Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse
Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse is the fourteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. The album was released on May 27, 2014 through Def Jam Recordings marking her last studio effort with the label. It features guest appearances from Nas, Miguel, Wale, and Fabolous. The deluxe edition of the album also saw appearances from Mary J. Blige and R. Kelly. Carey, Bryan Michael Cox and Jermaine Dupri served as executive producers on the album. The first half of the album's title derived from a self-portrait Carey drew as a young girl that she captioned "Me. I Am Mariah", while the latter half of the title is derived from a nickname.
Having been in development since 2011, Carey originally scheduled the album for release in 2012 under the title The Art of Letting Go. However, following the commercial failure of the single, "Triumphant ", and the album's title leaking, the album was reworked and Carey recorded additional songs causing the release date to be pushed back multiple times throughout 2013 and early 2014.
Upon release, the album received generally positive reviews, and debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, becoming her seventeenth top-ten album in the country. It also topped the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and reached top 15 in various countries including the UK, Spain, Canada, Italy, Australia and New Zealand. Carey promoted the album with several media appearances alongside The Elusive Chanteuse Show. Four singles were released from the album including "#Beautiful", "The Art of Letting Go", "You're Mine ", and "You Don't Know What to Do".
Development
Background and recording
Following her thirteenth studio album Merry Christmas II You and the birth of her children in 2011, Billboard announced that Carey had begun work on a full-length fourteenth studio album. In March 2011, Carey's representative stated that Carey was going to donate royalties for an unreleased song titled "Save the Day", which she had written for her upcoming studio album, to charities that create awareness for human-rights issues. Her then-husband Nick Cannon told Billboard in May that year, that Carey had already completed a good amount of recording for the new album, teasing a new single, and confirming that the album would be inspired by her debut self-titled album and its follow-up, Emotions. In September, Carey's producer and friend Jermaine Dupri took to his social network Global14 to reveal that he was back in the studio with her working on new music.In the April 2012 issue of Shape magazine, Carey stated: "I've started writing songs for a new album, which I hope will come out in 2012. Getting back in the studio and making music again-which I truly love doing-is the best way to end this crazy year". In August 2012, producer Bryan Michael Cox said that he had worked with Carey on the album, praising her commitment "to making it before she got pregnant", and added that after the pregnancy, "we started really vibing again and we picked up right where we left off". In September 2012, Carey was in the studio with R. Kelly. Carey also worked with DJ Clue?, Randy Jackson, Q-Tip, R. Kelly, David Morales, Loris Holland, Stevie J, James Fauntleroy, Ray Angry, Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, James "Big Jim" Wright, Hit-Boy, The-Dream, Da Brat, and Rodney Jerkins. In mid-2013, she was seen in the studio on separate occasions with Mike Will Made It and Young Jeezy, Wale, and Nas. Carey stated that "I'm collaborating with a lot of my favorite people but the main thing is I'm not trying to follow any particular trend, I want it to be well received. I want to stay true to myself and the music that I love and make the fans happy".
While both "Save the Day" and a cover of the jazz standard "Lullaby of Birdland" were originally set to be included on the album, Carey later released them for her compilation album of unreleased songs, The Rarities.
Delays and release
In August 2012, Carey's then-manager Randy Jackson told Billboard that the album was set for release in March 2013. Carey told Ryan Seacrest in September of that year, "I want to sooner, but I guess it wouldn't be ready until around January 2013, somewhere around there. I wanted to put another single out, a ballad. I love it, but I'm still writing, I'm still working. So, you never know what it's going to end up being". On August 3, 2012, Carey released the single "Triumphant ", a collaboration with rappers Rick Ross and Meek Mill, which was originally intended to be the lead single for the album. The single garnered low impact both critically and commercially, and was eventually scrapped as the lead single.In February 2013, Carey stated that she wanted to release the album as soon as possible. The album was delayed to May 2013, which soon changed to July 23, 2013. However the album was announced to be delayed again and set for release on May 6, 2014. In an interview in February 2014, Carey added that there would be songs on the album about her husband, as well as songs that she wrote specifically for her twin children. That same month, Carey announced to MTV News that she had added three new songs to the track list, one extra Hitboy record and two new remixes, and stated that she was in the process of choosing a new title for the album following it being leaked online.
In April 2014, The Island Def Jam Music Group was shuttered by Universal Music Group; Island Records and Def Jam Recordings went on to operate as separate entities, with Carey being transferred from Island to Def Jam. That same month, Carey discussed issues around the failed singles and push backs during an interview with Billboard saying that she wanted fans to hear the album as a full body of work and thus performance of individual singles was less important. Carey considered a "Beyoncé-style surprise digital release" – in reference to Beyoncé's self-titled album released to the iTunes Store in December 2013 without any prior warning – but Def Jam confirmed that Carey's album would receive a traditional release with pre-orders starting May 1, 2014, a pre-announced album cover, track listing and a final confirmed release date for May 27, 2014. The album also was released early to stream via USA iTunes 'First Play' on May 20, 2014. The album served as Carey's final release under her deal with Def Jam.
Title and artwork
On June 16, 2013, Walmart put the album up for pre-order and revealed its title as The Art of Letting Go. The following day, producer Jermaine Dupri confirmed that Walmart was correct and that the album would be called The Art of Letting Go. In February 2014, Carey expressed dismay that the album's title had leaked and confirmed that a new title would now be chosen. The album was retitled Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse, a two-part title taking its name from two things personal to Carey. The first part is the caption from Carey's "first and only self-portrait", a drawing she drew as a child which is included as part of the album's back cover, while the second half is a nickname she's adopted recently.Summarizing the title and album's concept, Carey said "This album is a reflection of some of the peaks and valleys that made me who I am today. I've always known me. I am Mariah." Carl Williot from Idolator called the album title both "absurd" and "insane". He also lambasted Carey for including "annoying" punctuation in the track listing, including a hashtag for the song "#Beautiful", a period for the song "Cry." and appending characters to the song "Money ". Times Dan Macsai called it the "greatest, most over-the-top album title of all time."
On the standard edition cover, Carey poses with her arms behind her head, while wearing a nude-colored crocheted swimsuit. The deluxe edition features a close-up of Carey's face, on the same sun-kissed background. Jeremy Blacklow from Yahoo! Music commented that some fans felt that the album covers "look retouched to the extreme".
Composition
Genre and themes
Consisting of fifteen songs and four deluxe songs Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse is an R&B album with a diverse musical style that incorporates hip hop, hip hop soul, soul and elements of disco and gospel.Mike Wass of Idolator described the album as being a concept album that journeys through the eras of R&B, from Motown to the '90s, disco and early hip-hop. Describing the album, Carey noted that "there are a lot more raw ballads than people might expect and there are also uptempo and signature-type songs that represent different facets as an artist".
Writing for The Boston Globe, Sarah Rodman said "Me. I Am Mariah... offers up rhythmic hip-hop pop, gospel-inflected power ballads, old-school soul, and straight-up disco fantasias"; Rodman described the album's production as being built over a "pulsating atmosphere" and "fidgety rhythmic tracks."
Jim Farber of New York Daily News said the album as a return to form after Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, which Fader described as a "disastrous". He noted the album's musical content as containing "grand balladry, and formal melodies."
Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly, noted "nostalgia" to be a big and recurring theme both lyrically and musically, continuing to comment on this saying the "arrangements that borrow from Inner Life's disco rave-up 'I'm Caught Up ' and the O'Jays' Philly-soul classic 'Let Me Make Love to You'."
Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine noted the album's lyrics to be "personal, crazy. Crazy personal," Henderson continued calling the album's lyrical content an "deliberately confusing innocence with insight, obliviousness with bliss."
Carey's voice on the album was described by Elysa Gardner of USA Today, as "artful melisma, robust belting and decorative high notes." Gardner continued, noting Mariah's use of her "supple middle and lower registers to convey feeling simply and directly."