My Writings.

Merry Christmas, 1994           Carey's fourth studio album, released only a year after her biggest album "Music Box," is a Christmas-themed album titled, well, "Merry Christmas." The album is filled with classic Christmas carols and ballads, with three additional original songs completing the collection. Let's take a look.           It starts with a serene take on "Silent Night," a song about the nativity story. Carey's take builds the song around the atmospheric soundscape from the production. It truly sounds as if you're listening to a biblical narrator singing about the story in the barn where Jesus Christ was born. Talk about a journey to the past. The album then continues to the next song, "All I Want for Christmas Is You." The first original composition here, this is a song that I believe so many people have already known even from the title alone. One of the most famous songs on Earth, and I can hear why. Cheerful produ...

Music Box, 1993           We've come to this moment. A moment to wish for a dream lover to come and save us, to cherish our heroes if we can find them within us, and to be immersed in, strangely, sorrow. Opening song, "Dreamlover," is a lovely lowkey dance number with lyrics that are far fluffier than anything Carey has ever written up to that point. Her songwriting has grown to be softer and milder. Lines like "I want a lover who knows me, who understands how I'm feeling inside" and "baby, come on, take me away" come off as a bit surprising from the same woman who has delivered biting lyrics with the likes of "Someday," "Prisoner," and "You're So Cold."           The next song, "Hero," is a ballad about self-esteem. You heard it right. The composition is very ordinary but manages to be effective in conveying the message. At one point, you can literally hear the sky turns bright after a cold dark night. H...

Emotions, 1991           This has been the case with Mariah Carey; people thought she was more impressive of a singer rather than expressive. Pretty instead of gritty. Beautiful, not soulful. Maybe it's the nature of her insane vocal range, paired with the clarity of her tone whether it's low or high. Maybe it's her songwriting style that wasn't anything out of the ordinary (love songs, breakup ballads, etc.) Or, maybe, it's jealousy, but no one knows for sure. One thing remains true, though. No matter how many times she had to make the effort to prove critics wrong, there's always that impression which continues to stuck with her. Nevertheless, she kept trying to express more and more, and that may very well be heard on her second album titled "Emotions."           The album starts with the titular track, opening the album with such joyous vocal performance one might wonder, are they hearing things right? Her singing is defini...

Recently, I've had an epiphany. A revelation. A vision...of reviewing music of Mariah Carey. So, let's go back to the first time you and I have ever heard about her. Mariah Carey, 1990           The album starts with a soul ballad titled "Vision of Love." It's a prayer, at least from how I perceived it. The lyrics read like a series of incantation of thanks and glories to God. Interestingly, the songwriting seems to put a heavy emphasis on the "I" figure; I had a vision of love, I realized a dream, I visualized the love that came to be, etc. Mariah's lyrical works have become more and more intricate as years gone by, however, it's fascinating to see how direct the diction chosen for this song and so many other songs on this album. Next, we continue to "There's Got to Be a Way," which is a song about social movement. Or, perhaps, the plea to enact it. One of the things that makes one feel enamored by the songstress' works especia...