Guys, does anyone else feel really bad for Mariah Carey? She’s been having a bit of a hard time of things lately. It’s like a woman gets to a certain age and isn’t what she used to be and suddenly showbiz doesn’t wanna know. Mariah is a LEGEND, and yet even L.A. Reid, who happens to be her label boss, doesn’t think she’s got what it takes to have another hit song. How messed up is that?
From Billboard:
You signed Carey to IDJ and now Epic. Six years since her last top 10 song, what do you expect from her new single, “Infinity”?
Mariah Carey made her first hit record in 1991. To even be on the radio at this point in her career is a huge accomplishment, because radio doesn’t cater to veteran artists or legends. Radio caters to in-the-moment stars. … Nobody that put out records 25 years ago is going to have a No. 1. Not Paul, Stevie, Bruce, Mick or Keith. Not Prince, not anyone. So if she can get on the radio, we’ve done damn good. Would we like to have a No. 1? F– yeah, I’m greedy. But it’s not realistic.
I mean, in a way, I guess we need to appreciate his honesty, because while it’s messed up, he’s pretty much telling the truth. Of course, to change that, the industry needs to change, and I just don’t think that’s going to happen. But Mariah is talented! Yeah, she’s “past her prime” in terms of being seen as sexy and therefore viable (which is dumb), and yeah, she may not have the range she once did, but she can still sing better than 90% of the people on the radio these days, so it’s messed up that she can’t catch a #1 break these days. Then again, they need to give her better damn songs. “Infinity” was a fucking disaster.