Mariah Carey - HATEU

This is the third single off of Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel. This too had been a favorite at the listening parties held over the summer. The original is a smooth R&B midtempo. Vocally, Mariah sounds great. The lyrics are nice as well. The real gem is the new remix which is slated to be on an upcoming remix album of the MOAIA album. The remix is an energetic uptempo. Sampling heavily from the mid 90's R&B/Freestyle hit "My Boo" by Ghost Town DJs, Mariah re-recorded her vocals and added some new lyrics. She even sings some of the hook from the "My Boo" track. It's refreshing to hear her do a remix of this sort as it has been a while. It's a great way to introduce the classic to a new generation in this form. Also featured are some verses by OJ Da Juiceman, Big Boi & Gucci Mane. Both versions are wonderful.

Listen to the original here (YouTube)
Listen to the remix here (YouTube)
Grade: A

Mariah Carey - Obsessed

This is the highly anticipated lead single off of her forthcoming album Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel. This comes nearly a 15 months after her E=MC2. It just premiered on Chicago's B96 a few minutes ago.

Produced by The Dream, she sings about a certain someone who is quite preoccupied with her. For the last week or so, rumors have swirled that the mystery person was rapper Eminem, but no one person is mentioned by name on the song.

The song is a midtempo with an old school type of vibe. It has Summer club smash written all over it. Mariah's vocals are heavily vocoded a la T-Pain or Zapp & Roger. It works well though. A remix version featuring rapper Gucci Mane will be released in the next few weeks.

This song will be streamed on Mariah's official website at 4PM (Eastern Standard Time).

Grade: A-