Butterfly

Breathy, ad-libbing 90s pop/r&b. There might be a guilty pleasure hidden on this thing. A decent showcase of talent but also obnoxious.

Wow I hated this. I didn’t just hate it I LOATHED it. It’s so grating it’s legitimately the worst thing I’ve listened to for this list so far. I wish I could say it’s a technical issue. Like if the production was really off and shitty. But nope it’s her, I hate her voice so much. I don’t think she’s a talented I think she’s a gifted singer, I’ll explain. See somebody like Mariah can hit notes that are fundamentally difficult and she can bounce between notes effortlessly, but unfortunately for her that’s not what makes you an amazing singer. I’ll use Elvis as an example, he has an INCREDIBLE range, he can hit really high notes that are not usually in his songs (or at the least was more prevalent in his early career) and he can also go crazy low and hit those notes too. What makes him a far greater singer than some one like Mariah who is also naturally gifted? Discretion/self discipline. What makes Mariah so grating and unbearable is her fucking delivery. It’s so dramatic, unnecessary, and narcissistic. She’s just trying SO hard to convince you she’s a good singer. Another great example of someone singing selfishly and “show-offy” look up the video of Fergie singing the national anthem. Trust me you will know when you find the correct video cause she’s so self absorbed while she’s singing she so focused on adding flairs to her singing that it’s legitimately embarrassing. Well Mariah sort of started/pioneered that style of singing. And it’s god awful. All of music in general would be better if she had some discretion or self discipline to be like ok maybe I don’t have to add every trick and flair I know into every song every 30 seconds. This album was insultingly bad…

Not a big Pop fan in general. Great voice, product of its era.

A single wing beat of a butterfly has more impact than this Album.

Meh

My All

Boring

A ver, aquí nadie va a negar que Mariah tiene una voz increíble y única. Todos de acuerdo. Pero caray, el disco y en general este tipo de R&B noventero, me mata de la flojera. Salvo un par de canciones melosas pegajosas, el resto del disco me pareció planísimo, insulso y formulaico. Claro que la voz de Mariah destaca, pero no me imagino volviédole a dar play a esto para escucharlo completo una vez más.

This is just so so so boring

Cmon guys it’s not that bad I never listened to Mariah Carey other than the infamous Christmas song you get exposed to 1,000 times each holiday season, so was pretty surprised that it sounded nothing like that. She does have a great voice, really suited to the R&B sound of this album. I don’t think I actively disliked a single song on this one. First track and the last track are probably my favorites I do think it’s a little forgettable in the swaths of late 90s-early 2000s female lead R&B. The variety is honestly pretty terrible on this one, where the songs really bleed together. I just don’t know if her style shines strongest in this genre It’s inoffensive, and maybe a little forgettable, but the music itself is more than solid enough to keep this lower than a 3. I’d probably feel differently if I grew up in the 90s and was exposed to her music constantly, but she definitely feels more like a product of the times where her cultural impact is basically limited to 2 months a year.

I think this is one of those genres I wont ever get

This album is pretty plain and uninteresting. Sure, Mariah has a great voice, but this kind of popish R&B is very simplistic and formulaic, and there are much better albums of this kind that show a wider range of sounds or, at least, of better melodies. This album feels made just to show Mariah's vocal range, for her to do her best and not transmit anything. The songs lack of just a bit of sentiment. I am not asking for a heartfelt song, but at least some more movement, some more emotion. She feels very correct in most of the songs, and most of them are just pretty similar-sounding. I can find the good in this album: it is listenable, at some extent even sweet and beautiful, and her voice is really good. But is is just a good album that, at the end of the day, has nothing memorable. It is too correct for being something of actual worth, it feels cold at many moments. And I cannot find anything about Mariah except her voice. It feels... pleasant but very unattractive. The songs are pretty bland and some even feel very uninspired. Some are just good because of Mariah's voice, but, then, the thing is, this album has nothing to do without her, and, still, I cannot find anything else than a "look at how greatly I can sing". Well, what I need then is a "look what I have to say, what I want to transmit". Rather than just a bunch of songs with tiring instrumentals and easy lyrics. It is a very uninspired album that feels more like a catalog of vocals rather than a musical project worth analysing.

We get it, she can sing, but these riffs get to a point

Mariah Carey was a goddess in the 90s, but man, I really don't like this album or most 90s and 2000s r&b. The production style, the blandness, etc.

Bra röst, men också dötrist.

Inte så spännande men rätt fint.

This album really drags in the second half. But the production is such a 90s vibe.

This is my first Mariah album and, in my opinion, not an album with the strongest songs. Say what you will about this diva - she has an incredible voice and has put out some incredibly memorable pop songs. As a massive Prince fan, I am not a fan of The Beautiful Ones at all. The rest was just ok.

Not for me

En soul och r&B skiva. Låtarna låter lite lika. Inte så mycket sång, mest ljud och höga toner. Skivan hade mått bra av bättre låtar.

Apart from the peerless song the roof there is a lot of samey retreads of older better songs. Shame really. Careys voice demands better material than this

not even in my top 3 Mariah Carey albums but probably her most important

Remember kids, just because you CAN sing every note doesn’t mean you HAVE to. (I’m sorry Wyatt)

Queen of fucking slapping

I dislike this more than I should, it's not terrible, but I just don't wanna deal with this rn.

Well, she obviously has an incredible voice. The production is polished and tight. This was obviously influential on popular music as we know it. I think I’m just not a fan of this kind of 90s R&B. It’s all a bit to sparkling and sprawling for me. While the production sounds fine, it’s pretty dated and has aged into mild corniness. Almost constant vocals and melody, but no hooks that really dig into me. The influence from hip-hop added some welcome juice, but as a whole this is something I respect but will not revisit. See you in December, Mariah.

While I've never been a Mariah fan, I can appreciate her vocal talent. And she has had a few catchy pop tunes... I could probably be persuaded not to change the radio station if Fantasy came on. But this album is far too syrupy / schlocky for my taste. I had a hard time making it to the end.

This certainly made me realize I haven’t heard nearly as much of Carey’s music as I assumed I had. It was about what I expected, she’s very good in this lane and has a wonderful voice. Pretty cool to hear her sample Mobb Deep on The Roof. 1 listen Favorite Tracks: My All, Honey, The Roof (Back In Time)

She is oh so talented. Not a big fan of hers. There are some very good moments here but I'm guessing this isn't her best album. Still, just good enough for a 4.

Mariah Carey the woman that you are wow

Very good very nice she is so christmas would vote like 4.8 because some songs I didnt like but most I did so 5

i love

I was never really a fan of Mariah Carey, and this album solidified that for me. The affected, airy low-register singing on multiple tracks did not work for me at all. Her full register is impressive and nice to listen to, but I found the rest of the album almost painful at times. I tried to listen to the songs in full, but found myself skipping many of them after about a minute. Hard pass

Nope

Nope

That was pretty boring. Get a famous singer to pretend she's black, but disregard the fact that she doesn't have the soul to pull it off.

Favorite songs: Honey, Butterfly, Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)

This album is pretty plain and uninteresting. Sure, Mariah has a great voice, but this kind of popish R&B is very simplistic and formulaic, and there are much better albums of this kind that show a wider range of sounds or, at least, of better melodies. This album feels made just to show Mariah's vocal range, for her to do her best and not transmit anything. The songs lack of just a bit of sentiment. I am not asking for a heartfelt song, but at least some more movement, some more emotion. She feels very correct in most of the songs, and most of them are just pretty similar-sounding. I can find the good in this album: it is listenable, at some extent even sweet and beautiful, and her voice is really good. But is is just a good album that, at the end of the day, has nothing memorable. It is too correct for being something of actual worth, it feels cold at many moments. And I cannot find nothing about Mariah except her voice. It feels... pleasant but very unattractive. The songs are pretty bland and some even feel very uninspired. Some are just good because of Mariah's voice, but, then, the thing is, this album has nothing to do without her, and, still, I cannot find anything else than a "look at how greatly I can sing". Well, what I need then is "look what I have to say, what I want to transmit". Rather than just a bunch of songs with tiring instrumentals and easy lyrics. It is a very uninspired album that feels more like a catalog of vocals rather than a musical project worth analysing.

Boring album. Every song sounds like Cinderella is about to descend a staircase while doing vocal warmups.

I mean her voice is good but everything else is just boring. Boring, paint by numbers R&B production, most of them follow the same formula and are overly long IMO. I know I'm not the target audience here but it says something that the most excited I got was when a well known sample of a better song got used. 3/10

3.5

2.5 got some moments but not my style overall. I liked about 3 to 4 songs.technically a 3 but just a high 2

It's fine

No soy fan del r&b pero tengo que resaltar dos cosas del album, la producción tecnica es excelente todo suena perfecto. La técnica de mariah carey es unica tiene mucha velocidad, gusto y timbre pero concuerdo con muchos comentarios, el r&b me parece descafeinado, un producto comercial muy medido. Sin Alma, repetitivo, de receta.

Not my thing

Нежный сладкий поп, с распевами.

Meh

fine

I definitely recognize a bunch of these tracks by title, though I've never listened to this album start-to-finish. I'm looking forward to this, as I think it might be a similar situation to this site encouraging me to listen to a couple Christina Aguilera albums, that I actually enjoyed quite a bit. Yeah, I'm enjoying this more than I would have anticipated.

no one can make me listen to her

Boring and uninspired. Reminded me of middle age soccer-mom music I heard as a teen. I sometimes make additional inferences on an artists work based on the songs Spotify recommends once the album ends. In this case, all 4 songs that came after were terrible and I may have to clear my cache before it influences my preferences. Maybe a 2 for production value? Nah - I don’t ever want to hear this or anything like it again. 1/5

Perda de tempo!

옛스러움과 머라이어 캐리만의 서정적임이 잘 담긴 앨범같다 겨울에 차 안에서 들으면 좋을 것 같은 느낌

Great voice but slow, repetitive and doesn't go anywhere. 2/5

no

Ufff... No thanks

Mostly ok

this was so nice to listen to after Captain Beefheart. The Elusive Chanteuse DAHLING! Some of the songs reminded me of the end credits of a 90s Disney movie. If I could give this a 4.5 I would.

Rough listen. Extra star because she does have a generational voice, but this is not my thing.

I mean idk, not offensive but not good. Outside of Christmas songs I think it’s better when Mariah is featured on a song vs the only one on it. Also was there a 4th of July song on there? Does she have a song for every holiday and just the Christmas one took off?

Too much. Remarkable voice but super poppy with boring songs.

didn't mind it but didn't really stick with me either

Eh

Cocktail lounge background music. Inoffensive but generally vapid. 2

Cannot give it 1* because Mariah Carey has got a great voice, but man do I hate this music. All the moaning, cant stand it. 2/5

Oh, Mariah… the cover pic is so promising. That voice is sublime even wth all the over singing, vowel stretching, diphthong lingering, melismatic runs… that just goes nowhere. The production is squeaky clean. Bright snare beats, tinkling piano runs, sweeping strings, acoustic guitar runs… it’s so boring. I just don’t like radio friendly r&bish pop. I’m sorry, butterfly. 2.5

#208/1001 🇺🇸 You know when you're on holiday and get picked up at the airport by the driver in the Mercedes with the leather seats and aircon. He's a nice guy but doesnt wear his seatbelt and spends half the journey whatsapping his friends. Still the journey is safe and smooth. This is the album on his stereo. Best Tracks: The Roof.

asi suena tel aviv

This was a nice enough album sung very well. I think the criticism of Mariah as being the vocal equivalent of a fret wanker are a bit harsh. She didn't go all around the notes too much for me. Ultimately though, Butterfly is a beige as its sleeve. I'd happily leave it on, but I'd never choose to put it on.

90's fallout

2/5

While yes, she has an outstanding vocal range, there was not a single actually good song in this album.

Boring and whiny, albeit brilliant voice.

Classic 90s lite R&B. Mariah is really breathy and often buried in the mix. Big hits, solid filler. I like more soul in my R&B but I respect this.

I like some Mariah Carey songs, but unfortunately I realized that none of them are on this album, which is a snooze fest. Too many languorous slow jams, not enough of what makes her great.

Not bad but too breathy.

lol only got 1 song in and turned it off

Utter tosh. I can feel my brain dying. Please make it stop.

I’m gonna give her three because I’m sure she can sing well but I know I don’t wanna listen to that kind of music for a whole album.

Great voice, terrible songs.

Is this my preferred genre, no, but you have to give credit to the greatest voice of a generation.

Damn, Butterfly opens with a bang, and for a second there, I thought Mariah was gonna take me to the club. Then she winks, pats me on the back, and leaves my ass on the curb while she goes off to sing slow jams in some fancy lounge. I was hoping for more than just a drive-by groove. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - Honey - My All - Breakdown

2/10

“Spread your wings and fly, butterfly” YOU CAN’T RHYME FLY WITH FLY! HOW CAN YOU BE A POP DIVA IF YOU RHYME FLY WITH FLY? Shambles

Drivel.

je kan de christmas influence horen

i have been shaken by the motherquake i fear!!!!!!!!!!! mariah's famed transition away from her kingdom of adult contemporary, instead supporting her belty ballads with the vast possibilities of rnb/hip hop production techniques and collaborators. this is still fundamentally Soft Boring Music For Moms (give or take her ability to hit high volumes) but im moms. especially since she matches the slightly tenser musical underbelly (theres literally a shook ones part ii sample on here) with a more emotionally complex presence and even lyrics that like a lot of effective pop lyrics arent beautiful as Words so much as Sentiments...complicated feelings, unclear signals, emotional breaking points, placing down a desire for the sake of a need. often very moving without throwing itself entirely into one obvious tone. i rly owe mariah a lot more time to flesh out my current understanding of The Pop Girl...clearly inspired by madonna, she pulled off several negotiations with her work and image so as to create a years long Story, built on the back of big bold statements such as this record. and if the music is this good all the better!

Big meh, not for me

So boring

another victim of the loudness war. not as bad as some rick rubin stuff on the list, but still noticeable. pretty nice r&b otherwise. 2.5

I mean watching fantasy and always be my baby as a teenager was on point. However as good as her voice was her songs are very so-so. 4/10 Top song Breakdown (Bone Thugs 4 life!)

A polite 2/5

Amazing voice, I enjoy the hip-hop/R&B vibes. Enjoyable listen!

The voice that defined a decade

The queen

It’s ok. Stand out track is Honey. It’s the only memorable one really. And I am most definitely not a fan of the oversinging. Can’t deny she has talent though.

I remember listening to this when I was in highschool. Very nostalgic.

It was alright, she’s a very good singer when she isn’t doing the whispery thing

Refined pop for sophisticated adults? This feels like an offshoot of the bubblegum pop genre that suffers from some of the same cliches but manages to redeem itself through some real talent. Not bad but not my style.

I’ve said it before, but I’m really not a fan when a singer goes overboard with vocalizations and this album is like 90% vocalizations. Not for me.

I will need to give this a deeper listen to see what I would rank this. I already knew some songs but never listened to it in full

Such a great voice often not given the full scope to 'go for it'. A lot of the hushed, sultry voice over similar beats which just seems a waste.

I enjoyed this, but it wasn't something that'sreally my taste.

How many shrill WHOOOOS can you take, 56 min of it is too much. Yeah she is a talented singer and can hit the high note but the music is lifeless. It all sounds so machine like and how many writers, producers and drum programmers do you need to make an album. It is way to adult contemporary, slow and machinelike for me, I give it a 2 just because of her talent but I could have died without hearing this

Mariah Carey is an undeniably talented vocalist, and I was reminded of that continually as I listened to this album. Lyrically, I wasn't impressed, but I also see how it fit into its own time, and I can't fault it for that. Seems like this album was a deviation from her other stuff and is much more hip-hop influenced, and I think it works for her. "The Beautiful Ones" was BIZARRE though???

Every song sounds the same. Her going ooOooOo for an hour was driving me insane.

They should have had Daydream on here too, but this is reflective of her sound in her prime too. 15 year old me continued the infatuation I had with her from 2 years prior to this album. Time hasn't been kind to her, especially her voice, but I find it funny that there's been a bit of a resurgence in interest lately in her music.

It’s fine. Pop queens have never really been my thing, but this is probably the best Mariah Carey ever was.

There’s a choice of “It’s fine (Positive)” and “It’s fine (Negative) and this probably leans more the former. I’d give it 2.5 if I could because I didn’t actively dislike it but this also categorically is not what I want to listen to. Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise) inches this over for a 3/5 though.

Regressei aos 6 anos com purpurinas, ouvi bem, gosto destes álbuns kinder surpresa

Fun

Is Mariah Carey the only musical artist whose Spotify bio mentions Lee Daniels' The Butler? I think I just don't like R&B. This is clearly a good version of it though. Her voice is technically crazy but she's not doing like full free-jazz showoff runs it's still mostly used for melody. The late 90s hip hop production gives it some energy (the producer is so talented - this Diddy fellow is going places). The cover of The Beautiful Ones is so strange it's just worse than the Prince version (of course) but it's also mostly not Mariah singing? Who is that for?

Stings like a bee, too

Mariah is incredible. Obviously she's a great singer, but she doesn't get enough recognition for her songwriting/production chops. That said, I really wanted to love this more than I did, but unfortunately I found it to drag and blend as it went on. I think it needed more upbeat tracks like Honey peppered in there. I wonder if a different album of hers may have been a better choice for the list.

One of the best voices ever! I liked that this album has some hip hop flavor too.

A pretty well crafted pop album, great use of hip hop samples, great vocals as always by Mariah. Great sounds all around and still sounds very modern 30 years later. A few gripes though, the first half of the album is really good while the second half drags quite a bit and also to that point it does feel like quite a long album

What a voice!

Meh

I respect the female RnB voice and swag, and Mariah is definitely a legend in the game. Not always feeling her music, but that voice is something else.

Puffy's association with this album will not age well. Dude was a hell of a producer and promoter though. Honey is a solid first track. I don't remember any of the other singles from this album. It's good for 90s R&B, but it isn't great, not better than the first two Jodeci albums. I probably like Janet Jackson's Janet better as well. Good, not great so far, this probably isn't my favorite Mariah Carey album. I remember Breakdown too, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony doesn't belong on this list, but they had some bangers. Maybe I'm not giving this enough credit. It's a solid R&B album. It sounds like it's time, and for me at least, that is not a knock, I love 90s jams. This is an awful Prince cover and everyone involved should be ashamed of themselves. But it does make super clear how much more talented Mariah is than the guys from Dru Hill.

Ms. Carey has a great voice, but this totally not my musical wheelhouse at all. Very good pop, but still pop.

Not worth any comments.

5/10

Syrupy flashback. -1 for Diddy.

This was a good opportunity to learn more about the origins of R&B, although that's not to say this album taught me very much. This particular iteration of the genre seems to be centered around giving the vocalist ample space to flex their chops, and it gets to be too much, in my opinion. As a singer, I normally appreciate runs and trills, but when every phrase has some embellishment like that, and the singing is played up to the extent that you can't make out the lyrics, that's where I would draw the line, I guess. My favorite parts were probably the background vocals or parts that had layered vocals resembling gospel. The instrumentals sound pretty dated

I remember when I first heard/saw Mariah Carey, when she was the musical guest on SNL (I looked it up: it was October 27, 1990), and I was blown away by her musical ability (the song was "Vision of Love" - you should watch the video). I became a fan, sort of (guilty pleasure?), and used to own several of her CDs, including this one ("Butterfly"), but they've mostly not survived my recent purges (I still have her "Hits" CD, though). She clearly has a lot of talent/vocal ability; her musical tastes/judgment, however, aren't . . . very closely aligned with mine? Anyway, how to rate this one? I think it has to be between a 2 and a 3. On the one hand, her vocal talent is considerable; on the other hand, most of the music is . . . tepid, mediocre, uninteresting (to me, anyway). And also - luckily for us - feels a bit dated now. (Although, I don't know ... has it helped to spawn a whole thread of mediocre pop music -- which I've done my best to avoid -- over the past 30 years?) I wonder how things would have gone if she'd followed a different path, singing with, say . . . The Roots? Something with more musical substance, more funk, more soul (but then I guess that's not who she is). But anyway back to this album . . . as I've gone through, it hasn't gotten any better (on the contrary), so it pains me a little to have to give it a 2.

she's a good singer and yet this album made me hate her singing by the end. Way too much whiny ornamentation. the male ad-libs are lame, and the instrumentals are not much better (quite dated)

More cynical, characterless cash-grabbing crap with next to no memorable qualities or redeeming features.

All I want for christmas is not to have to listen to this again.

It is very possible to become confused between skill and emotional connection in any kind of art. This is an example of just that. Mariah can sing, her voice is good, but she’s got lost in look what I can do, not what should I do. The songs with ne and exception are vacuous vehicles for this bout of exhibitionism. It took a Prince tune and a duet partner to rein her in.

nice

She’s such a talented singer it’s sad her reputation kind of ruins it

For adult contemporary, this album exists! It’s not my genre. Matter of fact, I kinda’ got bored with this album about three songs in. The album is a vessel for Carey’s exceptional vocal range. After a while, though, I felt the vocal fluctuations, vocal whistles and nasal head voice singing got redundant, and paired with the lacking musical variation and lyrical prose of a thirteen year-old on most songs, this album just falls flat for me. If I was still in my player days (…imaginary, admittedly) I would have played this album as background music because it was smooth and I hopefully wouldn’t have to pay that close of attention to it. Otherwise, this is a one-and-done.

Random thoughts: * Wow, I did not like this one. * I respect Mariah Carey and she was obviously a huge artist in the 90s/aughts. * This was clearly the wrong album to choose. It should have been the Daydream album. This is classic 1001 getting too cute. * This album was full of sappy ballads, I can't believe how popular music like this was. (I'm assuming it is not anymore.) * Butterfly was alright and the upbeat songs were alright too. The Kayzie Bone song was fun. But that was about it. * Skip this one and pick up Daydream or #1 to Infinity compilation.

On peut dire beaucoup de choses sur Mariah Carey mais elle chante quand même super bien. Cunty, et sensuel, vibe de tante qui te montre les bangers des années 90

Ok so I honestly appreciate her restrained style of singing. She has wonderful dynamics and range, and her breathy delivery adds an ethereal and mysterious kind of vibe, partially because I can’t tell what she’s singing, unless I really look for the words. It also makes the big singing parts really pop, great effect. But… it’s too much, she stays in that breathy style and it just ends of falling flat through the course of the album. It’s weird rating an album that is “by a singer.” The songs are ok. I love the minor key ones, and hot take but Butterfly Reprise is the best one on the album. But overall not many songs stand out, and the production just feels pretty robotic and basic. I think more could have been made of these songs.

Not a fan but her voice is unique and I did like a couple of songs on this album, especially My All.

this album just lacks substance, there’s no special parts to it for me, there’s no part where i’m like damn, it sounds okay but it’s just dry

Not for me thank you...

Very similar to Christina’s previous albums I’ve listened to. Great voice and some good songs but nothing spectacular. Started to drag on by the end

While they were negotiating the contract for this album do you think the haggled other the inclusion of “the note” needlessly in almost every song? They’re like “5 million and 60% of the songs have the note.” She’s like, “give me 10 million and I’ll do it all the fucking time!” In my fantasy MC drives a hard bargain and usually gets what she wants. Sometimes you’ll hear “the note” just whispering through the background of some song, unrelated to anything else that’s going on. One time I thought there was some horribly errant caterwaul ensuing in the middle distance only to realize it was just another yoddley (sic) application of “the note” and its near relatives. In the end nothing remarkable except maybe the galling modernity of the title track’s ode to open marriage. Wink. I know that’s not what she’d say it’s about but it’s fun to imagine while you listen to it. More fun than whatever appalling banality she’s actually screaming about at any rate.

Not something I normally listen to. Production is okay, but there’s so much vamping and vocal gymnastics that it overwhelms the mediocre songs. Minus one star for trying to cover The Beautiful Ones.

Mariah-lovely voice but felt like a dated moment.

I have no words

I learnt a new word today - melismatic. This is helpful because it helps me describe what I most detest about the way this woman uses her, admittedly amazing, voice. It completely ruins the dreadfully bland songs. A painful 1*

Snoozefest, maar productie en zang zijn echt on point!

favs: my all

010726 17:55 3.5

Mariah got pipes. That's all though. Very standard late 90's popballad album. Don't really see why it's on the list.

Maria Carey has an amazing voice, and this album shows that. However, beyond that I don't feel any particular love for this album, the music is very much of its time and not super interesting. Each song feels very much the same. Decent album I just don't care fore

Artiste connue de nom. Aucun intérêt pour moi, musique très répétitive qui m'ennuie profondément, et vocalises détestables. Je n'ai pas pu aller au bout. =>1/5

Decent album to listen to overall. Peaks a little early and has an fine if unremarkable second half. Did not need to push an hour in runtime. Top tracks: Honey, The Roof (Back in Time)

Butterfly hat starke Momente, aber für mich wirkt es oft wie ein sehr glattes, sehr 90s‑R&B‑Popalbum, das mehr Atmosphäre als echte Highlights liefert.

Mariah Carey has a great voice, but these are not great songs. They're pretty crummy and she is often not even singing, but sort of screeching over some generic sounding pop.

Can’t believe this is on here. Ruined my street cred by listening to it.

linda voz, linda diva, mas meio pressão baixa né...

Really enjoyed this, very solid R&B

Not for me at all.

Öde und nervig. Immer nur verhauchte Stimme.

Not for me.

Solid pop album but 1 hour 40 mins is crazy

An authentic r&b/hip-hop record, Butterfly captures the nineties airwaves as well as Biggie's Life After Death & Nirvana's Nevermind. Masterpieces of easy listening are hard to come by, mostly b/c I doubt artists of any real taste strive for that quality, but this is about as easy as it gets, tho we all know the difficulty of Carey's craft. She's yet not overly dependent on the whistle register, & there's a way in which at least some of these tracks can be said to go hard, e.g., specifically 'The Roof (Back in Time)' & that Mobb Deep sample. Call me a sucker for time-&-place albums, I don't care, this is an album I was too young to listen to when it first came out but it makes me feel like I was there when it first came out. Cliché, yah, that's the point.

She has a beautiful voice and is obviously an icon, but the songs were painful to sit through. At a certain point girl just get the word out not everything needs to be a run

This sound is a bit boring to me. It sounds pretty monotone all the way through. 2-3 star vibes so far. I like the song breakdown a lot! And Roof is alright. The lyricism on this album is pretty good, but without her phenomenal vocals this album would evaporate entirely.

Sessão nostalgia anos 2000.. Claro, o disco é de 97, mas a vibe R&B é a mesma das músicas que cresci ouvindo na década seguinte. Inclusive, o disco é do ano em que vim a este plano, e a deusa norte americana ainda fez uma música com o mês em que nasci. Por pouco não acertou até o dia lol Whatever.. É um disco legal de R&B mas ainda assim bem maçante.. não teve muitos hits como os outros discos da cantora, porém já demonstrava um baita potencial.

Nice

This was fun to listen to. Interesting wiki read too - this album was my intro to Mariah Carey as a young teenager, so at the time I didn't understand that this was a departure from her earlier work and image.

It's perfectly cromulent, but I didn't overly enjoy it.

No va

Føj! For! Satan!

Det er catchy, flot produceret og så har Mariah Carey en stemme som få andre. Men det siger mig ikke ret meget.

3/5

Every song sounds the same Standout songs: The Roof (Back in time)

Honey

Pretty decent enough, but it's quite dated and way too samey.

Day888 - mariah is on the mt rushmore of pop divas but other than butterfly this album has got too much of the sean combs production sound.

Honey, this wasn’t really my thing, but I did give it My All.

Not for me

Was hoping for less slow jams and more Sweet sweet Fantasy baby 1.5

It’s Mimi’s world. We’re all just living in it.

not as bad as i expected but gets pretty boring towards the end 6/10 Favourite: Honey Least Favourite: The Beautiful Ones

She has a great voice. This is really not for me. I kinda liked Whenever You Call and some of the more traditional pop songs.

i thought it got off to a strong start. some great singing, but also every song is a little too long and kind of sounds the same. favorite song is Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise) shit's like a little DLC dance track. also gotta love a prince cover

Tolerable but not really my thing. I've never dug into R&B, so give me the Christmas song instead of this please 5.3/10

Oh hello Mariah. Uhmmm. Let’s see what happens… at least it’s the only one… Um… this one’s actually hard. Mariah has a beautiful voice, no doubt. But… man this is uneven. Does it want to be RnB? Because if it does, it makes some very poor late 90’s choices in production. Her duet with Dru Hill is very strong, but on other tracks that I guess are trying to be more “hip-hop,” boy is it baaad. Cringy bad. At those moments I just want her Christmas album. And really, Mariah on a good day is selling a So Cal lifestyle that I never embraced/ never wanted. So… 2 Btw - I have been informed that I have not been properly using the Boolean. It should be true or false, not yes or no. I say: same difference. My husband says: no, precision matters. So… Boolean for Butterfly: FALSE- there was no need for me to have heard this before I die. I would much rather hear Mariah’s Christmas album

Heh

Wow that's got to be some kind of record for number of vocal notes in one album. And after 55 minutes of it, I can't recall a single melody. Never too annoying, but not sure what type of life situation I would be in where I would want to go through this 55-minute journey again. 2.4 stars.

I thought this might be nostalgic and maybe even fun to listen to, but all it did was very effectively remind me why I have never ever listened to Mariah Carey and never will.

First, R&B slow jams are not my thing, and this is basically an album full of them. Second, Carey's cursive singing—where there's no limit to how long a syllable can be drawn out—drives me nuts. (“Throughout, Carey reins in the excessive warbling that puts many off," declares the 1,001 book. NOPE.) While I appreciate Mariah Carey as a singular talent, I found this painfully tedious and repetitive. I'm good with "All I Want For Christmas is You," thanks.

DSie Musik inst Inressant und schön, natürlich kenne ich die sängerin von namen her

Why sing one note when many note do trick? Top tip, Mary - they don’t. This is shit.

Not as bad as I was expecting. RnB influenced and a really strong voice

Show de voz. Sonoridade macia, como uma almofada aveludada cor de vinho. Repleto de lindas baladas e de neo-soul saboroso, de ótimo gosto. Produção milenial temperada corretamente para complementar a refeição completa que são os vocais de Carey, tão ternos e apaixonantes. Único defeito é um que sempre digo, a duração. Longo demais, com algumas canções que poderiam ter sido encurtadas para uma experiência mais sucinta. Ainda assim, é um ótimo álbum vindo de alguém que eu subestimava. 4/5

She's the GOAT

this was so fun and good! imagine listening to this on a discman with your feet bent straight up in the air

First time listening to a Mariah album in full. 90s R&B is just not my thing at all. The music sounds nearly identical on all the songs and the biggest selling point seems to be the vocals. But the thing is, I don't really care about impressive vocals. Mariah could hit whistle notes for 3 minutes straight and I just wouldn't care. Is it a well produced, well performed album? Sure. But it's just not for me 2/5

I would have chosen Daydream or Music Box for the only Mariah Carey album on the list, but maybe that's because I prefer the "opening garage doors" era Mariah more.

Thoughts before listening: I'm sure this is great, but I've just never felt the urge to listen to any Mariah Carey album. That being said, something tells me the nostalgia factor will be off the charts with this one, and Mariah certainly has a great voice. Review: You know most of this album fell into pop/r&b territory that I just don't connect with. I know its well written, sounds great, and Mariah's voice is amazing, but it just isn't what I listen to. The hits were fun to listen to, but even those really weren't doing a ton for me. Then "The Beautiful Ones" dropped and this Prince cover hit hard complete with guitar solos and it absolutely works for me. I'll give this 3-stars.

She's only happy when she warbling. I just want her to shut up.

I'd forgotten just how much this woman's voice annoys me. Utter drivel.

Took me 2 days to get the courage to listen to this album and I couldn't finish a single song. Her voice reminds me of the buzzing of a wasp

Jesus Christ

2/5

idk r&b is fine. Mariah is remarkable

Mimimiiiii!! Butterfly var jo helt jævig

It's nice to finally hear something of hers that isn't the Christmas album. "The Roof" takes off running with a Mobb Deep sample and partially because of that, it's my favorite song here. I used to have a much larger spot in my life for this smooth, silky 90s R&B but these days it's not something I pay attention to. I wouldn't be shocked if my grandparents owned this CD though.

A vocal gymnast with incredible range. Is the melisma overindulgent? Perhaps. But I would wager that the producers and record label wanted that. By this point she had already told us that she doesn't want a lot for Christmas. I'm guessing that if that song were "All I Want for Today Is You" we would hear a lot less of it AND it would be more universally loved. But that song - in all its brilliance - is not on this record.

I know why it was popular, but her voice irritated the fuck out of me then, and it irritates the fuck out of me now. PICK A NOTE!

Gospel infused everything. It all feels a little bit gospel, some very much on the nose, but probably more a bit less direct. When it's being hip hop or R&B or a little bit Dancey, it's always being a bit gospel. I think that's what I like about it. I think there's a big part of me that grew up with pop a little bit like this as generic background music, and that part of me feels like the whole thing is plastic and insincere. The wavering and whistle tone singing takes things more into that camp. But there's definitely a lot of credible musical heart here too.

Like butter. Her voice is amazing. Does she overdo it a bit at times? Yes, but she’s Mariah and can do whatever she wants.

Liked the vibe. Voice was a bit too whiny for me. Won't listen to it again. Maybe other work from this singer

Not really my choice of music but undeniably a great album.

I liked the first couple of tracks and then I felt a lot of songs sounded really similar. Can’t fault her voice. My all is a great song. Didn’t particularly find the album too interesting as it progressed

The album is fine, I just don't really care for the genre. Mariah Carey has a great voice but I don't even really think she's singing on this album.

It wasn’t as bad as I expected, but given I thought this was going to be the audio equivalent of watching the video from the Ring, then that is a qualified statement. Horrific warbling switches with weird hushed tones. Nope.

What a load of guff. Oversung at every opportunity, and even when it is, it isn’t even well done. Beats and accompanying instrumentals are lacklustre and surprisingly boring even for R&B styled pop. Overrated as an artist, and glad to see this gone.

Mariah Carey will always have the reputation of being the one who made All I Want For Christmas, but she is actually an important 90s r&b icon. Her voice is smooth and cozy like a warm blanket. The production does a great job at capturing the era, it's sensual, groovy and combines parts of old soul, modern r&b and some hip hop. Apart from the title track which is a boring millenial pop ballad (a similar thing is fone way better on My All), the album starts off pretty great. Honey has some really sticky vocal lines and great production. The Mobb Deep samples on The Roof work better than they have any right to and Breakdown also incorporates hip hop elements very tastefully. Unfortunately after that point the record leans more into ballads and gets rather underwhelming. There is some good songs still but not nearly enough gas in the tank to keep things interesting.

(33/100)

Sometime in the 10s Mariah became An Icon for younger generations and having been around for her start, apparent peak, and then series of tabloid fodder embarrassments I was like what are you IDIOTS talking about? In this instance we have Mariah incorporating hiphop and riding samples, something she had success with on her preceding record, Daydream. Still the most soulless soul diva, alas. Say what you will about Puffy but his two tracks here are the standouts...

what a voice to be wasted on such snore music. just because she can exercise vocal ranges for fun, doesn't mean the music is good

Not super my thing but fairly pleasant

Mariah Carey is groundbreaking in her own way, and this album is filled with many hits. Her airy voice is an interesting choice, but not really for me.

You see, I’m not opposed to the theoretical concept of Mariah. In fact early 1990 Mariah is pretty good. She was a kid who sounded like a fully grown adult. Ironically, on an album called Butterfly, we have an exercise in regression where she’s a fully grown adult trying to sound like a kid with this wispy voice and toddler like cooing. As a listener we’re begging for her to belt one out Vision of Love style, just like we all know she can. Instead Mariah retreats to her safe space, which is dozens of glissandos for no apparent reason whatsoever. The lyrics are bad too, a grab bag of rhyming platitudes. Except for one flash of truth telling midway through the album: “Still I feel like that child as I look at the moon. Maybe I grew up a little too soon.” A great voice wasted for 56 minutes.

Mariah may be a very talented singer but I could never listen to this again.

I wouldn’t be doing this project if I didn’t have an open mind but I hated this. I hate melisma and I hate Mariah Carey for becoming so popular that she inspired generations of singers to do it more (I know Whitney did it, I’m not claiming Carey invented it). I also have an aversion to songs with ‘feat.’ in the title based on listening to them before and almost always finding them to be rubbish. I’m not downgrading this because I’m a snob, good pop is a lot harder than a lot of people like to admit, I’m downgrading it because great as her voice is, she wastes it on showing off, and the clean production coupled with such dull songs makes this an absolute chore to get through. Sterile pap.

Didn't hate it as much as I thought I would. Still its basically the same song over and over again

So 90’s it hurts

Above average pop, r&b album. 3.3/5

Utterly anodyne. And her vocal style (singing around all the notes) never gets less irritating!

Not for me. I thought she was going to be pop. Instead it was all the slow ballad-y stuff pop artist put in and it feels like skiable filler. Hated it from song one

90’s R&B

Honey and Whenever You Call are great. The rest didn’t do much for me. I prefer her Daydream album.

I feel like if I knew less about Mariah the diva I could appreciate Mariah the diva a but more. Take away my queer card but this was very "eh" for me

Another album you don’t really want to stream in case the algorithm thinks that you actually like this stuff. 1/5 10/5/26

"Butterfly"and "My All" are perfect, "Honey" is nice.

This seems to be more a demonstration of singing ability than songwriting. The opening track Honey quickly dissolves into a series of "mmhmmm"s and "hoooeeeee"s, and every other track is identical. I see from the notes that this was heavily produced. Well, it doesn't show. Lay down a lid-tempo backbeat from Garage Band, add in some twinkly synths and hi-hat sounds, done. Why is this manufactured plastic on the list? Like another review says, this is like listening to an hour of music used in the credits for a low-budget straight-to-VHS Disney animation from the late 90s. I was originally going to give this one star, but then about halfway through I realised I had tuned it out completely, like traffic noise. Lacking the energy to even rouse negative emotions, I hereby award Mariah Carey's Butterfly two stars.

Great album!

On Butterfly, Mariah Carey evolved her style from Adult Contemporary into a more modern and *urban*-inspired Pop sound, most likely due to the huge success of Tom Tom Club-sampling "Fantasy" from her previous album. Granted, Mariah's output quality would take a HUGE slump right after this. This album is alright, nothing too special, really. I do understand its inclusion, although it could have been another Mariah album instead. Just at least one Mariah album, to represent how important she and other big-voiced singers were in the music world at the time, and we're not going to get any Céline Dion or Whitney Houston records on this list. Key tracks: Honey Butterfly My All

boring

Я б поставила б 2,5. У неї класний голос, але самі пісні нудні та однотипні, до того ж мають аж занадто попсове звучання

I doubt I'll ever listen to this again. Noting the immense impact MC has had, it's simply not my preference. Way too much 'oooo-oooo-ooo's' and generic backing tracks for my taste.

This is an atrocious record. I can't tell one song from another for a majority of the tracks. Not one song breaks through the noise as something original. Jesus, how is this is the top 1000???

This album captures the 90s R&B-Hip-Hop sound that I remembering hearing when I was little. That's not really a sound I gravitate towards, but this was a nice listen - her vocal talent and some of the samples (Mobb Deep and Prince) kept things interesting! During my listen, I really wanted to put "My All" on repeat rather than continue on with the album - it really caught my ears.

She - and this is news to you all I'm sure - is a very talented singer. She also - and this may shock you - uses that talent far too much far too often. It's very off-putting. Beyond that, it's yer basic non-interesting but not horrible pop.

Slightly less ballads than the other Mariah so it is slightly better. I do wish that she would come up with some better songs to sing with her amazing voice though.

Can’t stand this brand of modern RnB. And especially not Careys style of singing. She’s always annoyed me.

Sorry Mariah, mostöy background music. Some nice 90s beats

There’s no denying the singing talent of Mariah, but all of these songs kind of run together - at least on first listen. That’s not necessarily bad, there’s nothing unpleasant, but there’s just nothing that really stands out after Honey.

Not for me

A smooth record throughout, and I tended to gravitate towards the more upbeat tracks like “Honey” and “Babydoll,” even though the slower ballads allow Carey to show off her vocal skills more. I was on the fence about this one until I got to the last two tracks. I actually thought I had somehow queued up Purple Rain when “Beautiful Ones” came on. It’s such an inspired production, and didn’t think there was any way to follow it up, but then Carey gives such a powerful performance for the finale.

Unfortunately the repetitive themes in each track take away from the overall emotion this album produces. The vocals and production are so tight, so groovy, so full of soul. I can only listen to songs of lost love and longing for so long through….

At first, I was thinking that since I do like some individual moments on this album, but didn't necessarily need a whole hour at once, I'd rate it 3 stars. But then I realized I was only halfway through, not 40 or 45 minutes through as I'd thought. So in light of REALLY not needing the hour, down to 2 stars it goes.

I made it entirely too far into this album before realizing that every song sounded the same. Listen, she can obviously sing. But I don’t need a bunch of overall mediocre tracks where she showcases how many notes she can hit in a single word like 50 times every song.

Solid R&B joint. Good beats. Great voice. It doesn't amount to anything super outstanding though, and Christmas continues to overshadow her 😭 Standouts: Honey • Breakdown • Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise) • The Beautiful Ones

I can't deny her talent, but Mariah Carey always sings like she is trying to beat the track into submission with her voice. On the songs where she lets the music breathe, like Close My Eyes, I get a vision of what this album could have been.

bland

Nope

Mariah has the personality on this to evaluate a sunny day but I prefer her pop stuff way more.

Interminable. One great song and otherwise mid 90s r and b. If you've heard one you've heard them all.

Not her best. Dated terribly now. Music box is better. 2

I feel like I’ve heard Mariah Carey songs I like before but zero of them were on this album. Pure rubbish.

Sure, she's got a nice voice, but I cannot get into any of these songs on any dimension no matter how many vocal flourishes she fits into a single line.

I can hang with a Mariah Carey album (Daydream is one of the genre's giants), but this one just felt aimless. I couldn't find the melodies in the endless runs and all of the time spent in the whistle register. She spends at least 75% of this one whispering and moaning. It's all vibes and nothing to hold onto. Look no further than her cover of "The Beautiful Ones". If you weren't already familiar with the Prince masterpiece, could you make out the hook?

What a time capsule. Hello, high school.

Not a fan, even in retrospect.

Mariah "I'll sing whatever notes I fucking like" Carey.

Vollkommen überbewertet! Gefällt mir nicht!

Just the right side of full on saccharine, Maria nails it

Gear: Abyss DIANA MR Artwork: 👩🪙🦋 Production: 😐👍🆗 Music: 🧼🔨🤤 Rating: 🦋/5

Oof. Just boring 90s pop. Nothing else to it.

I know it's Mariah Carey, but why are we whispering. Favourite song: Close My Eyes

Mostly blows

Just can’t get past the wailing. Backing singers doing most of the melody…

Who in God’s name thought it was a good idea for me to spend a portion of my time on this earth trying to listen to this?

Was Fourth of July Mariah Carey's attempt at All I Want For Christmas Is You II?

Not good.

This is ok, Mariah is very talented but most of this doesn’t hit for me

she can really sing and that is really all this has going for it. the lyrics are trite, the songwriting is neither interesting itself nor shows off the vocals enough to compensate, and the arrangements are deeply unremarkable.

The Good: We are in el oh ve ee!!! The Bad: Not that kind of butterfly.. The Ugly: Knowing how it all ends… Mariah Carey is on the list… understandably, because, in the ‘90s, though we had some great rock based music, it was also the decade that R&B started spitting out one too many artists… Mariah being one of them. You can’t argue that she has a bad voice. She can do things with her vocal chords that view singers can repeat—five octaves… I don’t even know what an octave is! She’s sold 200 million records… geezus Every Christmas millions, tens of millions, maybe even hundreds of millions of people will hear her “All I Want For Christmas” and get all cheery as, well, duh, Christmas is near! Yet, with all those acolytes, this poor woman is only able of garnering a 2.45 rating… Either we are all wrong about the grandness of this album, or, more likely, Mr Dimery, again, managed to throw us a curve ball… At least he could have included the All You Want For Xmas song… 2* because she did what she did

an album by '90s pop sensation mariah carey. certainly a person who doesn't need a big introduction. this is chart-topping pop music, with r&b and hip-hop sounds sprinkled in throughout. i say "sprinkled" because if you know how mariah carey sings, this is more of the same; there's just some stylish beats on each track and the occasional hip-hop vocalist calling out some phrases or little shouts. her breathy vocal quality, her habit of running and adlibbing all over the place.. it's all here. the sound is objectively very pleasant and there's more than a few pop anthems in here, i just think there's only so many slow-jam ballads i can take.

1 Star (2/15)

Oh my, to be 12 again! Honey and all the rest. #nostalgia

I surprisingly enjoyed it, Mariah does have a very pleasant voice and the production is pretty sweet

Listened first to the EP of Butterfly and that is much better.

I fell asleep

Pretty cool r&b

Has anything in music aged worse than Diddy’s creepy whispers over the songs he produced? Honey is a banger but the soft “I like that”s in the background kind of ruin it for me. The only other song I liked was the one with Dru Hill that kinda sounded like Prince. Mariah is talented (and so goddamn hot) but most of her music doesn’t do anything for me at all.

1.2Those breathy/layered vocals really nauseate me for some reason. Skipped halfway through every song. Mariah, your bannished to the 92.2 mits fm basement, hopefully you dont take it too hard.

Loved the hits. The others are okay.

Album No. 0207 on my list. Mariah Carey will always have a place in my heart for performing the greatest Christmas song of all time. I really, really love “I Don’t Want A Lot For Christmas”. Apart from that song, I have to admit that I’m not at all familiar with her work. If somebody played me some of her bigger hits, I’d probably recognize some of them. But I did not know any songs on “Butterfly”. It kinda saddens me to say it, but I could have happily lived without a change to that condition. To be honest, I didn’t like it at all. Rarely do I give albums on this list low ratings, and if I do, it’s mostly very, very avant garde, experimental albums that I just can’t really appreciate. This is the first major pop album that I encounter on this page that will get a low rating like that. Maybe I’m just not enough info R’n’B, but I found little distinction between the songs, they kinda all sound the same to me. The production and sound are glossy and pretty boring. But the worst part to me is Carey’s singing to be honest. I just don’t like this odd combination of mumbling through the scales and at the same time being overly dramatic. I think I understand why this may appeal to people, but it’s not my thing, really, and honestly I don’t really get why an album this generic ended up on this list. “Honey” is the song I chose for my playlist from this album. 1/5 stars.

Angelic voice, mid songs Fave track: Fly Away (Butterfly Reprisal)

Nothing of particular interest happening here. Shook Ones Pt.2 sample was wack as, did not work at all. 2/5

For about two full years Mariah Carey and this album, especially Honey and Butterfly were EVERYWHERE!

90s pop happiness

Oh god, please no.

Listening session: april 4th, while buying groceries and eating lunch Listened to before: heard a few songs before Thoughts: Mariah Carey is obviously a great singer but these songs are really mediocre and some of them are way over the top Favourite track: My All

I liked The Roof and Fly Away and was quite impressed by Breakdown, but I find it hard to stomach too much of the frillery

Nothing here really grabbed me

The lyrics are so unintentionally funny, but damn it if she doesn't have a great voice. I also couldn't help comparing this to Adele while listening. Whereas Adele relies entirely on her voice, with the instrumentation and melodies as afterthoughts, Mariah Carey goes to a little effort to develop music with a focus on melody. Imagine my surprise to see the average rating on this album be more than an entire star lower than the Adele albums on this list. It must be because of the lyrics, but doesn't make much sense. That said, this is a little long and certainly too syrupy for sustained enjoyment. 2.5/5.0: Mixed

mariah has a great voice but i hated these songs