Mariah
Urban Contemporary, 2025
Here for It All is Mariah Carey’s 16th album, and her first under her own imprint Mariah and the independent recording company Gemma.
I wonder if her independence has anything to do with this album smoothly overcoming an issue that plagues her previous few albums: the songs here, for once, fit her present vocal range, so she never comes off too much as straining for higher notes that she can no longer reach.
Hence, power ballads like the title track, In Your Feelings, and Nothing Is Impossible see more graceful transitions from her huskier lower register to her higher one without making me wince. These songs, therefore, are actually very pleasant and listenable.
On the whole, the album sounds like three different albums smushed into one. There’s the pre-Butterfly sounds in the poppier power ballads, and then there’s the more R&B sounds in songs like Sugar Sweet and Confetti and Champagne. As for the rest, she channels a more retro-sounding R&B — think Jackson 5 and such — with songs such as Jesus I Do and Play This Song.
These songs are all fine.
The only issue is that, well, they don’t really stand out aside from that bouncy and in your fun lead single Type Dangerous, but the infectious hook is largely due to the clever sampling of the fabulous Eric B. Is President by Eric B and Rakim.
The songs have that very familiar DNA that make them “Well, it’s nice, but I do feel like I’ve heard them before many times already from her.” Therefore, there is a safe, almost comfortable vibe to this album. This kind of feels odd, considering that Ms Carey claimed that she had gone out of her way to experiment with new sounds and all, when the result is a pleasant comfort listen.
Still, this is not a bad thing at all, as this is also the first time in a while that her vocals are steady and confident, and the songs make me feel like Mariah Carey has found her voice again. It’d definitely be interesting to see where she’d go from here, as she’s now free of having to jump through various hoops held by studio suits.
