Jun 17 2009
“Obsessed” Mimi Keeps on Feudin’
All smiles whenever she has new product to sell to her adoring fans (aka lambs), Mariah Carey released her new single to radio this week. (picture courtesy of Reuters/Lucas Jackson)
Believe it or not, Mariah Carey’s new single “Obsessed” does not detail her fixation on dominating the music charts.Rather, the urban-tinged track- the first single from her upcoming Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel album (due August 25)- seemingly takes as a swap at rapper Eminem, who recently made more musical inferences about his supposed relationship with Carey on a track titled “Bagpipes From Baghdad.” In that track from his chart-topping album Relapse, Eminem warns Carey’s hubby, “Nick Cannon better back the f— up. “I’m not playin. I want her back, you punk.”Striking back and possibly alluding to Eminem’s admitted battle with drugs, “Obsessed” boasts lines like, “It must be the weed, it must be the E. ‘Cause you be poppin’, you get it poppin’.” Furthermore, while never naming Eminem, the track contains a line asking the real MC to stand up, referencing Em’s “The Real Slim Shady.”
In the early part of the decade, Eminem claimed that he and Carey were involved for six months or so. Carey previously addressed those claims in her 2002 track “Clown,” but that only encouraged Eminem. Over the last several years, the Detroit MC has continued rehashing his Mimi talk, and, in turn, Mimi (and now her husband) apparently cannot let it go.
Regardless of the Eminem-Mariah drama, how is the song itself? Well, on the positive side, it’s not the typical Mimi track- meaning, she’s not singing about how she needs a man to survive, how she can’t make it without him or how he makes her feel all tingly and warm inside. However, in typical Mimi style, there’s no sonic adventure, no musical grandeur throughout the track. Plus, the 40-year-old songbird continues singing about juvenile goings-on (that probably will not ever change, but one can keep hoping, right?) And, what’s with all the autotune, girl?
If Carey wants to avoid maturing musically, fine, but at least find time to release a nice, uptempo fresh-sounding pop track, along the lines of 2005’s “Say Somethin.’ ” Granted, that track- unsurprisingly- did not make much of a dent on the charts, but thanks to The Neptunes, at least, it was a sonic shift for Mimi.
Nonetheless, depending on its digital release date, “Obsessed” very well may give Carey another No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, which would take her one step closer to tying The Beatles’ all-time record of 19. Hard to believe, but those are the statistics. She just landed her 18th less than a year-and-a-half ago, with “Touch My Body.” Unfortunately for our chart-obsessed girl, none of the three follow-up singles had much impact (nor did her Tennessee soundtrack single ”Right to Dream” and a collaboration with The-Dream, “My Love”), so she’s hoping to compensate by rush-releasing her newest album.
Even if “Obsessed” ends up stiffing, no doubt Carey has the next “We Belong Together” waiting in the wings. Whether the music audience wants to hear her sing that sentiment (or one similar) for roughly the 60th time or so, is another matter.
More on Mimi Carey, her adventures and latest releases in the coming weeks…
