The lead single from Mariah Carey’s ‘Here For It All’ opened the summer with a bang. A sleek slice of R&B, with Carey’s wit and confidence front and centre, Type Dangerous reminded listeners that while she hasn’t released a full album of new music since 2018’s ‘Caution’, she’s lost none of her sparkle or relevance. It set the tone for an album that embraces her strengths rather than chasing trends.
And there are strong follow-ups to that opener. Play This Song, a collaboration with Anderson .Paak, marries her playful banter with a buoyant retro groove. Jesus I Do, bolstered by gospel flourishes, provides one of the record’s standout vocal showcases, nodding toward Carey’s signature whistle tones without overplaying them.
Not everything lands so smoothly. At times the album leans a little too heavily on her reputation as a vocal powerhouse, inviting comparisons with her own stacked back catalogue that are hard to win.
In Your Feelings and Nothing Is Impossible strive for the kind of emotive weight that defined classics like Hero, but they feel slight by comparison. Meanwhile, a down-tempo cover of Wings’ My Love is a misstep — technically polished but strangely inert.
Still, these weaker stretches don’t define the record. For the most part, ‘Here For It All’ is confident, stylish, and surprisingly fun. Carey doesn’t attempt to reinvent herself, nor does she need to. Instead, she draws on three decades of pop and R&B mastery to deliver songs that underline the fundamentals of her sound: humour, drama, and that unmistakable voice.
In 2025, she remains an icon with few peers — one of the only artists to notch US number one hits across four different decades. ‘Here For It All’ doesn’t topple her greatest achievements, but it proves that Carey still knows exactly who she is, and why her presence in pop continues to matter.
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