Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel' Album Off To Bad Start


Mariah Carey seems to be facing a backlash lately that is similar to what she faced back in 2001 with Glitter. It's hard to zero in on one thing, but here are some factors that are contributing to Mariah's demise.

E=MC2 Commercial Disappointment

Months before the original release date for her upcoming album, Mariah had already been receiving bad buzz. Just before the release of the single “Obsessed,” many have noted that many of Mariah Carey’s previous singles from E=MC2, an album Mariah released in April of 2008, have performed poorly.

After the number one hit “Touch My Body,” the single “Goodbye” peaked at number 19, and the rest of the singles from the album failed to make the top 40. For someone known for scoring hits, this is considered a major disappointment.

Obsessed

“Obsessed,” the first single from Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, received excellent reviews. However, radio programmers and listeners have not been so kind. A month after the single received its first airing, the song has failed to crack the radio airplay charts. The song was held back from an iTunes release until the week ending July 11: This is something that record companies do in order to guarantee a high debut.


“Obsessed” was digitally released on Tuesday morning, July 7, to possibly take commercial advantage of Mariah’s performance at Michael Jackson’s funeral. It climbed to number 4 on the iTunes chart , ensuring a debut at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. However, the song has since declined in sales and drops to number 20 in only its second week on Billboard.

Making things worse for Mariah are some of her most faithful fans. One, in particular, has set up a site calling for donations from other fans to help the single on the charts.

Mariah Album Delayed

When a superstar delays an album after the first single fails (relatively speaking), the announcement is not met with open arms. A Perez Hilton headline reads, “Trouble!!! Mariah’s New Album Delayed!” Idolator posted an article that states,“Could there also be panic over the cool response that the album’s lead single “Obsessed” has received from radio and retail so far?”

Mariah Carey at Michael Jackson Memorial

Some have suggested that Mariah Carey used Michael Jackson’s memorial to promote the single “Obsessed” since it was released to iTunes the same exact morning. Overall, Mariah has received a lot of negative publicity for her performance of the Jackson 5 hit, “I’ll Be There.” Many have concluded that Mariah Carey has lost her singing ability.

Whitney Houston

Another power-voiced diva who is always compared to Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, is scheduled to release a new album in the next couple months as well. As Mariah found out with The Emancipation of Mimi. the media just loves a comeback. Talk over Whitney Houston’s new album I Look to You seems to be taking up space that Mariah usually gets.

Conclusion: Mariah Carey Faces Uphill Battle with New Release
People like to tear down celebrities as fast as they build them up. Mariah Carey is experiencing this for the second time in her career. She broke down the first time after both the movie and album Glitter were commercial bombs.

The possible flop of Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel may not be a bad thing according to many long-time fans who say this could force Mariah to re-examine her act and be more resourceful with her talents.

link> http://modern-pop-music.s...y_backlash

Mariah flopped and dropped from the charts. Rihanna didn't. Rated R is a consistent saler and "Rude Boy" seems to be doing fine on the charts, radio and iTunes.

Empress said:

And Sade isn't

Rihanna's album is NOT a flop, folks! Her album is still in the top 20 and is selling over 20k a week. Her 3rd single Rude Boy is currently blowing up, and just reached top 5 this week, and amy be on its way to #1 soon. She'll sell a million copies, its just a matter of time. Rihanna has never been a big intial seller, but she has always been consistent. She'll reach the mark in a few months, can we have some patience please...

Mimi... I love Mimi, but...

sleepyq said:

Well this is what i have been saying on sales in general. People are living with 90's mentality when the Backstreet Boys sold a million in a day. Folks the days of that are over, and get this, back in the day, the likes of David Bowie and Stevie Wonder and Elton John who were in their "success heydays" in the 70's rarely got past a gold record, and the man that this site is named for, never sold more than 250,000 till album five and the only reason that albums 1-4 eventually went gold and platnum was because they were piggy backing the Purple Rain success.

But in this day and age, of downloading, i mean with one click on a site like MaxAlbums.com you can have basically anything and cd's that arent out for another 3 weeks in about 10 minutes. So if you are a "top 40" type artist like a Rihanna or a hip hop artist etc...this hurts you more than say Carrie Underwood or The Eagles, who can sell a million in a few weeks of release.

So what is more important now is people to just adjust the thinking, i mean, whats being invested thats what it comes down too, example if i gave you 10million in promotion and the record sold 500,000 it is a failure in terms of the "bottom line" balance sheet, not in terms of the what the charts are now or how things are selling on average. An album with no investment sells 100,000 its a positive to the "bottom line" but considered a "disappointment" to chartheads.

lastdecember said:

Prince went gold after 'Dirty Mind's' release. Controversy went gold before 1999's release.
1999 was double platinum before Purple Rain's release.

Maybe record executives need to take the declining sales of their flagship artists as a sign of change. They push aside more creative and talented musicians who are crafting what most people are really listening to because they don't fit into a format or don't have a look. Mariah has been around forever and the same old coy, sexy chick routine is wearing thin. Rihanna was overexposed for the past year for all the wrong reasons. Lesser known artists don't carry the baggage of being the "media darling" and the weight of living up to that role. Maybe it's time for some real music from some real musicians!

Speaking for myself if any of these artists dropped a CD tomorrow I'd be out getting it first thing in the morning...

J'Davey
Erykah Badu
Kudu
Van Hunt
Ambersunshower

[Edited 3/14/10 19:48pm]

SUPRMAN said:

1999 i wasnt mentioning because it was the "5th Album" which is when Prince saw much increased sales, and then it exploded for his catalog with Purple Rain

For all Dating Purposes From the RIAA site for official certifications

Prince "Controversy" GOLD on 1/14/1982
Prince "Dirty Mind" GOLD on 6/20/1984
1999 Certified Double Platnum 10/22/1984

The WHOLE record industry has been in shamples the whole past year save for Susan Boyle.

It just goes to show you that folks are fed up with the 1/2 assed fluff that record companies feed to the public with the arrogant attitude that they WILL buy it.

Anything without substance will end up flushed down the toilet no matter how FANCY it looks.

So no, Elaina 'Baldie' Reid ain't the only one floating on her own shit....

lastdecember said:

all that means is that those are the dates that Warner Bros. had them certified, which is often done as a promotional tool to make the numbers look good. actual sales figures are iffy, pre-Soundscan. and don't even start on that tired old rant that you wheel out every time someone brings up Soundscan.

SoulAlive said:

Uh, I agree "Touch My Body" and "Obsessed" are dire!

But the album tracks r really great. On E=MC2 i love For the Record, and Side Effects, and Last Kiss. And on the new album, I LUFF love Angels Cry and Its A Wrap! I mean, the singles r dire, i agree. But i think its unfair to judge the entire album based on those, theres a lot of great album tracks on the new albums!

But as i said- I couldn't deal with Hard Candy, i was so dissapinted. Discipline was fine, but not that great, really. My only problem with Mimi is how thin her voice is now. It sounds fine on the uptempos, but when she tries to belt, its so bad, even i can admit that.