I really hate that there’s a hash tag in the title of this song. It was obnoxious enough when will.i.am used one in the title of his new album. We certainly didn’t need Mariah to do that. It just seems like a lame attempt to capture the attention of the Twitter generation. She’s a living legend and that sort of thing should be beneath her. But onto the actual song…
“#BEAUTIFUL” begins with a guitar part that sounds like it would be at home on a Bollywood movie soundtrack. It’s nearly 20 seconds before the beat finally drops. But once it does, it proves to be a catchy beat. It sounds like drums, but drums that were processed to make them sound slightly distorted. The sort of beats you’d expect on a Sleigh Bells or Crystal Castles track. And it’s nice to hear Mariah try something different and unexpected like this. The song has a lovely melody, too. Ultimately, the title aside, the only problem I have with it is that it seems less like a new Mariah single and more like a Miguel track with Mariah just doing a guest appearance on it. You see, Miguel sings the first part of the song. Mariah hits a few notes at the very beginning, but then it’s all Miguel, right up through the first time we hear the chorus. If Mariah joined him on that first chorus then perhaps it wouldn’t be so unusual, but the fact that he sings the entire first chorus alone definitely makes it seem like it’s his song. And when she finally sings a verse after the chorus, it proves to be a much shorter verse than the one Miguel did. It’s supposed to be her song, but it’s like she has to fight just to get on it. In fact, when it returns to the chorus Miguel sings it along with her and his voice totally dominates the mix during much of it. So it’s not even like they each sang half of the song. Miguel sings half, then Mariah sings a short verse, then they sing together. I suppose Mariah is deliberately trying to catch a ride on his rising star in an effort to get back on top of the charts, but it seems desperate and most of her fans will surely be disappointed that she’s basically reduced to the role of guest star on her new single.
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