Mariah Carey has had the privilege to not care about making new music for a while now. The pop icon has built such a towering legacy over the course of her phenomenal career: 19 Billboard Hot 100 Number ones, six Grammys, and a catalogue that’s influenced an entire generation of artists from Adele to Ariana Grande. The elusive chanteuse could hang up her mic now, but she’s back again with her 16th studio album, ‘Here For It All’, not because she has something to prove, but just because she can.
This nonchalance manifests itself in two ways on ‘Here For It All’: apathy or greatness. The former is found on songs that draw more from the here and now, such as the underwhelming trap-driven ‘Confetti & Champagne’ or bland dancehall single ‘Sugar Sweet’ with Kehlani and Shenseea. Neither showcases any of Carey’s best assets: her voice and her pen. At the very least, sassy lead single ‘Type Dangerous’ and its hip-hop soul make things a little more interesting by sampling Eric B. & Rakim’s 1986 track ‘Eric B. Is President’.
But when the album is great, it soars. Title and closing track ‘Here For It All’, a rare six-minute song in 2025, starts off as a vulnerable piano ballad before it takes flight, segueing into a mid-tempo gospel moment: “Oh, my Lord, hallelujah / Holy Spirit, fall down on me / This is just a rehearsal, test flight / Praise the Most High”. The groovier moments on the album – funk-tinged ‘Play This Song’, assisted and produced by Anderson Paak., and disco-funk number ‘I Won’t Allow It’ – are also standouts sonically, with cheeky lyrics to match. “Wanted the fame, used my name, bet you thought you could do that… I won’t allow it,” she sings on the latter.
But the most striking thing on ‘Here For It All’ is how honest Carey is with showing the condition of her vocals: her whistles are tinier and more strained, her clearness now comes with a tinge of rasp, and her legendary melisma is no longer as agile. And yet, she goes for it all with gusto and confidence. Her schmaltzy cover of Paul McCartney and Wings’ 1973 hit ‘My Love’ showcases how inimitable her gorgeous tone is, and on ‘Jesus I Do’ with the Clark Sisters, essentially a modern-day version of 1991’s ‘Make It Happen’, Carey’s lightness and joy shine through for the first time in years. Her voice may not be what it was, but we’re still glad to have it around all the same.
Among the pantheon of Mariah’s 16 albums, ‘Here For It All’ might not rank very high. The record isn’t as cohesive or experimental as ‘Caution’, it’s not a big musical transition moment like ‘Butterfly’ was, and it’s not as viral-worthy as ‘Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel’ – but it’s still pretty darn good. For someone who’s had the ability to stop caring about making music long ago, Mimi remains committed to the craft that she’s had so much influence over, and we, too, are staying here for it all.
Details
- Record label: Gamma
- Release date: September 26, 2025