EVERYONE FALLS FOR "BAD MARIAH" STORY

EVERYONE FALLS FOR "BAD MARIAH" STORY *** One of yesterday's local papers got just about everything wrong in its story about Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston's new albums. I do hope Michael Lewittes takes them to task in his new Gossip Cop blog. The NY Daily News apparently doesn't know that this year's Grammy eligibility deadline has moved up a month to August 31. Because the decision was made late, Carey decided to wait and make her album good instead of rushed. As you can read in this column, the album is done and very, very good. *** Whitney's album is being released officially on August 31. It's been moved up a day from September 1. I'm just sayin'... let's get this stuff right. It ain't rocket science. Carey, by the way, cancelled a bunch of dates once the album was completed, and went on a late, delayed summer vacation. She has a big fall ahead, with the album release and the Lee Daniels Oscar movie, "Precious". (Showbiz 411)

MARIAH CAREY AMONG MEGSTARS MAKING THE TRIP TO TIFF

MARIAH CAREY AMONG MEGSTARS MAKING THE TiIP TO TIFF *** George Clooney and Oprah Winfrey are among the megastars coming to the Toronto International Film Festival next month. Other marquee stars scheduled to make the trip include Mariah Carey, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Colin Farrell, Chris Rock, Jennifer Garner, Keanu Reeves and Natalie Portman, according to a list of expected guests released by festival organizers today. *** Organizers also announced a new batch of movies set to screen at the fest, including "Mr. Nobody", which stars Jared Leto as the world's oldest man. Set in 2092, "Mr. Nobody" casts Leto as the last mortal left on Earth and also stars Canadian Sarah Polley and Diane Kruger. *** More than 300 films from 64 countries will screen at this year's festival. The 10-day fest kicks off Sept. 10 with the U.K. biopic "Creation", about Charles Darwin. (The Canadian)

MARIAH CAREY COVERED THE WRONG FOREIGNER SONG

MARIAH CAREY COVERED THE WRONG FOREIGNER SONG

*** The next single from Mariah Carey's upcoming album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel has been announced, and it's epic. Carey will unleash her cover of Foreigner's classic 1984 ballad "I Want to Know What Love Is", one of the most iconic song of the '80s.

*** Many will write off "I Want to Know What Love Is" as one of the schlockiest songs every written, but it's secretly brilliant. In fact, Carey should really take it a step further and record an entire album of late '70s/ early '80s ballads. She has already covered Journey's "Open Arms" (on her 1995 album Daydream), so she might as well do her own version of "Don't Stop Believing" (or "Any Way You Want It" if she's feeling cheeky). Styx's "Come Sail Away"? Why not? REO Speedwagon's "Keep On Loving You"? Yes please. "Hold On Loosely" by .38 Special? Absolutely!

Since Carey's voice is so high and versatile to begin with, she can wrap herself around the vocal stylings of Steve Perry and Dennis DeYoung without much fuss. And just for argument's sake, she might as well add a Rush song in there too (if only because she's got the same range as Geddy Lee, though can you imagine Carey singing the Ayn Rand-inspired lyrics of "Freewill"?).

*** Those are all excellent ideas, and though "I Want to Know What Love Is" was an excellent choice, she really should have covered "Hot Blooded" instead. Even better, she should have covered their acoustic version, a bongo-riffic performance if there ever was one. So come on, Mariah - give us a fever of a hundred and three!

(MTV Newsroom)

MARIAH CAREY'S NEXT SINGLE ANNOUNCED

MARIAH CAREY'S NEXT SINGLE ANNOUNCED *** Even though the "Obsessed" single is still flirting with the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 (it currently sits at number 14), Mariah Carey is already prepping the next single in the lead-up to the September 29 release of her 12th studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel. The song is a cover of Foreigner's signature ballad "I Want to Know What Love Is", which originally appeared on their 1984 album Agent Provocateur. A rep for the singer said "I Want to Know What Love Is" will hit radio soon but did not specify a date. *** Oddly, the report that announced the single - which Carey later posted to her official Web site and her Twitter account - refers to "I Want to Know What Love Is" as the first "real" single from the album. However, Carey's rep clarified that "Obsessed" is indeed the album's first single. *** Despite the buzz surrounding the single's release, the high-profile video, the controversy surrounding her and husband Nick Cannon's feud with Eminem and a performance on Cannon's show "America's Got Talent", "Obsessed" has peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 thus far. According to Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks sales of albums and singles, "Obsessed" has sold 383,000 downloads in five weeks, a respectable number but not quite up to Carey's past success (comparatively speaking, last year's "Touch My Body" moved nearly 300,000 downloads in its first seven days). *** Still, "Obsessed" is Carey's 40th charting single - tying her with Diana Ross for the eighth most of all time among female artists - and anticipation remains high for Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, which is now slated for a September 29 release and features production by The-Dream, Timbaland and Jermaine Dupri. (MTV News)

NEW ALBUM TO DEBUT TOO LATE FOR GRAMMY CONSIDERATION

*** Mariah Carey is refusing to be pushed around by the Grammys anymore. The songbird, who has won a mere five awards out of 21 nominations since 1991, is officially taking herself out of the running this year. She'll release her album "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" on September 29, missing the Grammy cutoff date by just one day.

*** "Mariah's been shafted so many times before that it's like a big 'Kiss my butt' to the Grammy folks," says a music industry insider. "She doesn't need the awards, because her career is already so successful." The diva definitely doesn't need trophies to sell her album: "Memoirs" has already spawned the hit single, "Obsessed" and has generated heavy industry buzz.
*** Although the singer just rescheduled a series of promotional appearances on programs like the "Today" show and "VH1 Storytellers", the insider says Carey is just busy adding more songs to her album, wanting the end result to be perfect. In addition to her CD, the singer is drawing rave reviews for her performance as a Harlem-based social worker in the indie flick "Precious". The Lee Daniels-directed movie debuted earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.
*** Meanwhile, fans hoping for a Battle of the Divas will be disappointed to learn that Whitney Houston's new CD will be released nearly a month earlier than Mariah's; the icon's first album in seven years is now set to hit shelves on September 1. Whit should be thankful she's avoiding a showdown with Mimi. Her album's first single, "I Look to You", received a lukewarm reception on pop radio, finally debuting on Billboard's Hot 100 last week at No. 74. Mariah, meanwhile, blasted onto that chart at No. 11 with "Obsessed".
*** Houston is hoping the record's second single, the Alicia Keys/Swizz Beatz-penned track "Million Dollar Bill", will make her some big bucks - it's being released just five weeks after "I Look to You". Says Houston's rep: "Our strategy has always been to release a song to urban formats ('I Look to You') and a song to pop formats ('Million Dollar Bill'). The reviews for 'I Look to You' have been glowing. In fact, Billboard has said this single 'signals the long-awaited return of a true diva'."

(New York Daily News)

MARIAH CAREY BETS ON NOSTALGIA, COVERING FOREIGNER

MARIAH CAREY BETS ON NOSTALGIA, COVERING FOREIGNER

Perhaps realizing that the focus should be less on Mariah Carey's feud with Eminem and a bit more on the pop diva, more hints were dropped today about the singer's upcoming "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel". The ad-supported album, which was originally set for August 25, is now due to be released September 29.
The second single from Carey's "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" will apparently be a cover of Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is" (perhaps tackling "Don't Stop Believing" would have been a too-obvious choice of pandering). The news was first reported by Roger Friedman, and his article has since been posted on Carey's official website.
This isn't the first time Carey has covered an '80s ballad - see her take on "I Still Believe". The latter gave Carey yet another top 10 hit, a status that has thus far eluded her "Obsessed". But it's far from a tanker, as the song is holding steady at No. 14.
Additionally, Nielsen SoundScan reports that the single has sold 383,000 downloads to date. The tally isn't bad for a song that's only been available for about a month, but it's not showing the kind of initial numbers her "Touch My Body" displayed last spring. The latter sold 286,000 downloads in its debut week, and shot to No. 1.
If anything, tackling a well-known power ballad seems like a safe choice. It's a comfortable fall-back plan after "Obsessed" performed well, but did far from blockbuster numbers. It will undoubtedly be a hit, but it's giving me more reason to fear "Imperfect Angel". The sort-of-real/sort-of-not feud with Eminem seemed largely a ploy to keep Carey in the headlines, and covering Foreigner seems just as calculated to steer Carey back onto familiar ground. Pop & Hiss awaits to be proven wrong.

MARIAH TO RELEASE BALLAD AS NEW SINGLE?

MARIAH TO RELEASE BALLAD AS NEW SINGLE?

*** After a rocky start with her single "Obsessed" and a couple album pushbacks, Mariah Carey is resorting to plan B. Showbiz 411's Roger Friedman reports that Mariah will release a "powerhouse ballad along the lines of 'Vision of Love'" as the follow-up to "Obsessed", which currently holds the No. 14 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
*** She is also back with her old publicist Cindi Berger of famed public relations group PMK/HBH. The two parted ways after Mariah's Charmbracelet project. The pop diva's 12th studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, has been rescheduled for the second time. The set will now arrive on September 29.
*** Berger explained the reason for the delay. "Record release dates change all the time," she told People. "It's nothing unusual and it doesn't signal anything. There are a lot of moving parts to Mariah's professional life... She's making sure the record is how she wants it to be and it's no big deal."

(Rap-Up)

MARIAH REVS UP NEW CD, RETURNS TO POWERHOUSE PR

MARIAH REVS UP NEW CD, RETURNS TO POWERHOUSE PR *** Mariah Carey - despite idiotic postings elsewhere - is gearing up for her big new CD release. Mariah feels so strongly about "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" that she's even re-hired the PR powerhouse that made her second-stage career such a success. She's back with Cindi Berger of PMK HBH. It was Berger who made her "Emancipation of Mimi" the biggest hit of Mariah's career. Smart move. *** Of course, that means both Mariah and Whitney Houston are now being repped by the same PR company. PMK's Kristen Foster is handling Whitney with my old pal, Jill Fritzo. *** "Memoirs" was scheduled for an August 25th release, then moved to September 15th. Now it's set for September 29th. If the regular Grammy deadline had been in place - September 30th - Mariah would have made it. But the unfortunate early deadline of August 31st cut her off. So she has some slack time to get "Memoirs" just right. *** The first single from Mariah's CD will not be "Obsessed" - that was just a summer trifle, and it was a lot of fun. The real first official single is said to be a powerhouse ballad along the lines of "Vision of Love". (Showbiz 411) *** So "Obsessed" is not the first single from the new album. Does this mean "Obsessed" won't be on "Memoirs of an imperfect angel", or does this mean that "Obsessed" is not really a single, despite being released to radio, with live performances, a video and even a physical single? It is No 1 on Billboard's Hot Singles Sales chart. *** Also, in May 2004, Roger Friedman wrote: "It was only three short years ago that Mariah Carey's career was in the toilet. But she seems to have forgotten that. Last week, Carey fired her longtime publicist, Cindi Berger, of powerhouse firm PMK HBH, because - I am told - she held her responsible for a stupid, unchecked gossip item that ran in a local newspaper." See: Mariah: singing a tune of self destruct? So how can Cindy be responsible for the success of an album that was released a year after she was fired?

WHY IS MARIAH CAREY CANCELING EVENTS?

WHY IS MARIAH CAREY CANCELING EVENTS?

*** Reports that Mariah Carey has rescheduled several upcoming appearances has left many fans wondering if something might be wrong with the singer. Carey, 40, had been tentatively set to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame August 25, perform on Today August 28, and also tape an episode of VH1's Storytellers.
*** But the singer's publicist Cindi Berger tells People there is no reason for concern: "These dates have been postponed and not cancelled," she said Friday. A source says the singer is completing her new album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, the release of which has been pushed to September 29.
*** "Record release dates change all the time," Berger confirms. "It's nothing unusual and it doesn't signal anything. There are a lot of moving parts to Mariah's professional life... She's making sure the record is how she wants it to be and it's no big deal."
*** In addition to working on her album, Carey is launching another perfume line and promoting her upcoming film, Precious, which is produced by Oprah Winfrey and opens in November. The reason for the calendar re-jiggering is explained further on Carey's official Website: "Mariah is putting the finishing touches on her newest album, and we have shifted all of our TV and promo appearances to coincide with the new release date of September 29th. We can't wait for the fans to hear the new album!!"

(People)

MARIAH CAREY, EMINEM'S WAR OF WORDS A "PUBLICITY STUNT"

MARIAH CAREY, EMINEM'S WAR OF WORDS A "PUBLICITY STUNT"

*** Mariah Carey's husband Nick Cannon has indicated that his wife's row with her ex-beau Eminem is just a publicity stunt to promote their new albums. Eminem declared war against the "Honey" hitmaker by discussing their brief fling in his recent track Bagpipes from Baghdad, and Carey retaliated by mimicking Eminem in the video for her latest track "Obsessed".
*** This urged Eminem to hit back again at her in a new song called "The Warning". According to critics, the fight has been orchestrated to promote Eminem and Carey's new albums - and Cannon seems to agree. "My wife doesn't beef (feud). She's Mariah Carey. She's not beef'in. She's vegetarian," Contactmusic quoted Cannon as telling Us Weekly.

(Thaindian Mews)