Butterfly

Album 482 of 1001 Mariah Carey - Butterfly Rating : 2 / 5 She is an awesome vocalist but this does absolutely nothing for me.

Every track sounded the same (boring.)

I genuinely felt a bit bored listening to this!

This is definitely not the kind of music I usually listen to. I'm generally not the biggest fan of R&B, but I can understand the appeal in this album specifically. No clear standout songs for me.

Horrible

One of my possibly most controversial opinions is that I’ve never been able to stand Mariah Carey’s vocals. Sure, it’s technically impressive that she’s got that range. My vocal range is dogshit. But I’ve never found her breathy, trying-to-be-sensual, glissando thing particularly pleasant to listen to. The best vocalists are the ones who are either the most straightforward interpreters of lyrics, or the best actors. I’m listening to Breakdown as I write this, and there’s a point where Carey ad-libs on the line ‘Am I losing my mind.’ It’s probably not a fair comparison, but I can’t help but be reminded about the song Losing My Mind from Sondheim’s Follies. I’m most familiar with the 2018 National Theatre production’s recording with Imelda Staunton. Mariah Carey is a better vocalist than Imelda Staunton, but Staunton sells the idea of ‘losing [one’s] mind’ through song much better by dint of acting it, rather than relying on sheer vocal ability. On then other hand, this is an R&B record and takes inspiration from such R&B legends as Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin, who they were masters at both straightforwardly interpreting songs and acting their material. And they’re both equally good singers as Carey is. What I think works in Aretha and Stevie’s favour is that they have much better material to work with. There are two things wrong with the production on Butterfly, one of which was unavoidable, one of which could have been improved. The latter is that the songwriting is just bad. Outside of the opening track it’s all slow, heavily orchestrated ballads with an almost obsessive focus on love and sex for it’s lyrical topics. It’s a proven concept, of course. The love song in Pop ain’t going away anytime soon folks, but the lack of diversity even within the limited scope Butterfly sets for itself is almost kind of impressive. It’s all about longing for them, and that’s basically it. There’s nothing much more to expand on. It plays pretty heavily into the idea that women are just sex objects, waiting for their man to come and ravage them before he goes off to do his manly things, while she’s just left to wait for him to come back and ravage her again. It’s not a great look. I know that women have lives outside of sex, I’ve listened to Joni Mitchell. It all seems specifically designed for the male gaze, a beautiful woman singing pretty, uncomplicated songs specifically about about how much she wants you, and only you. Look, I am a man, and I’m as prone to falling in love with famous women as anyone. I don’t find any of this particularly erotic. It all hinges on the idea that Mariah Carey is just laying about in bed, waiting for you, yes you, the gorgeous listener, who hasn’t realised how genuinely attractive to women he is, to come and rock her world. I try not to come across as the sort of person who specifically looks for plot inconsistencies in porn (That’s not a joke, that is the vibe I try and cultivate in real life. If you saw me you’d think, ‘that’s a guy who doesn’t care about logical inconsistencies in his pornography’) but I genuinely don’t get why this is the vibe or the subject that Carey wanted to go for with Butterfly. Surely there must be other things she wants to write about than just Sex, and how much she wants to have it with you, the completely striking but until now unnoticed by women, listener? I’m a writer (shock of shocks) and I know that I have a few general topics that I focus on specifically, but I still try and vary the things I write about just as a general attempt at keeping myself sane. There’s no way to continually write about the ways that Capitalism has affected the proletariat in their everyday life without going mad. Write a fucking poem about sunsets or some shit, a landscape, whatever. It’ll do you the world of good. Mariah Carey obviously didn’t get the memo. The former problem with Butterfly’s production, the unavoidable one, is that we’re having to deal with Mariah Carey’s voice. As I said at the head of the review, I don’t find her voice all that pleasant to listen to, which is it’s own problem, but the producers seem to think that we need to be reminded every few seconds that we are listening to a Mariah Carey album and as such they shove as many harmony vocals and different vocal lines into the mix as is humanly possible. I find the songs on this album particularly unmemorable because I have genuine trouble trying to focus on what the melody or the chorus is supposed to be, with the literal chorus (ha-ha) of Mariah Carey’s all vying for my attention. I do not understand the appeal of this music. Outside of the vocals, which I can appreciate from a technical standpoint, even if I don’t enjoy them, this is a badly written, badly produced, collection of what is essentially anti-feminist slop. It’s not a good Pop album, because I couldn’t identify the intended singles if you put a gun to my head, it isn’t a good Hip-Hop album, because I couldn’t identify any of the non-Mariah artists if you paid me, and it ain’t good R&B, mostly because it doesn’t have any rhythm but also because it doesn’t have any soul. Possibly not the epitome of soulless commercial music overtaking anything with any actual ideas, and I’ve certainly come across music I hated more for political or even aesthetic reasons. But I’ve rarely come across music that bored me to this extent. And that is, I think, the ultimate sin

I just don't like this style of music. It doesn't turn my crank. In actuality, it grinds my gears. It's well done, she has an amazing voice, the writing is reasonably good, as is the production. But I just have a hard time listening to it.

Much compression, repetitive song writing and overly long. What a way to waste a talent.

Great voice but utilized terribly

In the brightly colored pop world, you can't escape Mariah Carey. She may have an incredibly good singing voice. But her music gets on my nerves so much that I only played 2 tracks on the album and it's a shame to waste my time listening to more of it. Similar to Beyoncé, I would have to give the album an extra point for Mariah's good voice. However, similar to Taylor Swift - whose voice is not as remarkable - I don't feel like doing that. 1/5

Her voice is so pure and amazing, but the music and lyrics on this record are not good.

Incredible talent, but just not my favorite music.

Kai tämän arviointiin voisi käyttää jotain teoreettista tulokulmaa joka korostaisi laulun teknisyyttä tms mutta siis onhan tää ihan hirveetä. 1/5

Ysäripoppi on kyllä musta aika kehnosti vanhentunutta. Tässäkin taustat on vähän että joo-o.

Overrated! (I just listened to Carol King/Joni Mitchell previously - maybe I am just fatigued?)

Good to see that whilst God gave her the looks and the talent and gave her the spotlight, it was also very much the case that her choice of songs was dreadful sentimental crap. But I like Honey, and she clearly had a sense of humour making the video

Never spent much time with these mega pop artists of my youth. Interesting going back and listening now. Something about the vocals/production are so distinctive of the 90s, but I can't really describe it. I've definitely heard My All before. A Spanish-inspired love ballad. Girl's got pipes for sure. Instrumental sampling of Shook Ones pt II on The Roof is sick. Solid track. The rest of the album kind of fell to the background for me. Somewhere in the space of I didn't mind it. Clearly talented and certain songs were more engaging than others, but largely this is stuff I would be happy to only hear in the background at the mall. 3 / 5.

Sure she's talented, but I don't want to listen to it. 2.5 stars.

Production is clean and I can recognize that she has a great voice, but I can't stand the breathiness and excessive moaning. Not a bad album, but definitely not one that enjoyed. This is surprising because I definitely think 28 year old straight white males is Mariah's exact target demographic.

I suppose that she is a very good singer. 90s pop beats are possibly my least favorite type of beats. That was a really tough hour to muscle through

Diddy is so annoying with him just talking in the background of songs. This isn't bad but not really for me. Nothing really particularly engaging besides her voice which is really beautiful. Just doesn't do enough for me. Just got bored.

She's fine...

NOOOOOOPE For albums this bad, youtube in an icognito browser is the way. Like hell i'm gonna let this mess up my YT or Spotify algorithms. Get ready skip button, you're getting a workout today my boy. Great singer. Awful, awful songs.

This album was not for me. Mariah Carey has an amazing voice, but I don’t care for 90s R&B. Nothing here got me past that. It is a quality album, though. Standouts: The Roof(Back In Time) and Fourth of July.

Nice vocals.

Like an hour of Disney credits music.

Amazing voice, but prone to using gymnastics in the wrong spots at times

I wanted to like this one but there was just nothing here that made this above average

Blah

Man I love ballads. Sure it's the most groundbreaking or interesting music or anything, but wow it sounds good. Generational vocal talent and swoony love songs, what else can you ask for. I liked everything except for when I got a little bored during the 3 song stretch between Fourth of July and Babydoll. Also wasn't a big fan of the Butterfly Reprise, but I'm still giving this a 4

Her voice, obviously, like wow. Slow jams.

Lots of ooooos not a lot of good songs

Couldn't listen to this garbage

Nobody did '90s collabs better than Mariah. "Honey" is a classic jam and the other hip-hop collabs on here are weird, cool, fun ... whatever. But certainly, a formula that got replicated over and over — resulting in some amazing music and some utterly terrible music (looking at you, Ja Rule)

Mejor de lo que esperaba. Soportable. La verdad es que tiene muy buena voz. No sabía que Honey era suya.

There is no denying Mariah Carey has a beautiful voice and exceptional range. But something about listening to her sing is the equivalent of watching da Vinci paint the Mona Lisa as a “paint by numbers.“ The performance lacks the same depth as heard in previous generation talents, such as Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday. It’s not Carey’s fault. She may not have had the same life experiences as those other women. But it leaves the performance somewhat hollow in my estimation.

Running scales are tiresome, but her voice is beautiful.

For the most part, not a huge fan of her singing, in spite of her clear talent. I did enjoy a couple songs, though.

One star because she is a superstar. Another star because she is hot. 2 stars, that is all.

Why this album? She has way better albums with more standout songs.

Pop, 1997 -> 3

Very nice maar beetje emo it’s cute tho

Emblematic sounds of the 90, and a truly fantastic voice.

I think she has a lovely voice, however her music on this album does nothing for me.

-music channels music videos at 3 am vibes -passionate vocals -a personal album for Ms. Mariah Carey -I like the R&B, downtempo instrumentals around this album, as well as the funky, hip hop-ish instrumentals -awesome Prince cover ("The Beautiful Ones") -it isnt usually my type of pop music, but it was an enjoyable listen, for sure -favorite songs: Honey (<3), the title track, Fourth Of July (<3), Breakdown, Close My Eyes, The Beautiful Ones -least favorite song: Fly Away

Gargh. Dramatisch - süß?

sorry

Fiquei com impressão que ia aparecer alguma da época da mtv, mas não reconheci nada.

A couple bangers. Great voice, but not up my alley for the most part

2.5

Favourite song - Honey

Slow R&B/pop. Felt like I was listening to the same song 12 times. She had a nice voice, but didn’t really get the chance to show it off until maybe the last song. Definitely not my thing.

Classic R&B. Don’t really like her voice but can’t deny it

C’est juste plate, ça devient vite de la musique de background de centre d’achat

If you like breathy pop, Mariah is for you.

Good voice but not my vibe

It was okay

Good album, but not her best. Love Mariah's body of work, especially in the first half of her career, but I found it interesting they chose this one instead of Daydream or Music Box.

There have always been great vocalists - but traditionally it's understood the vocals serve the song by complimenting the music or telling a story. Ideally both. There were vacuous warblers before Mariah, who treated the vocal track like a 1980's hair metal guitar solo. (Whitney turned to the dark side on Bodyguard, for example). But Mariah really nailed that "listen to the notes I can hit - and praise me!" Sadly it really connected. Girls across the world sang her songs into their hairbrushes, and her influence is still obvious at every singing talent show anywhere across the world. Her voice is a beautiful and powerful force. If only it could be used for good.

She can sing but I would never voluntarily listen

The crazy part is I like some of her songs

I have a new appreciation for this album after always lumping it in with Brittany Spears or Christina Aguilera. However, I now see it really is legitimate (modern) R&B that was then used as a template for many other R&B singers, especially female ones. There are one or two songs I liked on the album, but, mostly, I did not personally like it. However, I will give it 3 stars, as I can definitely appreciate the impact.

I’m not going to lie to you, we’ve been through far too much for that. I made it through about 30 minutes of this record, started losing interest and then put on Guided By Voices. I hope you can forgive me.

It’s an ok album, a few hits and a few other songs. She is a great singer but not sure this album is a must listen

It's okay

Man I have always despised this type of singing. This album did not change that. 2/10

Pop/R&B is not necessarily my jam, but I got to give her an extra star just for her voice. And if she hadn’t chosen this genre, we likely never would’ve heard of her so I don’t fault her for that, but I would love to see her do a soul or funk album.

11 year old me loved 'My All,' and part of me still does. Gets a bit repetitive at times, and there's only so much R&B diva I can stand at any given time. 3/5

She has the voice of an angel and also Puff Daddy is all over this.

Not awful, but it needed more Michael Bolton.

She's an absolute talent for sure but musically I found this fairly boring.

Awful

5/29/24. I typically like Mariah, but this one just felt flat to me. Predictable songs, although I can't deny the vocals.

Crazy good voice just not my cup of tea.

Mariah is an undeniably talented singer, but this style of 90s R&B is just really not for me. This was moving much too slowly for me up until the final track which was almost more of an outro. I much prefer Daydream to this album.

The crap that crap crapped

Fuck Mariah Carey

Beautiful voice but the album was boring. 3.5

Pleasant, but far too safe. I had basically forgotten most of the tracks by the end of the record.

2.1 - This is too poppy for me honestly. The vocal warbling get's a bit too overdone personally

Mariah's voice is great, the production here is quite clean and crisp, but not too adventurous. Holds up well, but doesn't really hook me - when I listen to Mariah Carey I just always wish I was listening to Fantasy. Fave Track: Breakdown 3.3/5

Fine. Nothing crazy but shows the skill of Mariah well and was pleasant to listen to.

Okay

I was hoping for more. I have 2 older sisters and grew up on this stuff. I was expecting my long lost inner 14 year old girl soul to be unlocked and set free. It wasn’t. This was awful. Boring. Irritating. I struggle to see how it’s on this list? I don’t see how it influenced anything. Just seems like another manufactured pop record. Am I missing something? 1.8

Paska, kuuntelin joskus samaa biisiä..

solo llevo dos canciones, y sinceramente m tatuaria el album. Chiquito espectaculo, una cosa d locos my all es legal? sin palabras, los tiempos, el ritmo, como juega con los tonos de la voz, la letra... mis bendiciones fouth of july? breakdown? cada cancion m da un microinfarto, que locura estoy blessed

Not bad at all. Its not 'better than I thought it would be', as she clearly has an incredible voice, and this period of time is great for female singers in RnB/pop. But it is a pleasant surprise Production is outstanding. Songs are good A decent 3

While more familiar with her yearly seasonal hit, it was nice hearing a different side of her music! Maybe not everyday listening for me, but it was a chill vibe.

Great singing talent, insane range. Songs felt a bit too similar for my taste, considering how many tracks are on the record.

Hate it

This is a tough one. Mariah Carey has a great voice, but this type of 90s R&B is just really not for me. I guess I can’t knock her for that, though.

This album's all right, it's like a backing track for sex. Mariah's voice is all over the place as usual. More popular with women I think. I'll give it 3 stars since it sold a bajillion copies.

I really didn’t care for this album

Look, Mariah undeniably has a great voice and that's on display here. And if one of these tracks popped up while I was shopping, or on hold for some company's customer service, I'd be fine with it. But listening to 1 hour straight of what felt like essentially the same song was more than I could take.

She got altitude Krayzie bone can’t save lulling Like rhythm and snooze

Did not change my opinion about her. She’s a talented singer but don’t like the music.

Ooooohhhh

So over done

Honey is fun. The rest is meh

She does have a pretty voice and some of the sounds are nostalgic for me as a kid growing up in the 90s. With that being said, fuck this shit for me personally.

Actually some ok beats, but ruined by having no oompf

Oh no..

Rules

If it wasn’t for her vocals, I would have rated this album a 2. The lyrics were so basic, everything sounded very similar. Mariah is obviously insanely talented and I was expecting a lot from this album and was stunned at how bland it was

Boring and bland. I remember hearing this type of music everywhere when I was a child, I hated it then and I hate it now.

while she is crazy talented, obviously, she seems to have made popular the trend many female pop singers still utilize… what i call over singing. other than that, a pretty solid pop album, although not a fan of when pop singers blend rap into the songs, which she tended to do during this period in her career.

Did they just pick a random Mariah Carey album? I don’t recognize any of these songs and it’s pretty boring,

Just feels like one long long song. Hardly goes anywhere throughout the album

Boooooring!

Now we're talking! Late 90s diva pop.

Kinda nice

Highlight: The Beautiful Ones (Prince cover) The problem with Butterfly is that Mariah uses her melismatic style WAY too much. It’s predictable- go low, go high, flutter (pardon the pun) around one syllable. All the songs sound the same, which is a trap many pop and pop adjacent acts fall into. This album might be on the list largely because it’s a departure from Mariah’s usual style. It embraces hip hop and subtle samples (see Honey). The Prince cover is good, not spectacular. Sorry, honey. This album has not aged well. Overall: 1/10

Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Absolutely nothing to distinguish it from the tsunami of pop R and B in the nineties/early noughties than her voice. Which is a taste I have yet to acquire.

Struggled to finish. Nothing against Mariah Carey's singing ability. It just doesn't work for me.

Imagine having this voice, and range choosing to do this with it.

Well I just listened to an hour of syrupy nonsense. Mariah just makes noises and ooohs and aaaws her way through this drivel while some faceless backing band play soulless music. Every now and then some random guy will shout "oh yeah!" or something equally inane in the background. Truly appalling and an affront to musicality in every way. The vocal performance is like she's practising in the shower in an absent-minded way, rather than actually singing on something that would be released to the public.

This is probably the first Mariah album I've listened to from start to finish apart from her Christmas album and while it wasn't as unpleasant as some of the other stuff that I've been subjected to on this list, it was overall pretty forgettable. I am admittedly not a big Mariah Carey or pop/R&B fan, but as a teen of the 90s, I am very familiar with her music having heard it all the time and I did enjoy some of the nostalgia that came from hearing this album. I respect the slight change in sound on this album from her earlier hits and that she wrote and produced every song, but it's still not my jam overall. A lot of songs sounded the same, and while there's no denying she has a beautiful voice, there's too much OooOoohs and whatnot for me. After a while, it all starts to blend together which doesn't work, no matter how good your vocals are.

Man this is so so rough. Obviously well produced and Mariah has a great voice, but this is just feels so cobbled together with no sense of cohesion. Albums built entirely too long in the CD era concerned about charting singles really struggle as full records, and I think this is a great example of that. 2 stars.

I've never listened to a Mariah Carey album all the way through. Always thought of her as a girl with top flight technical voice skills wasted on lightweight music. But I'm certainly willing to give this disc a spin and see if I'm wrong. Nope. It's all pleasant enough but ultimately pretty disappointing. My favorite track, marginally since they are all the same, is Breakdown. And to be completely honest, her voice doesn't actually do anything for me. The respect I feel is entirely intellectual.

Not terrible The Roof is an interesting track. Needs puff daddy to fuck off, can't stand his shitty interruptions and all his noncing about (literally) Nice to hear Bone, Thugs.

Incredible voice and lyrics…Always!!

Best Song: Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise). The combination of the absolutely alien notes she's hitting and the pure 90s groove makes this track a winner. Worst Song: Whenever You Call. Obviously vocally impressive, but also like the dictionary definition of a diva track. Overall: Clearly well sung, but after a certain point the vocal runs all start to fade together and lose their appeal - and when that happens there's little else on the album worth listening to.

without a doubt, mariah carey has a beautiful voice. it's the saving grace of butterfly because without the vocals, the album is so bland. to be clear, butterfly does not contain bad music, but it doesn't have me eager for more. mariah created the entire album as a very smooth listen, at least. her r&b and pop fusion is done well, but it's nowhere near engaging.

Mariah Carey has an unbelievably beautiful voice and a phenomenal range...the type of thing you only see a few times in a generation of musicians. That said, much of this album feels like generic R&B; it's listenable, and it's baseline "good", but most of the songs are not memorable and most of the songs don't allow her skills to actually shine through. I may be in the minority here, though, as many people (including Mariah herself) regarded this album as a turning point in her career that projected her further into stardom. In any case, Mariah does deserve a spot on this project, but in my mind, it would be one where her talents are better represented.

Mariah has a great voice but this was nothing more than her crooning for an hour with hardly any variation in tempo or production which made it a less than interesting listen.

Hmmmm. No thanks

Not her best work. But I enjoyed this way more than I would have 27 years ago. Melodic and highly musically competent

She got a really great voice but she doesn’t sing so much as she let the voice ride a rollercoaster on every word. Which is a shame because a few of the songs could have been pretty good. Honey 3 Butterfly 3 My all 3 The roof (back in time) 2 Fourth of july 3 Breakdown (feat. Krayzie Bone & Wish. Bone) 3 Baby doll 3 Close my eyes 3 Whenever you call 2 Fly away (Butterfly reprise) 1 The beautiful ones (feat. Dru Hill) 1 Outside 2

Not for me!

Mariah Carey's old problem is prominent again on this album: she is much too much infatuated with her own voice but can't find anything better do with it than singing not for the songs, but to show off. Her new problem is that the songs are entirely forgettable. 2/5

Fluffy nonsense. Didn't enjoy this at all. It was interesting to play Christina Aguilera and Mariah Carey back-to-back: the difference in quality of songwriting stands out immediately, to the detriment of Mariah Carey. Her frequent use of breathy melisma is very irritating, and Aguilera's voice comes across as being much more powerful. I don't ever want to hear this again, it's hopeless in comparison.

Pish. Just pish. Almost every song is over-sung and under-written, sounding like a half finished effort with phoned-in guest rappers. Production is all over the shop, lyrics are odd and rubbish and very very bad. There are a couple of ballads which stand out like corn in crap, but this record is one of the least deserving of its place on this list. Still better than Nico though!

Mariah has that luscious voice that dances around the notes whenever she sings anything. Really awesome if you like that sort of thing. I don't

This started strong and then was just more of the same, had me voting a solid 3 until a 7 minute meandering duet with dru hill that dropped this down another point to a stinky duece

It is alright 90's R&B/pop. I enjoyed the track with Bone Thugs, but that is because it sounded like it was Bone Thugs and Harmony instead of Mariah. Not bad, but not going to be listened to again either. It could probably be a two star, but it is right in line with a bunch of other mostly unobjectionable albums I have already given three stars so I guess we will strive for consistency.

Has its moments

Although her music is outside the usual genres and styles to which I am accustomed and to which I mostly listen, I can hear the impressive talent in her voice. She really can sing amazingly well. Impressive!

7/10 not really for me but I can still appreciate it :)

It’s ok not good or bad really mid 5

Biggest waste of talent since Ravel Morrison

Geen fan van dit soort muziek, vind de nummers sowieso best saai. Zelfde probleem als ik heb met Adele, ze kan goed zingen maar er zit gewoon te weinig achter, de liedjes zijn niet leuk.

Mariah Carey - Butterfly I listened to the first two albums from Mariah, but never really took the time to listen to the the albums that came after. This album has the same feel as those earlier albums, but with a P. Diddy flare. Lots of guest artists from the day as well. I feel like there are better representations for Mariah over this album, but it's still a good album. 4/5

6/10

No a fan.

She is a horrible person and it affects my opinion of her music. But the album is good. I just would never choose to listen to it.

Mariah Careying these vocals. - 6/10

There were some songs I liked, others were too slow, breathy, or boring. I liked her voice and the overall vibes.

I think I didn’t like this for the same reason I don’t like Ariana grande’s music. Clearly Mariah Carey has a hell of a voice but I feel like it was just kinda whispy singing that didn’t really project and relied more on her voice than having good music. Sometimes girly pop is just doing too much and I didn’t appreciate her for it. Not terrible but just wasn’t my thing. ca->pa rating#4

A bit poppy but pretty good. Whenever You Call was kinda painful, super cheesy strings, but at least she didn’t do gratuitous riffs like that on every song. 6/10

4/10 - It was not bad. Her voice is pretty good but I did not love it and some of the songs kind of dragged on.

She has a nice voice but the music itself was super uninteresting, felt like all she cared about was showing off her voice 4/10

Generic and bland and pretty boring 3/10

A good album, I like all of the songs. Mariah Carey has a nice and calming voice. I liked Butterfly and Outside the most.

En låt som jag gillade annars var det bara vanlig 90-tals rnb.

Definitely not my cup of tea, and I don't get the appeal tbh

The hip-hop tracks are solid late 90s singles. The Top 40 vocal pop songs are rough. The vocal performances are great, of course, but suffer because they are accompanied by middle of the road instrumentals.

Honey is maybe THE non-Xmas Carey track but this is so leaden with (admittedly well sung) ballads that it's a real trudge. I read her autobiography and this was an important album to her as an artist, but not something I'm going to listen to again

Was this really as late as '97? I would have sworn it was, like,' 93 or '94. Oh well. I didn't enjoy it in the 90s, and while I can't exactly say that I enjoyed it at the arse end of 2024, I may have grown more tolerant of the warbling.

With very few exceptions, up tempo MC > down tempo MC Too often her voice is expected to do the heavy lifting over song ideas that probably shouldn't have made it past demo stage.

No hay voz como la suya. Podría escucharla para siempre.

Meh.

Great voice, too many "oooooh aaaaaahs" though.

Listening to this album is a bit like taking a bath in warm syrup - soothing and relaxing, but ultimately a bit over sweet. Mariah Carey has a gorgeous voice, but she does that thing where it warbles over half a dozen notes in a single word. It’s probably technically very accomplished, but it sounds like a real life autotune in places. The best song was a cover of Prince’s Beautiful Ones and I liked the tweeting bird noises too.

That was painful. I feel like I spent an hour drowning in a field of marshmallows with unicorns farting rainbows all around me and believe it or not, but farting unicorns sound exactly like Mariah Carey does on this record.

I am not very familiar with the genre. Mariah Carey has an amazing voice, but I can't help, it annoys me after a couple of songs.

I just can’t listen to

pretty good yeah

At one time, yodelling was very popular for some reason. Ditto with dramatical Divas singing musical scales in a high pitched voice. It might be impressive to certain people, it might take a lot of practice, but that doesn't necessarily translate into listenable. Nice sexy cover art though.

This caused me pain in the lower abdomen.

Are you taking the piss?

Just terrible.

Awful album, I had to keep skipping tracks, far too much vocal warbling, made me feel queasy. I feel slightly mean giving this a 1, probably coz I fancied the pants off Mariah Carey when I was 14.

Brings back memories

BL: Almost dreading myself for this one, I've never at all considered myself to be a Mariah fan or even know much at all outside the obvious hits, I've always cast her aside and never really paid any attention to her or the music she produces, maybe this will turn out to have been a mistake, and I'm removing any bias I may come into this listen with but truth be told I'm not holding out much hope. We'll see Mariah - We'll see. AL: Just as bad as I expected. Over produced late 90s girl vocal pop is some of my personal least favourite forms of music. I felt the same with the Brittany Spears record, I find this type of music to be almost entirely devoid of substance. One track stuck out to me but only because of the rap feature which was quite catchy, but still incredibly mellowed out and weak as opposed to some potential other offerings this album could've served up. Maybe it's unconscious bias to this genre as a whole, but overall I found this to be incredibly weak FT: "The Roof" 1/5

Crazy voice we all know it. I can truly only listen to so many runs in one sitting but good for her. Would listen intently if soemone put it on.

Good album. But not my type of music.

This is purely for MC's magnificent voice that sounded great even through my tinny headphones

At least the album cover is nice 🦋🦋

I couldn't make it through this one, to be honest. The songs themselves are pretty by-the-number R&B tracks of the time, but I can't stand her whistle notes. It goes right through me.

She's clearly an amazing singer, but I found a lot of the songs on this record pretty boring.

90s nostalgia, a lot of average songs on it. But 3 for the memories.

that was long an dpainful 4/10

“Honey” is just incredible. So smooth, so sexy, so easy to listen to. And it’s got that great, funky beat! The sparkling slow jams are beautiful but sometimes too cheesy for my taste. I prefer the hip-hop-leaning numbers. I love how the mix layers different vocal tracks so that we’re sometimes listening to seven Mariah Careys at once. You can lose yourself in the mix and surround yourself with her voice. I think the effect adds to the sexy, bedroom appeal of the music. “Close My Eyes” is great. I love that “la-da-da-da-da” hook. Ooh “Fly Away” has a nice house beat! I wish there were more dance tracks like this.

Mariah Carey is one of the best pop/R&B singers of all time and I'm super glad she is finally on this list. From the minute you hear her backup scat-like harmonies in track 1, to her wildly impressive technical vocal runs, you KNOW that it's Mariah. IMO this isn't one of Mariah's best albums though as I think she's not really daring enough in it. I want more of her front and center stage voice when I hear her, and this one comes across as more of the sultry smooth voice. She truly has one of the best pop voices ever and I don't mean to hate on it. I just hope we get her Christmas album or "The Emancipation of Mimi" or "Daydream" on here.

Are ye fuckin serious

I appreciate Mariah Carey and her talent, but most of the songs sounded the same to me.

A time capsule. 90s r&b. Mariah Carey elevates this above the usual 90s r&b noise. A truly stunning voice. 8/10

Not the hit generator that she would become.

90's classic R&b. Her voice is still one of the best.

Songs I already knew - none Songs I liked- none This is the type of album you get when a talented singer is sucked into the music factory to churn out an album of unmemorable pleasantness.

Nostalgic but still not super great.

I am not sure why, but I am surprised to find a Mariah album on this list. I am not sure why, but I am also surprised it's Butterfly. I would have thought her older albums like Musicbox were more classic, or perhaps Daydream when she changed focus a bit. Or even the ubiquitous Christmas album. But it's argued that this is her magnum opus and when she fully transformed, thus the title. I dunno. I starts strong with a classic track that shows her fully engaged in a hip hop motif, and then the brakes immediately slam for multiple ballads in a row. The song with Bone Thugs is great, but so much of this crawls and sounds the same with her vocal fills. It was pointed out that this is a tale of two Mariah's and looking at the writers and production the split couldn't be more obvious. That doesn't read as a "best work." I dunno, I'm kind of "meh" about it.

Not for me - good production

I genuinely do not like this. Excessive vocal gymnastics that get in the way of the melody. It's an unforced error. Mariah Carey has an amazing voice. It's a damn shame I can't hear it for all the backflipping she does all over the place. Congrats to her on feeling so confident on that take of the title track Butterfly, but damn, she's not hitting the melody there. Yep. She's sexy. Got that sexy voice. Cool cool cool. Was this at the point in her career where people were afraid to tell her "no"?

I think I can make it through life without ever listening to this record. I have no desire to play this and can spend my time actually listening to music I enjoy. I have yet to discover many good records on this list that either I have never heard of heard of but never listened. Another terrible pick! Eleven Stars!

Not my style but I'm sure she's a good singer for some people. I don't like all the vocal acrobatics in the same tone throughout the whole album

Good voice.

Could not get through it. Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard for me. I do appreciate that she diversified her sound (expanding from pop to include hip hop) but I don't really like it any better.

Not my favorite, but still great!

- Fourth of July

Ich kannte MC nur von so einem unsäglichen Weihnachtslied. Und ich wusste, dass sie sich vor Interviews die Titten von einer Assistentin zurechtrücken lässt. Ok, es gibt also ganze Alben, die sie besungen hat. Ich frage mich, wer - außer Mädchen, die von einer Karriere in einer Casting Show träumen - hört sich sowas an? Für mich bis jetzt der Tiefpunkt von ca. 30 gehörten Alben.

p815. 1997. 2 stars. Terrific voice let down by sub-par material. This is just bland background music for dinner parties.

Alles in allem dümpelt die Musik vor sich hin und die wirklich tolle Stimme säuselt und ächzt. Nicht (mehr?) mein Ding.

Pop, da wird es immer etwas schwierig für mich. Balladen sind ok aber definitiv zu sulzig.

Good grooves. Singing great but not as perfect as I thought out remembered. Definitely sent me back to junior high dance

Saccharin. We get it, Mariah, you’ve got a great voice with an amazing range but could you just wind it in a little?

Voice of an Angel Songs of a workman

*Mariah*: This SUUUHUHUHACKKSS UHUHUAAHHHSSSHooooAAHHSS” *Puff Daddy “rap” break*: “This sucks. She is saying “this sucks” but stretching the words out way longer than is necessary because that’s what good singing is? Also I’m a rapist.” *”Rap” break over, back to Mariah*: “This really SUUHAACCCKS ooooo UHUHUAHHSSSSAHHooooAAHHSS!” This “album” is just that for almost an hour. No amount of yass-slaying this queen is going to make this anything other than disposable 90’s pop garbage. No one should ever listen to this, much less have to listen to it before they die. 60% of the “lyrics” are “AAAAAAHHHHHH” Ooooooo” “EEEEEEE” and a high-pitched squeaking sound. This is a paper plate of an album. Meant to appeal to what was popular at that exact moment, sell a bunch of copies and then be discarded and forgotten. Its existence is a net negative for humanity. My day, and my very life, are worse for having had to endure this “music.”

Shit floating. Still better than Whitney. 0-1-0

Würg.

I tried so hard to get into this but failed, so hard! Yeah, MC has some pipes but these songs sound so much alike. And her vocal histrionic were just too much. I stuck with it for 6 or 7 tracks but had to admit defeat. Nice, well produced pop songs but not for me.

A lot of this I’ve heard before, my sister used to love this stuff and played it in her room next to mine. Wondering if Babyface produced this, might be him doing harmonies. Obviously a great singer but not for me, the album I mean.

Probably my favorite MC album. Loved the maturity and more r+b feel of this one.

Kann die Stimme und den Gesangsstil nicht ab

Pretty classic 90s r and b, not my favorite genre but fun throwback

Pretty good as an album, her voice is lovely and the songs had decent variation. Would potentially listen again.

Not my genre

Great voice. Not my favorite style of music.

Production is very lush and slick, and Carey can sing. Has a relaxing 90s vibe.

Surpised - never listened to an entire a Mariah Carey album - she has an amazing voice and very talented. Unfortunately, the sounds sort of all sounded similar... not bad but nothin stood out. I bet album cover added to sales number...

I am not a fan of Mariah Carey and never have been so did not listen to this album. Not sure why it was included in my list.

Well. Mariah is full voiced and absolutely bringing it here. Her tone is angelic and the songs themselves are catchy and mostly upbeat. The love ballads feel full and sincere and the features work to juxtapose Mariah superbly.

These are flat landscapes for Mariah to scat over. Good make out music maybe... but they feel barren and her gymnastics are not enough to engage me, when the prince cover is the one thing that feels like a tune the rest is problematic.

Nothing I find very interesting. It is well produced and has all the slickness one expects from dance oriented pop (now with hip-hop styling added in). And it has the never ending message via innuendo that sex is a golden thing and perhaps even includes love and transformation. (Go away caterpillar. Come back when you are a butterfly. No--not a beetle!) The vaporousness of the lyrics really highlight how much the formulaic music methods try to make you feel something important is happening. Which is not to say that the music itself is entirely throw-away. It is heavily produced but has some phrases, beats, and moments that something more interesting could have been done with. The underlying theme that a woman is an object that needs someone else to validate her is both sad and terrifying. Could this music become the soundtrack to a a first person game of some sort that is not porn? I do not know. This sits squarely in a space where mass marketing grinds talent into granulated sugar, bags it, and sends it out to rot your teeth. Everything is behind a mask of sameness, nothing daring, nothing personal. God forbid one develop a pimple while listening.

god, I'm almost dead: only one long long song

Shir

Not my music - I don‘t like electronic drum kits and the voice from Mariah is not mine, too.

Thanks I hate it

Very 1997. Has a place in my rotation, but not a casual listen.

Beau vibrato, et je m'y connais

tiens mariah un 3 les gens ici sont sexistes

This is an infuriating and unsatisfying listen. I stopped this down halfway through to do something else and I don't see any reason to continue to the end.

Sorry, but not my thing. I see other people liking it though.

In my opinion Mariah Carey's Butterfly doesn't signify her apex, but her decline. Butterfly is the point that she starts falling victim to the 'Diva' personality that would consumer her. The problem is, most of the music on this album is not diva-esque. Why is on this list? I'm not sure when her earlier albums are more representative of her influence. Here she's just a harmonizer that works with the 'Make-It-Big' writers and producers of the era that stumbled upon a formula for hit records. She has the hit records, but the quality of her music is behind her at this point. 2.5/5.

Surprisingly OK

This was quite amusing. I popped this album on this morning and started to do a bit of work, occasionally pausing to zone in on the ridiculous high and irritating vocal whistling technique she is famous for. Almost every song sounded the same, the evidence for which was accidentally listening to it 2.5 times without even noticing! I'm sure her voice is unique, amazing and celebrated but the songs on this album were just so 'background'. Nothing stood out for me. I didn't hate it and I do have a soft spot for her Christmas album and for that reason I award it 2 stars!

No thank you. This just sounds like one very long, boring, over produced song. Though its quite a feat to sound that breathless while pumping out those vocals.

It's fine

Our first Mariah? Kind of fitting before Christmas, and I learned that infamous song is from 94! This was a good album, I’ve never been a huge fan of hers but her voice is undeniable. Glad we got one of hers!

Knew this one was coming eventually. I'm pretty sure there's only one Mariah Carey album on this list, and I'm not sure why it's this instead of her previous, Daydream. I didn't know a single song going into this one, though I recognized the beat on "The Roof" as sampling Mobb Deep, that was cool. Aside from that, why wouldn't we include the album with "Fantasy," "Always Be My Baby," and "One Sweet Day"? Three #1 hits on Daydream, including the first song by a woman to debut at #1. I'm reading that this one is acclaimed too, and that Mariah herself once called it her "magnum opus," but respectfully, she also does annual promo for her Christmas song so I don't know how much I trust her judgment. This one's not bad, but I don't think it's good enough to include here either. My version of a list like this would swap this with Daydream. Favorite tracks: The Roof, Fly Away. Album art: I do like this one, this portrait style shot is so '90s pop, but I think it's cool that everything is gold, minus the brilliant color of the butterfly. You wouldn't even notice it on a smaller picture, but yeah, I like that. 2.5/5

Why so high pitched? Who wants this? Maybe 2 is a bit harsh but the beautiful ones cover upset me.

Definitely not for me

This was so relaxing lol

3.5

I think there is a maturation of this album from "Vision of Love," which really just has her putting it all out there. My biggest problem is, she does a lot of that whispery, breath-y thing which is a bit frustrating. The Butterfly reprise... whoa, I really liked the high notes as a background, eerieness. If she was a different singer I could imagine her using that effect in some really dark songs (but I don't think that's something she would do). "Honey", although I had heard it before, sounds more like something that's played in the background of a party in a movie. It's background noise, like a number of the songs. Over 25 years later and "Babydoll" just feels all kind of cringe-y to me. Yikes on those lyrics. There are a lot of nice effects and she does her part really well. Some of the production style is very 1997, which really dates it now. But if I was listening to this a bunch back in the day I might not notice it as much. It's the equivalent of cotton candy, in that it just doesn't have a lot of filling or heaviness to it. It's light as air and maybe it'll fill you up but you will definitely get sick living off of it. Definitely in the middle ground for me, so that's a 2.5 rounding up to a 3.

Let me start by saying Mariah has one of the most incredible voices of all time. She shows it off on some of the softer tracks or ballads like Butterfly, My All, Close My Eyes, Whenever You Call (those are my favorites). She absolutely deserves at least one album on the 1,001 list but this is a strange pick for me. Yes, it solidifies her metamorphosis into a new genre. But she started that transition on the previous album Daydream. And if we want to reward her reinventing herself, why not the even more surprising album The Emancipation of Mimi, which was her comeback 8 years later. Or just take her self-titled debut, when she and that voice came out of nowhere. I don't know, this album just doesn't feel like it capitalizes on Mariah's talents like it should even if her songwriting improved (per the critics). It feels a bit like the hip hop is forced in on songs like Honey or Breakdown rather than nicely blending. There just seemed to be a bit more harmony on some of her previous album collaborations (e.g., with Boyz II Men) than here with overlays of P Diddy or Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, though the latter collaboration is better. And The Roof and Babydoll are also fairly hip hop, but sound better to me because they focus more on Mariah with subtle contributions from backup female singers. I don't think this album is quite a 4 but it's at least a 3.5. And I'm giving her a bump for that voice.

Listened Before? Y This has long been one of my 'guilty pleasure' albums. Her voice was peaking on this one, and she avoided a lot of the high-pitched gimmick from her early work. It's appropriate that the first song is "Honey" because that's exactly what her voice evokes. Simply a great pop record. Added to Library? Y Songs added to playlist: Honey, Breakdown

Ah bordel. Je pensais bien que ce ne serait pas forcément ma came mais j'y allais l'esprit léger et prêt à être surpris. Mais c'est insupportable. Je souffrais physiquement à beaucoup de moment. Ses minauderies, la musique, les choeurs, tout est insupportable de kitsch, ça en fait des caisses sans déclencher aucune émotion. J'en soufflais et frissonnais par moment. Horrible. Plus jamais. Même "My all" ne rattrape rien, mais sa relative simplicité fait un peu de bien.

2-

It's around a week until Christmas. I've had it with Mariah Carey. The mix is very tiring. Big smiley curve EQ. Unpleasant to listen to. Occasionally she shows how good she can really sing, but most of the time the ad libs sounds as if she can't hit the right note properly. She also sings very breathy. I can't stand that. It's a complete mismatch with the loud rhythm section. The songs aren't bad per se, but I don't think anyone on this record was on the top of their game. Favorite song: 4th Of July.

it's great to listen to someone that can sing really well

not great, a lot more choir-y r&b bullshit songs than I would have expected given her voice. Several songs where she shows it off though. 2.8.

Not a fave of mine way to smoochy

The opposite of most on this list, this album has a confident, talented vocalist with lackluster instrumentation behind her. This is still too close to the early '90s smooth pop for me to enjoy much.

beautiful!

Overwrought. Over produced over everything. There might be some lyrical gems though who can tell with the vocal histrionics and voices everywhere in the mix. Just not the kind of music that I like at all. The song Close My Ees was did stand out somewhat for its directness ie they kept the production somewhat minimalist at least in this context. 2 stars

vildt god imo 🤷 gode produktioner, sindssyg stemme, definitiv lyd for æraen

Don't get it. Der var et enkelt nummer som havde lidt en house vibe og et fedt nummer som samplede Shook Ones, men ellers synes jeg fandme det var noget ligegyldigt bralderværk. Skip.

Meget meget langt album, fyldt med bralderværk!

Did not enjoy.

Music to a late-night cuddle.

Un album pop bien foutu. Mariah a indéniablement une voix magnifique, mais comme plusieurs, je trouve ses acrobaties vocales un peu lassantes quand j'écoute plusieurs pièces de suite.

I mean, I don't particularly enjoy this as well, but I don't get why this is one of the lowest rated albums on the site. Seems like a milquetoast, inoffensive R&B album. There's a lot of those on this list. Nothing groundbreaking, but definitely not horrible. Not much worse than something like those two Christina Aguilera albums on here. Also haha at getting a Mariah Carey album in December. On the first snowy day of the year where I live no less.

Deep breath. I can do this. Be objective. Take it for what it is. Let's not be judgmental. Who am I kidding. I can't. Sorry. I can't devote 57 minutes of my life to the melodious human dolphin. Not going to lie. I've skipped through. The production is tight. Mid 90s Bump and Grind in full effect ... but meeeeeeh. It's not for me. It's fine for other people to like it. I get it. Well, no, I don't get it it. But I respect it. A bit.

Not my vibe

Couldn't get through this. Too many vocalizations rather than actual words. Don't understand the diva thing. I guess her voice is nice.

Butterfly is the sixth album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It's an R&B/hip hop album that is considered a turning point in Carey's career, because she moved away from traditional pop to more urban R&B music. This album is certified quintuple platinum in the US and received widespread critical acclaim. Although this Carey album has a more "urban" feel, she is still able to control her voice to soften it for some songs. She can both belt out loud high's, while charming listeners with airy whispers. This was a big part that made this album amazing. It's a great Mariah Carey album and probably my favorite I've listened to so far.

This is a classic R&B album of the late 90s, one of the best. Rich production, that utilizes some of the typical bells and whistles of the era, but always keeps Mariah at the center, where she should be. And my, doesn't Mariah sound like an angel? Fave Songs: Butterfly, The Roof, Breakdown, My All, Honey, Fourth of July

Omg, so bland and too long.

Terrific voice but most of these fell flat for me. I kept wanting more of Fantasy from her earlier album but this never got to that level.

"Adult contemporary" is such a contemptible phrase, but really fits Butterfly: Carey's take on RnB here is highly individual but desexualized to great effect. The AC label obscures the disc's dependence on time, that you can put out a quality sound without breaking ground. Vocal acrobatics then subduction.

Pop meh

Another place, another time - to be honest too tied up with work and business to really get the most out of Mariah’s beautiful whistling voice but undoubtedly she is God

"I'd risk my life to feel your body next to mine" girl no one's asking you to? briefly nodded my head along to one of the songs at the start but then literally couldn't tell it apart from any of the others. she is undeniably talented but oh my they really found a formula that worked for her and stuck to it.

If this album can show up here, then clearly us humans are capable of the most horrendous acts

2.75

Teenaged me would have been mystified, maybe even a bit angry, at seeing an album by Mariah Carey, of all people, in a list of albums I needed to listen to before I die. Decades later, though, older me went in decided to give Ms. Carey a chance. After all, now that I'm no longer stuck listening to "Honey" over and over again on the radio like when it first came out, maybe I might be able to find something interesting in that album. The whole point of this list is to listen to different music, after all. But... well, it simply just weren't very interesting. I appreciate Mariah going for a more subdued vocal style compared to her early albums where she pushed her voice to the limit, but the end result is something that aims for a dreamy vibe but really is just a bunch of songs that sort of all blend into the other and create a rather tedious background noise. I mostly found it boring.

Mejor de lo que esperaba. Soportable. La verdad es que tiene muy buena voz. No sabía que Honey era suya.

Love

Not a Mariah Carey fan, her style of singing is really off-putting for me, I had a hard time to sit through a whole song from this album. She is talented, that's for sure, as is the recording studio, but I'm not the target audience for this album.

Mariah is a great singer, but I tend to prefer her more upbeat songs, and this album is full of ballads. Just bores me, even though she has a lovely voice. The singles from this album are probably my favorite songs from it. I'm giving it an extra star partly just because "Honey" is such a fantastic song. But yeah, just meh on this one.

That girl can SING - on top of just loving her notes, I Love the beats, and reminding me of the time.... brings me back. I Love this album.

Really good. Could use a few more memorable melodies, but overall good.

A great voice and talent, easy on the eyes. But musically this is like mushed carrots. 90’s female pop has some misses

2 - It's fine. Boring, but fine. I expected to be annoyed, but it just went in one ear and out the other. At times, I could appreciate it, but these times were very scarce. I'll probably just forget about this one in time.

The music isn’t bad, but it’s hidden behind overindulgent singing. Don’t get me wrong, Mariah Carey has a spectacular voice and I appreciate the virtuosity. But it doesn’t need to be shown off every single phrase of every single song.

Mariah has a beautiful voice but is more chilled in this album. Pleasant listen

Too sweet and soft for my likings. Great and beautiful singer of course.

Boring

Some good things but overall not that great for me

Okay, poppy, okay

Pretty okay :) Like the 90s vibe

I'm not a fan

Cool album

Soft pop where nothing is said for an hour straight. Good voice, good beats, but not my cup of tea.

Mariah Carey is one of my favorite pop stars, but this album isn't the one for me. Maybe the worst of her 90s output. 2/5

This album reeks of 90's R&B/pop cheese. Add in a few hip hop collaborations, and you are left with this mediocre record. Mariah's seemingly seductive, breathy, whispered vocal delivery, interspersed with banshee wailing high notes is grating. At almost an hour of runtime, it feels like it overstayed its welcome. I had an issue differentiating one song from another. It sounds like Mariah found a recipe for a song structure and stuck to it, only changing the flavor up a bit when other artists were featured on songs. Overall, not my favourite genre, or artist. At least it wasn't her Christmas album!! I was never a fan of Mariah's music, and this record didn't help matters much. Favourite songs: Honey, Butterfly, Whenever You Call Least favourite songs: Babydoll 2/5

I mean, this is Mariah...so you know it is going to have a certain amount of vocal quality. It does. But this isn't the album filled with all the poppy, danceable hits that I associate with Mariah. It is a solid album, but not as much fun as I think I want from someone so connected to pop and dance and high flying vocal trilling. It was really more of background music to me. 2/5

not my thing.

Boring