Review of 'The Meaning Of Mariah Carey' by Michaela Angela Davis & Mariah Carey

-

After listening to the audiobook for a lot of hours, I was able to connect on some levels with the story of Mariah Carey. She is for sure a little cuckoo, for sure, maybe more at this point, but let's be honest, who isn't? And after going through her story, I can say that we have a glimpse into her mind and soul. Sometimes she is extremely superficial and sometimes deeply relatable. Hearing her reading with that magnificent voice is what exactly made this experience for me special. I don't believe that I will spend the same time reading about her; it was much more fun hearing from her, and the author of the book, the story of Mariah Carey.

I was introduced in high school to the music of Mariah by my best friend then. She showed me some of her best songs, including "I Know What You Want" and "I Want to Know What Love Is," etc. I never felt like one of the lambs; even after this book, I can't call myself that, but I am playing some songs from the past, going through her music. "Caution" is the only album that I spared time to listen to from top to bottom, and it is cohesive, R&B, liquid, and good. I love this album. After the book, I feel like discovering even more, which is one of my points about this book. Are all books a PR move, or let's say, are most of the memoirs a PR move whose job is to activate old and new fans into a frenzy?

Monet X Change and Bob The Drag Queen spoke with another RuPaul's contestant, Ivy Odly, and Monet mentioned how cool the book is. I was coming after RuPaul's memoir, with which I connected much more, and I was able to appreciate it on a whole other level, so I decided that I want to hear the voice of the diva. And the diva in me said, "Go, order the audiobook," so I did. There is a peek into the music industry that I appreciate, a dark vision into the reality of what artists go through, especially artists of this magnitude or the ones that strive to get to this level. Yet, this peek is superficial, with a lot of name-dropping and shallow mentions of stories. Although some of them were extremely interesting, when Mariah spoke about Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross, my ears were like Scooby-Doo's in these moments.

I love how open Mariah came to be in chapters where she spoke about her family and their toxicity. For me, this was the point that made her relatable and real. Whenever I heard her saying "Darling" were the moments that she lost my attention to the story. Those stories were on the surface, her world, rich and glamorous, something that I felt was far from me; nevertheless, as I mentioned, her problems were the anchor to the story. Sometimes she flew so high in the clouds I was sure that she'd never come back, but in some moments she broke herself, telling about her father and his fate, when you hear the real her. I even one time heard her laughing, but not with that 'darling' laugh, rather the real out-of-belly laugh that really surprised me. I had never heard Mariah Carey laugh; it was like a light on a dark day. Overall, the book is a positive experience and there are many lessons that you can take. I am admitting that she feels annoying on many occasions. That doesn't make me dislike her, no, I like her even more and I have an idea of what she is like. I felt sad how distant fame makes you, how separated you become from the world, not able to experience things that we do on a daily basis, things that become important after you lose them. 

There is a reason why Mariah Carey is at the top of her game: her raw talent and business savviness are what created this Diva, and even though I acknowledge her persona, she deserves to act as she wishes to. This is her prerogative and she is entitled to herself. Should you go listen to her for 11 hours? It provides some information about the music industry that is not deep enough to really engage you; rather through this glimpse, she shares her own experience. Many things are out of order, but they make sense. She sings, she cries, she tells stories out of school. If you are into this stuff, go ahead.

Iliya Badev

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Balanced Manifesto Of Hate

-
Image
I think hate is underrated or misused. Usually, hate points in the direction of clues about what a person fears becoming or what they want to possess or become. In that sense, it serves as a good map of human behavior. The more someone hates, the more fear presents itself. The more we understand our motivations and behaviors, the better we are able to control and overrule them. But lately, when we hate, we don’t hold a mirror to it to examine why it’s happening. Instead, we just blindly hate—or worse, we forbid hate, treating it like something we shouldn’t feel. Yet, in this world, we can all admit that every emotion serves a purpose, as long as it’s felt in balance. Repressing emotions is probably why you’re reading this right now, nodding along, or feeling some inflammation in your throat, ready to burst into anger, tears, or laughter. Or maybe you just feel bored or nothing at all, craving a distraction. Bear with me—this list of things I hate is created to better understand myself....
Read more

An Intentional Manifesto Of Love & Gratitude

-
Image
Since I discovered the enormous amount of hate piling up, nothing seemed more important than releasing it by creating The Balanced Manifesto of Hate. This book serves a unique purpose: offering a powerful and, at times, funny acknowledgment of what frustrates me, stripping the power away from it with humor and honesty. However, it cannot only be about hate, I thought. To counter those overwhelming feelings, I decided to create An Balanced Manifesto of Love & Gratitude, where I will share the things I love and am most grateful for. For the past few months, I have been fascinated not only by hate but also by the simple act of being grateful for parts of my life. This reflective method, which I implemented after learning about its success from a Harvard teacher whose research shows that regularly practicing gratitude creates a happier and more appreciative environment, should do the opposite of what the manifesto of hate is doing. Instead of tearing feelings away from life, it shoul...
Read more

October Movie Pick: 'Smile 2'

-
Image
You should stop smiling at me, it is disturbing! But what about the movie? I loved it. I saw it late yesterday, and I am still thinking about it. In fact, I almost didn't sleep because I was alone, super scared, with my dog, who I believe is Gen Z—very sensitive, loud, and needs protection. So, I had some time to think about it, and some of the sequences will stay with me to haunt me probably forever. The first movie was very good; I remember going to see it, and after it ended, my friend stood up and did the smile at me in the movie theater. I almost hit him, cursing him not to do it ever again. I did it to him when we got back home that same night, and I am waiting for him to come back from his Saturday fiasco to remind him how I feel about him repeating that tradition yesterday. I understand when some of you say that this movie wasn’t it, because of the raw gore, creepy images, and the hundreds of jump scares throughout the movie, but for me, this was the best horror movie exper...
Read more