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Mariah Carey

ALBUM REVIEWS
CONCERT REVIEWS
Album Reviews

ALBUM REVIEWS TIMELINE

ALBUM REVIEWS TABLE

Year
Title
Avg. Score
Reviews
Reception
Reaction
1990
Mariah Carey
3.6
57
warm
divided
1991
Emotions
3.3
64
mixed
divided
1992
MTV Unplugged
3.5
37
warm
divided
1993
Music Box
2.7
73
mixed
mixed
1994
Merry Christmas
3.1
69
mixed
divided
1995
Daydream
3
56
mixed
divided
1997
Butterfly
3
88
mixed
divided
1998
VH1 Divas Live
3.2
36
mixed
divided
1998
#1's
3.2
47
mixed
divided
1999
Rainbow
2.7
83
mixed
divided
2001
Glitter
2.5
66
mixed
mixed
2001
Greatest Hits
3.3
10
mixed
divided
2002
Charmbracelet
2.4
88
cold
divided
2003
Remixes
3
10
mixed
mixed
2005
Emancipation of Mimi
3.1
95
mixed
divided
2008
E=MC²
3.1
101
mixed
divided
2009
Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
2.9
92
mixed
divided
2010
Merry Christmas II You
3.3
50
mixed
divided
2014
Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse
3.5
56
warm
unified
2015
#1 to Infinity
3.9
8
warm
divided
2018
Caution
4.1
28
warm
unified
2025
Here for It All
3.5
17
warm
unified

Reviews

Album Format

ALBUM SCORES TIMELINE

5

AllMusic

#1 to Infinity

2015

San Francisco, CA, USA

​

Andy Kellman

allmusic.com

4

4/5

AllMusic

Caution

2018

San Francisco, CA, USA

​

Andy Kellman

A compact, "Music Box"-sized album, it's unelaborate in presentation and makeup, a measured and understated collection of slow and midtempo R&B ballads.

allmusic.com →

4

AllMusic

Butterfly

2025

New York, NY, USA

​

Andy Kellman

allmusic.com →

3

New York Daily News

Mariah Carey

1990

New York, NY, USA

June 3, 1990

David Hinckley

If she stays with it, Carey should go as far as her songs take her, since it's hard to imagine any songs her voice couldn't handle.

City Lights 28 →

3

Entertainment Weekly

Mariah Carey

1990

New York, NY, USA

June 8, 1990

Greg Sandow

ew.com →

5

Billboard

Mariah Carey

1990

New York, NY, USA

June 9, 1990

Rarely does an artist arrive so clearly destined for major stardom as this extraordinary young singer.

78A →

5

Gavin Report

Mariah Carey

1990

San Francisco, CA, USA

June 15, 1990

Ron Fell

56

3

Detroit Free Press

Mariah Carey

1990

Detroit, MI, USA

June 18, 1990

Gary Graff

Compelling but derivative.

3E →

3

Commercial Appeal

Mariah Carey

1990

Memphis, TN, USA

June 22, 1990

Ron Wynn

Unfortunately, the label tries to make her all things to all audiences, with songs that venture into rap, dance, funk, gospel-pop, and soul.

E19 →

5

Knoxville News-Sentinel

Mariah Carey

1990

Knoxville, TN, USA

June 27, 1990

Chuck Campbell

An adventure in the animal pleasure of hearing a beautiful, well-disciplined voice.

B1, B5 →

ALBUM REVIEWS INDEX

Concert Reviews

CONCERT REVIEWS TABLE

Year
Title
Avg. Score
Reviews
Reception
Reaction
1993
Music Box Tour
3.5
16
warm
divided
2016
Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour
3.9
15
warm
divided

CONCERT SCORES TIMELINE

CONCERT REVIEWS INDEX

Score

4/5

Daily Telegraph

Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour

SSE Hydro

London, UK

March 16, 2016

Charlotte Runcie

Her vocal chords were demonstrably still in shape in Glasgow, swooping from whistling high notes to gravelly lows via pristine improvisations adorning a set of her greatest hits, and there were plenty of them.

Full Review

Mar 16, 2016

Score

4/5

Herald

Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour

SSE Hydro

Glasgow, UK

March 16, 2016

Marianne Gunn

Carey's voice may not quite be what it once was, but she can still put on a sparkler of a show.

Full Review

Mar 16, 2016

Score

3/5

Guardian

Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour

SSE Hydro

London, UK

March 16, 2016

Graeme Virtue

Full Review

Mar 16, 2016

Score

3/5

Independent

Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour

SSE Hydro

London, UK

March 16, 2016

Chris Green

Her stage show, an audio-visual assault on the senses, was undoubtedly entertaining but meant her voice was only really allowed to shine during the more pared-back ballads.

Full Review

Mar 16, 2016

Score

5/5

Birmingham Mail

Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour

Arena Birmingham

Birmingham, UK

March 21, 2016

Sanjeeta Bains

It was a wonderful revisit of her back catalogue and a gorgeous musical celebration of the nineties and noughties.

Full Review

Mar 21, 2016

Score

5/5

WalesOnline

Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour

Motorpoint Arena Cardiff

Cardiff, UK

March 22, 2016

Naphtalia Loderick

The singer-songwriter showed off her still impressive vocals—hitting notes low and high as she delivered a high-energy 90 minute show of 18 of her nineties and noughties hits, a perfect mix of uptempo tracks and power ballads.

Full Review

Mar 22, 2016

Score

4/5

Digital Spy

Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour

O2 Arena

London, UK

March 24, 2016

Lewis Corner

Yeah, she's fluffed a few notes in recent memory, but when it comes down to it, Mariah hasn't lost that massive and magical voice. For hit after hit, the Elusive Chanteuse makes the 13-year wait for a proper European tour worthwhile.

Full Review

Mar 24, 2016

Score

3/5

Evening Standard

Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour

O2 Arena

London, UK

March 24, 2016

John Aizlewood

For all its promise of pizzazz, once she had been carried onto the stage draped over a chaise longue, this was a peculiarly low-key, much-expense-spared affair.

Full Review

Mar 24, 2016

Score

​

Daily Express

Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour

O2 Arena

London, UK

March 25, 2016

Hannah Britt

When Mariah stood still and belted out one of her many ballads, she was flawless. Her voice, all five octaves of it, is untouchable. It could slice through granite.

Full Review

Mar 25, 2016

Score

​

Refinery29

Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour

O2 Arena

​

March 25, 2016

Olivia Marks

No-one but Mariah can reach those barely-human, always impressive, squeaky top notes. And at 46, too! Forget the Hanging Gardens of Babylon or the Great Pyramid of Giza—Mariah Carey's voice is the true seventh wonder of the world.

Full Review

Mar 25, 2016

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