Mariah tweets a new pic!

"And They Call It Puppy Love" ... me & dem pups at it again!

Mariah Carey sings five octaves in just over a minute

It's no secret that Mariah Carey has range, but that's just become even more apparent: A clever video has surfaced on YouTube that splices together Mimi singing through what the video claims are five octaves, two notes, and two semitones.
"That's over 65 keys," the video says at the end. You knew she could do it, but actually hearing her go from low to high in a cascade - with each note flashing on the screen as it happens, each about one second apart - is pretty stunning.
Through the video, you can identify a variety of Mariah's songs in the background - everything from her soaring rendition of "O Holy Night" to "Forever" - although a huge portion of it is pulled from her two notable Christmas albums.

(Entertainment Weekly)

Tony Bennett Scores His First #1 Album on Billboard 200

It's hard to believe, but the great saloon crooner Tony Bennett has never had a #1 album... until now. The legendary 85-year-old singer's new RPM/Columbia album, Duets II, debuts at #1 this week with a total of 183k, thanks to a spate of TV and live performances, including a concert at L.A.'s Staples Center Saturday night on which he was joined by Stevie Wonder and Carrie Underwood.
Bennett's previous high chart showing was 2006's Duets: An American Classic, featuring Paul McCartney, Elton John, Billy Joel and Sting, among others, which turned out to the most successful of his career, debuting at #3 with more than 202k sold and going on to 1.7 million in sales.

(excerpt from Hits Daily Double)

Mariah says she'll do an interview "very soon" Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon have yet to release any official pictures of their twins, Monroe and Mo

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon have yet to release any official pictures of their twins, Monroe and Moroccan, and in a recent Google+ interview during which she answered questions from fans, Mariah explained why. "We're trying to figure out a way to do it but it's a delicate situation," she said. "We want to share the pictures with the world because they're our children and we're very proud of them but we just have to be very aware of how we do it. It will probably be on the Internet as opposed to a tabloid or something." But just because we may not be seeing the babies anytime soon doesn't mean we won't hear about them. Mariah said in the same interview, "The twins are great, they're so much fun. I will be talking about them in an interview soon." She also added that life as a new mom is "very challenging," and said, "It's changed my outlook on life in so many ways. I really love my babies Roc and Monroe so much it is indescribable." Mariah also told fans she's "working on new music right now which I'm very excited about and I have other creative endeavors coming up as well." She hinted that one of them may be the long-awaited Christmas movie on which she's been working for several years. (KGO AM)

MC & JD Together again!

Earlier today, Jermaine Dupri took to his social network Global14 to reveal two new photos of himself and Mariah in the recording studio with the following caption: ME AND MC IN THE STUDIO RIGHT NOW, (WE ARE BACK TOGETHER).

Mariah also tweeted one of the photos and said "so happy to be back in the studio with the one & only @Mr_Dupri aka Jermash!"

Twenty albums at 20

Twenty years ago, the world rocked a lot harder than it does today. Back then, grunge started its smack down of the mainstream, driven by pivotal CDs like "Nevermind" and "Ten". Gangsta rap spread wider and started to outrage the mainstream, via N.W.A. and Ice T. And heavy metal found a new pride with the continued reign of Guns 'N Roses. At the same time, tame stuff had a significant impact as well. Mainstream stars Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Michael Bolton, and Amy Grant saw some of their sales peaks. Here's a look at 20 albums that shook the world - discs which, for better or worse, will forever define their time. Mariah Carey "Emotions" (September 17th, 1991) Mariah Carey's second album didn't have the massive impact of her debut, but it still sold over 3 million copies and expanded the singer's sound, mixing more classic pop into her slick '90s mix. The disc's most enduring single remains the title track, which boasts a '70s feel. The album also produced one of Carey's most danceable tracks, "Make It Happen" (co-written with Robert Clivilles and David Cole of C&C Music Factory fame). Another song saw Carey collaborating with Carole King ("If It's Over"). (excerpt from New York Daily News)

Mariah Carey twin photos coming soon?

Will we be seeing those official Mariah Carey twin photos soon? Mariah took to Google+ last night to answer fan questions, and you can bet there was plenty of buzz about Carey's babies, Moroccan and Monroe. Any Mariah Carey fans hoping to catch a glimpse of Roc and Roe on Google+ were likely disappointed, though Carey did address the topic of baby pics, saying it's a "delicate situation". One fan asked, "How's the twins and your little family doing?" Mariah answered, "The twins are great, they're so much fun. I will be talking about them in an interview soon." Can't wait to hear what Mariah has to say. Another fan asked, "Hi MC, are you gonna show us dem babies sometime soon? Happy almost 5 months to Roc and Roe." Carey explained, "We're trying to figure out a way to do it but it's a delicate situation. We want to share the pictures with the world because they're our children and we're very proud of them but we just have to be very aware of how we do it. It will probably be on the internet as opposed to a tabloid or something." Does that mean photos will be coming soon? Mariah can't keep the babies under wraps forever. Another Mariah fan asked, "How's life as a new mom? And how has it changed your outlook on the way you view life and your music?" Mariah says motherhood is "Very challenging. It's changed my outlook on life in so many ways. I really love my babies Roc andMonroe so much, it is indescribable." Aww! (Babble/MCA)

Mini Mimi & Lil' Nicky C!

Mini Mimi and LiL Nicky C – created by Shayne Kent / designed by Ambrose Quintanilla IV

Mariah Power Walking Through NYC on Monday!

Mariah Carey continues to shed the baby weight, this time trading in her canine personal trainers for a human one (not pictured) during a workout Monday in New York City.

(People)



More photo's available HERE

Roc's Lil' Fist!

First Mariah tweeted us Roe's lil' hand, now Nick shares Roc's lil' fist!

Mariah and Tony

Mariah and Tony When Recording "When Do The Bells Ring For Me"
From his Duets Album insert.

Simon Cowell reveals Mariah Carey out as guest mentor

"The X Factor" executive producer Simon Cowell has revealed that Rihanna is going to be a guest mentor on "The X Factor" U.S., but Mariah Carey is not. Cowell had been telling the media for months that Carey would be involved in "The X Factor" U.S. in some way. Several reliable sources (including Carey's husband, Nick Cannon) also gave interviews confirming that Carey would be a guest mentor on the show.
An official announcement has not yet been made by the show, but Cowell leaked the news about Carey and Rihanna during a "Good Day New York" interview at "The X Factor" U.S. premiere event, which was held in Los Angeles on September 14, 2011.
"The X Factor" U.S. has a two-part premiere on Fox on September 21 and September 22, 2011. "Good Day New York" is a weekday morning program that is televised on WNYW-TV, the Fox affiliate in New York City. In the interview, Cowell confirmed the reports that Rihanna was going to be a guest mentor/judge on "The X Factor" U.S.
Cowell said that Carey was all set to be on "The X Factor" U.S., but her travel plans were canceled due to Hurricane Irene. Carey has a home in New York City, which was one of the numerous cities affected by the hurricane. When he was asked what happened to Carey and her involvement with the show, Cowell replied: "She couldn't judge because of the hurricane, but I found someone bigger."
It was not clear if Rihanna had replaced Carey as a guest mentor/judge or if someone else did. Carey had been scheduled to assist Cowell in choosing which "X Factor" U.S. contestants would become finalists. Hurricane Irene (which was later downgraded to a tropical storm) hit the East Coast of the United States and parts of the Caribbean from August 26 to 29, 2011, causing millions in damages. Airports were shut down and hundreds of airplane flights were canceled. In New York City that weekend, the subway system was closed for the first time in its history. Other public transportation and commercial train services were also suspended until the storm passed. In addition, bridges and tunnels in and out of New York City were closed as a safety precaution.
"The X Factor" U.S. is a contest for unsigned solo singers and unsigned vocal groups. Contestants must be at least 12 years old, legal U.S. residents and legally able to work in the United States. The show has a grand prize of $5 million and a record deal with Sony Music.
The four judges on "The X Factor" U.S. are Cowell, Paula Abdul, Antonio "L.A." Reid and Nicole Scherzinger. Each year, "The X Factor" judges are each given a category of contestants to mentor during the show. For "the X Factor" U.S., the four categories are young female solo singers; young male solo singers; older solo singers; and vocal groups.
During the "judges' homes" stage of the competition, a celebrity is paired with each "X Factor" judge in a luxurious home to help the judge advise contestants and decide which ones will become finalists. The finalists then perform in live episodes, and the audience chooses the winner through voting.
Rihanna became a star in large part due to Reid, when he was chairman/CEO of Island Def Jam Music Group, the record company that releases Rihanna's music. It was widely assumed that Rihanna would be paired as an "X Factor" guest mentor with Reid because of her career history with him. (Reid left Island Def Jam in March 2011. In July 2011, he was named chairman/CEO of Epic Records, a Sony Music label.)
An official announcement has not yet been made about which mentor categories "The X Factor" U.S. judges will have in 2011. It has also not been announced which celebrities are being paired with which judges for the "judges' homes" phase of the competition. However, it is clear (based on Cowell's comments in the "Good Day New York" interview) that at least some of that phase of the competition has already been taped for 2011, since the schedule was not rearranged to accommodate Carey's changed travel plans.

(Examiner)

LambzRus Spotlight: Thanx 4 Nothin'

ALBUM VERSION
INSTRUMENTAL
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Mariah Carey needs your help

Some five months after popping out "dem babies", Pop diva Mariah Carey is back to work. The 41 year old mother of twins is preparing to amp up the recording efforts for her 14th studio album - and this time is asking for help from newcomers. Renown for using a staple set of writers and producers, the songstress is, this go round, reaching out to up-and-coming producers and writers to relight the fire that was once her career. Confirmation of such strategy comes in the form of a mail-out from an industry A&R agency acting on behalf of Ms. Carey-Cannon's record label. Given the state of her recent LP's (Xmas opus aside), this was arguably the only way forward. After all, how many more nightmare tracks could one endure from her efforts with The-Dream, or "We Belong Together" rehashes from Jermaine Dupri? As time has shown, sometimes it pays - quite literally - to explore pastures new. Kudos to Mimi and her team for finally getting the memo. (That Grape Juice)

LambzRus Is Going back to Private...

Starting November 1, 2011 LambzRus will be going private again.

If you aren't already a member, be sure to send your email address so you can be added. As we get ready for the festive Mariah Christmas Season! Please send your email for your invite to LambzRus@yahoo.com with "LambzRus-Blog" in the subject line.

And enjoy us while we are public and watch for your email invite on October 30th.

Is another Mariah/The Dream colabo in the future?

The-Dream will be working with plenty of artists as a producer and songwriter later this year. "I'm working on the Pusha T and Fabolous (albums) of course," he says. "I've already talked about getting in with Gwen Stefani and the guys, No Doubt. I'm anxiously waiting to see what Mariah Carey is ready to do, and when she's willing."





(Billboard)

Mariah Carey And Tony Bennett’s “When Do The Bells Ring For Me” — Hear A Preview

We’ve heard Amy Winehouse’s “Body And Soul”, and listened to Lady Gaga sound like a “Tramp” — now the latest preview off Tony Bennett’s upcoming Duets II features Glitter gal herself, Mariah Carey, cooing all over “When Do The Bells Ring For Me.” (Speaking of glitter, why isn’t there a duet with Ke$ha on this album? Clearly she’s missing from this compilation.) Listen to a 30-second snippet of Tony and Mimi’s collaboration below.

Tony Bennet feat. Mariah Carey – “When Do The Bells Ring For Me” (Snippet)

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Duets II drops September 20.

(Idolator)

Justin Bieber takes on queen of Christmas Mariah Carey

VMA winner Justin Bieber is a young guy, so he might not be aware that by producing an entirely original Christmas album he is stepping into an arena dominated almost exclusively by one of pop's biggest divas, Santa's Helper outfit enthusiast Mariah Carey. For all intents and purposes, Mariah Carey is the unofficial Queen of Christmas. She wears Santa hats in public (and has miniature ones on her dogs), puts together holiday music spectaculars and usually celebrates the holiday with a lavish vacation in Aspen. A Google search of "Mariah Carey Christmas" returns over 45 million results and the video for her 1994 single "All I Want For Christmas Is You" has over 28 million views on YouTube. The pop star has released two Christmas albums, 1994's Merry Christmas and last year's Merry Christmas II You, and while neither is wholly original (the second is principally standards with only a few original tunes), Carey owns this niche. Merry Christmas is the biggest selling Christmas album of all time, with worldwide sales exceeding 15 million copies. And if Biebs is taking the original song route, he should be aware that Carey has set a pretty high bar. In the 17 years since its release, "All I Want For Christmas Is You" has become a standard itself - the New Yorker called it "one of the few worthy modern additions to the holiday canon." The track resurfaces on worldwide singles charts every holiday season, and topped the Billboard Hot 100 Re-currents Chart every year from 2005-08. The numbers for it are actually kind of staggering - "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is the best selling holiday digital single ever (and the nineteenth best-selling digital single of the 20th Century!), the most downloaded holiday ringtone of all time and is Carey's biggest single ever in the UK. It's probably worth noting here that we cannot speak impartially about Carey or "All I Want". Like so many others who grew up during the peak of her popularity, the song has become the Christmas track of our generation. Little Drummer who? Jingle what? It is inescapable and amazing. During college we used to ride around with friends singing "All I Want For Christmas Is You" in the middle of July. This song is so good, it's Christmas every damn day, if you ask us. And now the kids will have fresh Bieber songs to spike their holiday season. We'll stick with our girl Mariah, but that's great for them. Bieber is a talented kid, so there's no doubt he'll deliver the goods. And if he plays his cards right, as Carey did, he'll be living off royalties for years to come. How else do you think she affords all that glitter?! (MTV News)

Simon Cowell has said that Mariah Carey is his definition of a diva.

The X Factor USA judge joined fellow panelists Paula Abdul, LA Reid and Nicole Scherzinger in discussing their favorite artists for a Fox All Access radio special.
"Mariah is everything you want a diva to be," Cowell said during The X Factor: The Judges' Ultimate Picks. "To me if you look in the dictionary under diva it says see Mariah Carey.
"She gets it and it's everything a star should be. Great, great, great singer, unbelievable songwriter and I just adore her."
Cowell, who will be aided by Carey during the Judges' Houses stage of the competition, continued: "I absolutely love her, I love everything about her and she is a kind person but she is also very competitive and I like that and that's what makes her special."

The X Factor USA's two-night premiere kicks off on Wednesday, September 21 and Thursday, September 22 at 8pm ET on Fox.

(Digital Spy)

New mom Mariah: battling the bulge

Mariah Carey is on a mission. The chart-topper, who gave birth to twins Monroe and Moroccan on April 30, is desperate to shed her final 25 lbs. of baby weight before she returns to the spotlight on the September 21 premiere of Simon Cowell's The X Factor.
"Mariah has been careful in her few public appearances to hide her extra pounds," an insider says of the star, who was able to drop about 30 lbs. within a few months. "She knows everyone is curious about how she's rebounded after her pregnancy. She wants to have a killer body!"
So Mariah, 41, has hired a trainer and nutritionist to oversee her diet and exercise program, which includes using free weights, swimming and doing aqua aerobics. "She works out a minimum of two hours a day, seven days a week now, and she's on a spartan diet, cutting out refined sugar and white flour and most meat products," says the insider. "It's making her crabby. But she's leaving nothing to chance!"

(Star Magazine)

Spotlight Review: Close My Eyes

From Mariah’s 1997 release Butterfly, “Close My Eyes” is a lyrical masterpiece. A reflection of her own insecurities and vulnerability. Mariah is such an amazing writer with a brilliant usage of soothing words and poetic phrases that tug on your heartstrings. Her own personal experiences are written in such a unique form that allows listeners to interpret multiple personal messages relating to issues of their own, as if the song was written specifically for them. "Close My Eyes" is a song that I would recommend to anyone going through trials and hardships of their own.


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(I chose Close My Eyes as the first Spotlight review because it is one of if not my favorite Mariah Carey songs.)