14 DAY TRIAL // First, Mariah Carey pushed back the release of her latest album, “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel,” from August 25 to September 15 and did not even make the delay public at first. Then, speculation started to build that she was having issues with the album, so much so that this might have been one of the reasons for which Def Jam decided to include ads on it to coup some of the hypothetical losses. Now, PageSix claims the album will not be ready in time for release.
Following the moderate success of her previous album, with “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel” means a lot of pressure for Mariah from all sides, since a hefty amount of money has been invested in it and expectations as to how it will fare commercially are set high. From what the tab says, citing sources well familiar with the situation but who obstinately refuse to reveal their identity, it seems that “Memoirs” is in deep and troubled waters.
First off, the singer does not seem to have enough time left to complete her album and, even if she does, the pressure is huge as Whitney Houston is also gearing up to make her comeback with “I Look to You.” Moreover, Whitney got a definitely better reception with the “Million Dollar Bill” single than Maria did with “Obsessed,” several music-oriented publications point out. “Mariah Carey is said to be scrambling to complete her new album, ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel.’ ‘She’s getting very nervous now that Whitney Houston is coming back,’ said our source. We’re told Carey signed with manager Chris Lighty four months ago, but the album still isn’t finished.” the aforementioned publication writes.
Lighty, Mariah’s first manager since September of last year, is not willing to discuss this kind of details with the media, as it’s easily understandable. However, his unwillingness to address the topic even to deny it only makes matters worse, because it leaves open the possibility that the rumors actually have a grain of truth to them, gossip blogger Perez Hilton, for instance, points out.
“Lighty told Page Six by e-mail, ‘My management company is dealing with [Mariah’s] music, brand extensions and commercial opportunities. We love Mariah.’ Carey hasn’t had a music manager since splitting with Benny Medina last September and has only released one single – ‘Obsessed’ – off the album so far. We tried to get more details from Lighty, but he told us he was ‘at the beach’ and couldn’t talk. When we called her PR firm, a rep said, ‘We are no longer working with Mariah’.” PageSix further writes.