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Mariah: Mama Said Knock You Out

Posted Wed Mar 5, 2008 1:00pm PST by Billy Johnson, Jr. in Hip-Hop Media Training

Mariah sure knows what she's doing.

Have you seen her "Touch My Body" video? It prompted me to write her a letter.

Dear Mariah,

Great video. Good job MC. Considering the popularity of the geek slap stick films Superbad, 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up it was genius to incorporate the idea into your "Touch My Body" video. What a treat it must have been for 30 Rock page Jack McBrayer to roll up to the mansion in the Compu Nerd Wolkswagon Bug only to have you open the door for him in your underwear? How did you pick him? This is funny. I'm going to watch it again, again, and again.

How are you able to make this whole music thing look so easy. You stepped in the ring in 1989 with "Vision Of Love," and nearly 20 years later, you are still knocking out the competition.

[Whispering] I know we don't like to talk about this, but you're almost 40, but you're hanging with the baby girls. Dang. Go Mariah!

If Janet's Discipline album debuted today at No. 1, selling a buck eighty during its first week on sale, I wonder what E=MC2 is going to do on Wednesday, April 23 when its first week numbers are revealed. Might then E=Discipline2? (I'm just joking Janet.)

Mariah, I know you're going to uphold your status as the best selling female artist of all time. Hopefully, that's a title that won't get Aretha Franklin upset.

Best,
Billy J

 

Here's why Mariah is different from the other Queens. The answer is in Glitter and the decisions it prompted her to make.

Mariah really believed that her pre-Glitter 'Tommy Motolla and J. Lo are out to get me' meltdown was going to sell her some movie tickets and soundtracks, thus jumpstarting her new $81.6 million, four album deal with Virgin Records. But when that approach backfired, MC fired back.

Mariah left Virgin Records after only releasing one of those four albums. But that one album that sold just 1 million copies, compared to the 5 to 10 million albums she generally sells, had to earn her the biggest payout. She signed to Virgin for a $81 million deal, but she walked away with $49 million after only releasing ONE album. She essentially received 60 percent of the profits for doing 25 percent of the work. Sorry Frank Lucas and Jay-Z, I think this makes her the true American Gangster.

Turned out that the so-called Glitter flop was better than any medicine Dr. Phil could have prescribed. It was the reality check Mariah needed to prompt her to get her career back on track. You would have thought Mariah was a single mother with five hungry kids. She singed with Island Def Jam, threw the Charmbracelet together really quickly, and started gearing up for The Emancipation Of Mimi.

The Emancipation came back so hard that it reminded me of that scene from the Color Purple when Sophia told Celie that she had to beat up her husband Harpo. "All my life I had to fight," Sophia said. "I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my uncles. I had to fight my brothers. A girl child ain't safe in a family of men, but I ain't never thought I'd have to fight in my own house!" Mariah's comeback gave me those kind of chills.

Mariah went from Glitter to "We Belong Together" which set a BDS record for having the largest one-day and one-week total audience.

That's a comeback.

That's why people don't talk about Glitter anymore because Mariah has new news, and today it's the "Touch My Body" video.

All artists struggling to make a comeback please take note. If Mariah won't start doing workshops, please pick up her catalog and do your own research. In memory of the late famous attorney Johnnie Cochran I must rhyme, "Make a hit, they will forget." It is not that complicated.

Now that Mimi has been emancipated, she's back to doing what she does best: taking off her clothes, singing seductively and forcing on us that unnecessary, yet impressive, high pitch octave range.

If she couldn't sing so well and write and produce, she would be just another struggling, bargin bin wannabe diva.

But it is amazing that she has maintained relevancy for 20 years like no other pop artist has done.

Mariah, sometimes you get on my nerves, as do some of my relatives, but I still love you. You are a great talent.

How you manage to do this at nearly 40 is remarkable. As our old friend MC Hammer used to say, Please don't hurt 'em. And I mean that.

890 Comments

61. BarryL -
The music-if you call it that-is laughable,but she looks great!!

62. ANDREWJANE -
very beautifull

63. Shane -
OMG Mariah is sooooooooooooooo beautiful

64. anduare -
soft song and all. but really what's up with the guy? I figured when you left for a moment you would have come back with something more DIVA not Lame....get back to the you and stop with the somebody else. be u

65. Betty -
wow.. her voice sounds like she sixteen.... well and she hot too.

Betty

66. Papito De Paz -
I love the Red dress. Where can i find it, for my Mariah.

67. Mrz`J -
Mariah is a great singer, a lot of people forgot how good she was, but she has proven herself time after time..and she still got her voice along with her bi-racial sex appeal.. I ain't mad at cha Mimi.. do ya thang, cause them haters gon hate regardless.. now lets give 'em something to talk about!!

68. Yahoo! Music User -
the song isn't bad at all but sweetheart youre almost 40 stop dressing like youre in high school

69. Yahoo! Music User -
The mucic is fun an catchy, and I'd pay good money just to watch her breath!

70. shivku -
Do videos in Yahoo! ever play?

71. Dave -
The only thing missing from this stupid video was Weird Al.

72. Yahoo! Music User -
She's so good! Her voice, looks, everything! Thumbs up!

73. Shane -
omg Mariah is sooooooo beautiful

74. Ginger -
al she does is yodle when she sings Im sick of her!!

75. star_is_born -
When you are an aging singer, and thats the only way to sell your records, I think posing nude for Playboy might come next.

76. David -
lol being a porn star is not strategic marketing. Nor is it briliant, selling sex has been used since tv was invented it is not genious. Genious is Beethoven's 5th symphony. Or mozart's requium. This is just plain old crap, and just trying to get something out there and make some quick bucks. Because there are people who fall in love with a half naked body more then they do with the art. Unfortunately if this is art, than porn is just as good as this video. Probably better, cause its a more genious and brilliant strategic marketing lol

77. WoGi -
She's so completely UN-sexy and her voice is like a nail on a blackboard. Pitiful. The video is one of the worst I've seen. Give me Rihanna's incredible Umbrella and smoldering but classy sex appeal.

And please, Whitney, come baaaaackkkkkkkkkkkkk!

78. Mr. 1 -
You are so right Billy, no other female artist out today can begin to compare to Mariah's voice, songwriting ability and sheer drive. There is a reason why she has 17 #1 songs(soon to be 18), There is a reason "The Emancipation of Mimi" was the best selling album of 2005(More than 50cents or Madonna),There's a reason her tour sold out and played to pack houses,There is a reason that Christina,Kelly Clarkson,Beyonce,Jessica Simpson, Leona Lewis and half the female American idol contestants name MARIAH as a major influence on their singing techniques and style, There is a reason that when she got knocked down or put down, she didnt STAY down........the reason is.......SHE'S THE BEST! And a LIVING ICON!

79. shiela joy -
Mariah is great singer

80. tammya -
Mariah rocks...she has the talent to make anything she does great. You keep on doing what you're doing Mariah, it keeps a smile on this face. I love ya, so much i named my first born after you.
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