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Imperfections are in the eye of the beholder. You can see them as flaws or as the very qualities that make us human and that make us strive to be better people in search of a perfection that we know we can never fully achieve.
In the thirteen songs on her spellbinding new album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, Mariah Carey explores those aspects of our shared humanity with a rare depth, honesty and open-heartedness. It's one of the strongest statements in her long, distinguished career.
With Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, the international superstar continues on her successful journey of recording perfect music. The recently released album debuted in the #1 spot onto the Soundscan R&B Chart buoyed by the success of two simultaneous hit singles, "Ob^ sessed" (#1 Dance, #1 Rhythm, with peak Hot 100 authence of 90 million), and "I Want To Know What Love Is" (bulleted acrossthe-board at Rhythmic, Hot AC, Urban AC, and Mainstream AC radio formats, with 19 million total authence).
The same is expected on her soon to be released third new single pick "H.A.T.E.U." The ballad "H.A.T.E.U." finds the singer seeing life in the wake of a breakup and longing for the moment when loss and regret transform into a cleansing anger. But the title of the song doesn't necessarily stand for what you think it might. "H.A.T.E.U. is the first song I wrote for the album," Carey says, "and it stands for Having A Typical Emotional Upset."
Always a brilliant technical singer with an extraordinary vocal range, The Voice rises to new heights on that track. "I sing a recurring melody in the upper register of my voice; it's not an ad-lib, but an integral part of the song's hook," she says. "That's not something I've done before, and when listening back to it, it reminded me of how Minnie Riperton used her upper register on her hit song 'Lovin' You.'"
"I thought how ironic that her song was called 'Lovin' You' and my song is called, 'H.A.T.E.U.' - and both use that upper 'whistle register' as a major part of the melody. So it's sort of an homage to Minnie Riperton, a tribute to her since she has been so influential in my singing...