Glitter: A look back at the downfall of Mariah Carey

Hey All. I just think that 4 years is enough time where we can go back now and re-assess the whole "Glitter" chapter in Mariah Carey's life. First of all, I'd like to say the album Mariah did for "Glitter" is actually really, really good. It's probably my favorite Mariah Carey album. Her voice sounds awesome on such ballads as "Lead the Way" and "Never Too Far" and there are some kickin' up-tempo tracks like "Loverboy" and "Don't Stop (Funkin' 4 Jamaica)." Mariah even does crystal-clear really high mirror-cracking voice a few times and it sounds totally awesome.

Yes, it's true that the movie is horrible. I haven't even been able to sit down and watch the whole thing in one sitting. But, I think I have seen the whole thing now in bits and pieces that I've caught on television. It is not Mariah's fault that this film is so bad. The screenplay is HORRIBLE. It mostly consists of people saying "Oh" and "Uh-Huh" and not even speaking in whole sentences. So, maybe Mariah should have thought twice before signing on to do the film in the first place. But, then I think we would have never gotten the awesome "Glitter" album that she did for the movie. So, it's definitely a Catch-22.

I guess the thing that makes me wonder the most is what if Mariah had just been able to make the "Glitter" album and not the movie? Would the public have embraced the album? Would Virgin records have paid her that exorbitant amount of money to buy her out of her contract with them? Would Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff have still been able to write songs together? The songs Mariah wrote with Walter are undoubtedly the best of her career, by the way. And, I wonder if she could have avoided her whole nervous breakdown if she had just been able to do an album in 2001 instead of both an album and a movie. So, it's definitely food for thought. My guess is that the public would have gotten sick of her anyway. Pop music changed a lot in the 2000's than what it was in the 1990's. Mostly Mariah Carey is guilty of getting older, something she can't help at all. But, she could just graciously subside into a respectable R&B/pop album artist who doesn't make big waves but turns in a respectable album every three years or so. It works very well for Anita Baker, doesn't it?