Mariah’s E=MC2: A First Listen to Carey’s Eleventh Studio Album
At a private listening party hosted by L.A. Reid, Rolling Stone recently got a chance to check out Mariah Carey‘s eleventh studio album, the follow-up to 2005’s blockbuster The Emancipation of Mimi. Due April 15th, E=MC² jumps from hip-hop-flavored jams like the Young Jeezy-assisted “Side Effects” to bright, mega-catchy stuff like the disco “That Chick.” The album also tosses in a couple of big-voiced ballads (“Bye Bye,” a piano-based song about losing someone close to you) and beats from big-name producers like Jermaine Dupri, Will.i.am and Scott Storch. In a notable departure from earlier albums, Carey sings in a lighter, less showy voice than we’re used to on a few tracks, including lead single “Touch My Body.” A horny jam about a “secret rendezvous,” the single was co-written by Tricky Stewart and The-Dream, the team that co-penned Rihanna’s “Umbrella.”
Nate “Danja” Hills, who produced “Migrate” (which features T-Pain), tells RS that on that track Carey “definitely opens up towards the end of the song and shows what Mariah does. It’s a different array of her vocal range on this record, but she keeps it pretty mid-range and then toward the end she lets loose. She was singing in the room, and I was just blown away by how good it sounded without her even trying. It’s incredible, I see why she is who she is.”
Tracks confirmed for Mariah Carey’s E=MC² (more songs may be added, and this is not the final track order):
“Migrate”
“Touch My Body”
“Last Kiss”
“Lovin You Long Time”
“Thanx For Nothin'”
“That Chick”
“Cruise Control”
“Side Effects”
“Love Story”
“OOC”
“Bye Bye”
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