14 DAY TRIAL // Word in the industry has it that Mariah Carey, undeniably one of the most successful and talented female artists of our time, might be having some problems with her upcoming studio material, “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel,” which has already been pushed back not once, but twice. Her second single off it, a cover of the classic “I Want to Know What Love Is,” has just leaked on the Internet and is already getting fans at each other’s throats.
Despite denials from Mariah’s camp that “Obsessed,” the track in which the diva was seemingly taking a swing at none other than former reported lover, rapper Eminem, was not an official single, it is still perceived this way by the music community. Because of this, Mariah should have come up with something better for a second single than a cover of a classic love ballad, critics say, because, in this context, it just seems a desperate gesture. Mariah’s take on Foreigner’s classic is scheduled for release for the end of September, but it’s already loose on the Internet, dividing fans.
On the one side, there are those who say Carey has enough talent and the financial resources to come up with something better than a lame cover to one of the most successful love ballads of all times. Gossip blogger Perez Hilton, for instance, is so convinced that Mariah’s entire album will flop, that he doesn’t even bother listening to the single properly, labeling it “mediocre at best” and saying it has too much “squealing” towards the end.
Granted, Hilton never had any kind of reputation for being objective or savvy in the way of the words, but at least he’s always given credit where credit was due, those in the other group say. In this particular case, no one can deny Mariah’s breathtaking rendering and vocal acrobatics on the ballad, even if not many are willing to give it a listen because it’s such a soppy, “girlie” song. Still, taken outside the context of today’s market (which is one of the things Perez reproaches to the singer, namely that she has “lost touch with who she is in the marketplace”), Mariah’s ballad is stunning to say the least.
“Mariah’s vocal delivery for most of the song is the restrained, breathy whisper that she’s employed to great effect in the post-‘Glitter’ era – it barely opens up on the chorus until the second time through, which is surprising because it renders the overall effect sort of flat at first. Things get better a bit on the second run-through – you can actually hear the heartbreak and pain that she’s singing about – and carry through that way until the very end of the song, when the gear-shift key change kicks in, and the gospel choir swoops down from the heavens, and Mariah’s even playing with the trademark octave-leaping that set her out from the diva pack all the way at the beginning of her career.” Idolator writes.
Below is Mariah Carey’s “I Want to Know What Love Is,” the second single off her upcoming album. Listen carefully and decide for yourselves what (and who) to believe.