31
We Belong Together
Mariah Carey
The Emancipation of Mimi (2005)
I’ll confess: never in my life did I think I’d put Mariah Carey on a “best-of” anything list. Something about her just always rubbed me the wrong way – she seemed permanently stuck in high school, trying to be the popular girl at any cost – I just did not care for the woman. Does she have an amazing voice? No doubt. But the music wasn’t there. Then the “Glitter” debacle happened, and her world basically collapsed. Her music started flopping. She went crazy. The queen of #1s was now a mental case. And from these dark times she actually went ahead and recorded an album that I think she just made her happy, personally – the album title is fitting. And the music turned out good. Really good. The album’s best song ended up becoming an enormous hit, and deservedly so. “We Belong Together” sounded timely without being overly trendy, and was surprisingly clever lyrically (“This is getting too deep / I gotta change the station / so I turn the dial trying to catch a break”). This album, and in particular this song, represents an artistic oasis for Mariah. Her work since has been so-so, but at least now I know she has it in her.
Also check out: Follow-up single “Shake It Off” — which ended up just outside this top 50 list.