Clown (Mariah Carey song)
"Clown" | |
---|---|
Song by Mariah Carey | |
from the album Charmbracelet | |
Released | November 20, 2002 |
Length | 3:17 |
Label | Island |
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Audio | |
"Clown" on YouTube |
"Clown" is a song recorded by American singer
"Clown" received analysis from scholars who thought Carey was contending that Eminem's masculine persona was fake. Music critics considered the song a highlight from Charmbracelet and gave its production mixed reviews. They compared it to Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" (1972), Nas' "Ether" (2001), Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River" (2002), and the Pet Shop Boys' "The Night I Fell in Love" (2002). During the Charmbracelet World Tour, Carey performed "Clown" while puppeteers controlled an Eminem look-alike on stage.
Background and release
American singer Mariah Carey suffered an emotional and physical breakdown in 2001. Ensuing media coverage included rumors about a purported romantic relationship gone awry with rapper Eminem. The following year, he alluded to them in The Eminem Show song "Superman".[1] In it, Eminem disses Carey by saying he ended their relationship because she wanted a strong partnership before having sex.[2] He expounded in an appearance on the television program Access Hollywood: "The Mariah thing, yeah, that's true. Those rumors are true, and I'm not going to deny them. You know, we had somewhat of a relationship."[3]
In 2002, Eminem spoke of Carey to Rolling Stone: "I don't want to say anything disrespectful because I respect her as a singer, but on the whole personal level, I'm not really feeling it. I just don't like her as a person."[4] Carey retorted in a Dateline NBC interview: "Well, it didn't seem like that for a while, but OK. If it makes him comfortable to say that, then that's great."[3] She responded further with the answer song "Clown",[5] which Island Records released on November 20, 2002, as the seventh track on her ninth studio album Charmbracelet.[6] Carey denied an intimate relationship with Eminem while promoting the album,[1] telling USA Today, "I can still count on less than five fingers the number of men I've gone there with. And believe me, he isn't one of them."[7]
Composition and lyrics
Carey wrote "Clown" with
"Clown" is the first song in which Carey alludes to a feud[14] and aligns with a pattern of her musical output becoming more personal over time.[1] It is an answer song that addresses Eminem's comments about their relationship in "Superman".[15][c] Expressing regret that it occurred[17] and denying that it was romantic,[18] Carey alleges Eminem lied about their time together:[19] "You should've never intimated we were lovers / When you know very well / We never even touched each other".[10] She posits him as a crying clown with shrouded sadness whose private life contradicts his public persona. Carey justifies this proposition by referring to her experiences with him.[17] During the chorus, she describes Eminem as a transitory figure whose popularity will soon decline:[17] "Who's gonna care when the novelty's over / When the star of the show isn't you anymore".[10] Toward the end of the song, Carey labels him a puppet being pulled by strings and references his fraught maternal relationship.[17][d]
"Clown" received several scholarly analyses. In her book Eminem: The Real Slim Shady, Marcia Alesan Dawkins writes: "Carey is saying that Eminem's masculinity is a performance within and by the rap genre, and that it is based on a false foundation".
Critical reception
Music critics contrasted "Clown" to other songs on Charmbracelet. They viewed it as one of the better tracks
"Clown" was compared with similar songs by other artists.
The song's music and vocal production received mixed reviews. Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani viewed the partnership between Carey and Dre & Vidal as a cunning choice.[31] Writing in The Province, Stuart Derdeyn dubbed "Clown" one of "the least obnoxious marriages of studio tricks and vocal histrionics" on Charmbracelet.[32] Entertainment Weekly's Tom Sinclair described Carey's voice as "gorgeously nuanced".[33] Author Andrew Chan complimented the combination of her "lush melodic sensibilities with contemporary hip-hop's jittery cadences".[14] According to Evelyn McDonnell of the Miami Herald, the "verve is undermined by Carey's incessantly saccharine singing".[34] Stephens agreed, stating that her vocal performance makes it hard to understand the song's message.[12] He thought the music lacked intensity, as the New York Daily News' Jim Farber, who remarked the "melody matched to it is as interchangeable as most of Carey's fare".[35] Conversely, Oggunnaike considered it pleasant.[36]
Live performances
Carey sang "Clown" during the 2003–2004 Charmbracelet World Tour following fan requests online.[37] She performed it as part of a circus-themed act titled "The Marionette Show", a spin on The Eminem Show. As Carey sang "Clown" sitting down, two masked men in suits stood on stilts and controlled a female dancer wearing an Eminem-style wig and Detroit Pistons jersey with ribbons[38] while dollar signs appeared on a video screen.[39]
The live performances received generally negative reviews; some critics did not understand the Eminem references. McDonnell viewed the puppet theme as a depiction of Carey's life and felt it was unconvincing.
Credits and personnel
Recording
- Recorded at Capri Studio (Capri, Italy), Right Track Studios (New York City), The Studio (Philadelphia)
- Mastered at Gateway Mastering (Portland, Maine)[10]
Personnel
- Writing – Mariah Carey, Andre Harris, Vidal Davis, Mary Ann Tatum
- Production – Dre & Vidal, Mariah Carey
- Engineering – Dana Jon Chappelle, John Smeltz
- Assistant engineering – Manuel Farolfi, Giulio Antognini, Paul Gregory, Dave Perini, Vince Dilorenzo
- Background vocals – Mariah Carey, Trey Lorenz
- Mixing – Andre Harris, Vidal Davis, John Smeltz
- Mastering – Bob Ludwig[10]
Notes
- ^ Vidal Davis[10]
- ^ Tatum had been a background singer for Carey since Butterfly (1997) and was a close friend during her 2001 breakdown.[8]
- ^ Carey has not acknowledged that "Clown" is about Eminem.[16] When asked about the song by USA Today, she stated: "I've known a lot of clowns. I've known a circus full of them."[7]
- ^ According to Vincent Stephens, the latter is a reference to "Eminem's well-publicised legal disputes and emotional resentment toward his mother infantilising the rapper and rhetorically trapping him in a childhood characterised by a domineering mother".[17]
- ^ Specifically Craig Seymour of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Melissa Ruggieri of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly[21]
- ^ Specifically Evelyn McDonnell of the Miami Herald, Jim Farber of the New York Daily News, Randy Lewis of the Los Angeles Times, and Chris Salmon of Time Out[22]
References
Citations
- ^ a b c Stephens 2005b, p. 28.
- ^ Stephens 2005b, p. 28; Dagbovie-Mullins 2013, p. 113; Alesan Dawkins 2013, p. 128.
- ^ a b NBC 2002.
- ^ Bozza 2002.
- ^ Dagbovie-Mullins 2013, p. 11; Stephens 2005b, pp. 27–28.
- ^ Universal Music Japan; Klein 2002.
- ^ a b Gardner 2002.
- ^ Carey & Davis 2020, p. 241.
- ^ Carey 2002; Moon 2002, p. H13.
- ^ a b c d e f g Carey 2002.
- ^ Jaxsta.
- ^ a b Stephens 2005a, p. 122.
- ^ Chan 2023, pp. 107–108.
- ^ a b Chan 2023, p. 108.
- ^ Stephens 2005b, pp. 27–28.
- ^ Fischer 2003.
- ^ a b c d e Stephens 2005b, p. 32.
- ^ Dagbovie-Mullins 2013, p. 113.
- ^ a b Alesan Dawkins 2013, p. 128.
- ^ Stephens 2005b, pp. 28–29.
- ^ Seymour 2002, p. E1; Ruggieri 2002, p. D16; Sinclair 2002.
- ^ McDonnell 2002, p. 10M; Farber 2002, p. 14; Salmon 2002, p. 116; Lewis 2003.
- ^ Ferman 2002, p. 21.
- ^ Tyrangiel 2002.
- ^ a b Robinson 2003, p. 4.
- ^ Moon 2002, p. H13.
- ^ Kot 2002.
- ^ Uhelszki; Ogunnaike 2003, p. 120.
- ^ Seymour 2002, p. E1.
- ^ Stephens 2005b, p. 21.
- ^ Cinquemani 2002.
- ^ Derdeyn 2002, p. B11.
- ^ Sinclair 2002.
- ^ McDonnell 2002, p. 10M.
- ^ Stephens 2005a, p. 122; Farber 2002, p. 14.
- ^ Ogunnaike 2003, p. 120.
- ^ Johnson 2003, p. 4.
- ^ Fischer 2003; Elfman 2003, p. 3B; Detroit Free Press 2003, p. 2H.
- ^ a b McDonnell 2003, p. 4A.
- ^ Shepherd 2003, p. 15; Hirsch 2003, p. E3.
- ^ Piccoli 2003, p. E3.
- ^ Varias 2003, p. C7.
- ^ Hiltbrand 2003, p. D2.
Sources
- "アイ・ドント・ワナ・クライ" [Charmbracelet [Regular Edition]] (in Japanese). Universal Music Japan. Archived from the original on May 13, 2023.
- Alesan Dawkins, Marcia (2013). Eminem: The Real Slim Shady. Hip Hop in America. Santa Barbara: ISBN 978-0-313-39893-3.
- Bozza, Anthony (July 4, 2002). "Eminem: The Rolling Stone Interview". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023.
- "Carey Takes a Stage Swipe at Eminem". Newspapers.com.
- Carey, Mariah (2002). Charmbracelet (liner notes). Monarc Entertainment and Island Records.
- ISBN 978-1-2501-6468-1.
- Chan, Andrew (2023). Why Mariah Carey Matters. Music Matters. Austin: ISBN 978-1-4773-2507-0.
- "Charmbracelet – Album by Mariah Carey". Jaxsta. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023.
- Cinquemani, Sal (November 19, 2002). "Review: Mariah Carey, Charmbracelet". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023.
- Dagbovie-Mullins, Sika A. (2013). Crossing B(l)ack: Mixed-Race Identity in Modern American Fiction and Culture. Knoxville: ISBN 978-1-57233-932-3.
- Dateline NBC. NBC. December 3, 2002. Transcript – via Factiva.
- Derdeyn, Stuart (December 3, 2002). "This Week's Big CD: Mariah Carey, Charmbracelet". Newspapers.com.
- Elfman, Doug (July 28, 2003). "Carey Concert a Visual Feast". ProQuest 260164757.
- Farber, Jim (December 1, 2002). "They Call the Wind Mariah". ShowTime. Newspapers.com.
- Ferman, Dave (December 6, 2002). "Dial-in Divas". Star Time. Newspapers.com.
- Fischer, Blair R. (July 30, 2003). "Mariah Showcases Eminem Puppet, Avoids All Things Glitter at Chicago Tour Stop". MTV News. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022.
- Gardner, Elysa (November 28, 2002). "Mariah Carey, 'Standing Again'". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021.
- Hiltbrand, David (September 13, 2003). "One Thing You Can't Take Away from Carey: That Voice". Newspapers.com.
- Hirsch, Deborah (September 3, 2003). "Mariah Carey Delivers an Impressive Musical Variety Show". Newspapers.com.
- Johnson, Kevin C. (July 31, 2003). "Carey Puts on Her Charmbracelet, Hits the Road for Rare Tour". Get Out. Newspapers.com.
- Klein, Joshua (December 22, 2002). "Carey's Charmbracelet: A Fine Accessory". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 13, 2023.
- Kot, Greg (December 8, 2002). "Mariah's Comeback?". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on May 6, 2023.
- Lewis, Randy (August 20, 2003). "Still a Star, but a Dimmer Shine". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 6, 2023.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ProQuest 2771583210.
- Piccoli, Sean (September 3, 2003). "Overblown Excess, Hints of Greatness Litter Carey's Comeback Trail". Newspapers.com.
- Robinson, Scott (January 18, 2003). "Charming Mariah". Scene. Newspapers.com.
- Ruggieri, Melissa (December 3, 2002). "Not Much Is Charmed". Newspapers.com.
- Salmon, Chris (November 27, 2002). "Mariah Carey: Charmbracelet". Time Out. p. 116.
- Newspapers.com.
- Shepherd, Fiona (October 28, 2003). "Reviews: Mariah Carey". ProQuest 327115651.
- Sinclair, Tom (December 9, 2002). "Charmbracelet". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022.
- Stephens, Vincent (2005a). "Audio Reviews". Popular Music and Society. 28 (1): 117–124. ProQuest 1339417.
- Stephens, Vincent (2005b). "Pop Goes the Rapper: A Close Reading of Eminem's Genderphobia". Popular Music. 24 (1): 21–36. ProQuest 195174771.
- Tyrangiel, Josh (December 16, 2002). "The Overdramatic Duo". Time. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023.
- Amazon.com. Archivedfrom the original on May 14, 2023.
- Varias, Chris (September 16, 2003). "Carey Fritters Focus from Gold to Glitter". Newspapers.com.