Mariah Daily Journal

Blender
March 25, 2008

WHO: Mariah Carey [ft. Rick Ross and the Dream]
WHAT: "Touch My Body" (Remix)
WHY: As we eagerly anticipate Mariah's mentor appearance on American Idol in the coming weeks, the octave scaling singer drops a wicked redo of her Top 20 and rising new single. "Touch My Body" co-writer the Dream makes a cameo this time, playfully throwing Mariah's already-infamous YouTube sex tape line right back at her: "If there's a camera up in here, load that right on up to YouTube ... I'm just playin'." The beat is completely upended, with a sinister synths replacing the original's fluffy snap vibe. The remix is sexier, more dynamic and - barring Rick Ross's annoyingly boilerplate intro verse - better than its counterpart, especially during the Timbaland-style stutter-step tease of an outro. As many pop vets struggle to make their singles hit nowadays, Mariah is throwing down remixes others would kill for. It's almost unfair.

Evan Serpick
Music Critic, Rolling Stone
March 6, 2008

Mariah Carey
"Touch My Body" (Island)

The Dream - who traded in vaginal metaphors as co-writer of Rihanna's "Umbrella" - takes a slightly more literal approach to the female anatomy as co-writer of this hyperdirty single from Mimi's forthcoming album, E=MC². Mariah's storied vocal range is blunted in favor of generic, highly digitized heavy breathing: "Touch my body/Put me on the floor/Wrestle me around/Play with me some more." But with a spare, slick track composed mostly of synths and finger snaps, beat master Tricky Stewart (who produced Mary J. Blige's "Just Fine") creates the perfect backdrop for the singer to ditch the rainbows and charms and score with a sex romp that went to radio just in time for Valentine's Day.

Chuck Taylor
Writer/Editor, Billboard
February 22, 2008

Touch My Body (3:28)
Producers: Mariah Carey, Tricky Stewart
Writers: M. Carey, Terius "The-Dream" Nash
Label: Island

Oh, Mariah, where have you been? It's been four long years since your triumphant return with "We Belong Together," and three since last hit "Don't Forget About Us." Granted, you disillusioned once or twice, tip-toeing into hip-hop-but you've long been forgiven for the likes of "Boy (I Need You)" with Cam'ron and "I Know What You Want" with Busta Rhymes. "Touch My Body," the first single from 11th studio album "E=MC²" (April 15), is a No. 1 just waiting to pounce the Billboard Hot 100. Written by Carey with The-Dream-who penned Grammy Award-winning radio staple "Umbrella" for Rihanna-this sensual jam is 100% Mariah, packed with satisfying harmonic layers and hooky background "oh's," supersonic verses and a chorus as catchy as a winter sniffle. According to mariahdaily.com, 65 stations played the song five hours after its digital release to radio. Smells like a smash and looks like 2008=MC's 18th year of chart-toppers.

Rich Juzwiak
Celebrity blogger/music critic, FourFour
February 18, 2008

Jesus Christ, I love this woman
My favorite celebrity who ever existed, Mariah Carey, has unleashed her first single (the hilariously titled "Touch My Body") from her (equally hilariously titled) upcoming album E=MC², and it fits her like the tight jeans she (hilariously!) uses as imagery in the song. "Touch My Body" is as wonderfully ridiculous and ridiculously wonderful as Mariah herself. It's a pink, ruffled pillow of a track, snappy like T-Pain's "Buy You a Drank," mincing and minimal like co-writer The-Dream's own "Shawty Is Da Shit," and obsequiously polite, bouncing with the tempered oomph of her own "Always Be My Baby."

A lot of people hate this track (check the scathing reception at ONTD, for example), and that doesn't surprise me one bit. Besides being lite enough to fit easily onto adult-contemporary radio in a few months (once the country's acclimated to it -- as is usually the case with AC radio, time makes the lite sound lite-r), it's more brazenly femme than anything off Mariah's wonderful (but overly safe) 2005 comeback smash, The Emancipation of Mimi. To love Mariah (like to really, really love her and not just appreciate her music) is to embrace the fact that she is the girliest visible woman on the planet. Excessive femininity, even via actual females, is regularly frowned upon, and yet in good times and bad, in multi-platinum success and utter floppage, Mariah has soldiered on, all music box-/butterfly-/rainbow-/glitter/charm bracelet/teddy bear-loving and pneumatic and high-voiced and eternally 12. She's so unwaveringly feminine that she makes being soft seem like an act of bravery.

That same seemingly paradoxical dynamic is going on lyrically in "Body" (though musically it's just plain soft, right down to the music-box twinkling that crops briefly up now and then, as though she can't stop stealing glimpses of that pretty little ballerina that guards her rings from Claire's). "If there's a camera up in here / Then it's gonna leave with me / When I do (I do)," she sings, effectively telling whomever she's singing to that she'll submit to his fantasy as long as he realizes that she's ultimately in control of it: she's never more sound like a Russ Meyer character come to life. Underlining that point are mentions in the chorus of her (considerable) curves, thighs that go on long enough to wrap around a dude's waist and interest in being wrestled and thrown around the bedroom. If that isn't the picture of a supervixen, I don't know what is. Even the title itself can be read as an assertion of her femininity. Instead of the more concise "Touch Me," she chooses to emphasize her anatomy, and considering how much of it her tits take up, that might as well be code for "Touch My Womanness." When she commands her object of lust, "Come on and give me what I deserve," I get the feeling that she's referring to her birthright.

"Touch My Body" is Mariah in (and busting out of) a nutshell. The estrogen-loading, the infatuation with detail (dig those glorious "Huh-oh" background vocals that coquettishly ricochet from speaker to speaker during the chorus), the eagerness to please (it's so listener-friendly, your mom could love it, even if the Wendy Williams reference is aimed to sail over her head). All of her is there, naked for the world. But of course it is -- how else is she supposed to show off her body?

Glenn Gamboa
Music Critic, Newsday
February 18, 2008

Song of the Week
It's nice to have Mariah Carey doing what she does best. Her new single "Touch My Body" (Island Def Jam) is in that "We Belong Together" sweet spot, a midtempo R&B ballad that lets MC show off her vocal abilities, but not too much. Crafted by Carey, with help from The-Dream and C. "Tricky" Stewart, "Body" has just enough street-wise touches to sound current and just enough balladry to make a bid for timelessness. It's probably the best opening single she's had since "Heartbreaker" introduced "Rainbow" in 1999, which is a good sign for her much-anticipated "E=MC²" album, due in April.

Bill Lamb
Music Journalist, Top 40/Pop, About.com
February 17, 2008
Rating:

This is unlikely to be a knockout smash hit on the magnitude of Mariah Carey's 2005 comeback "We Belong Together." However, with a career record of 17 #1 pop singles, Mariah Carey does not need to hit a grand slam every time out. That said, "Touch My Body" is simple, sexy elegance from one of the most enduring of pop stars. Mariah Carey has mastered that most difficult of feats in the pop world - aging gracefully.

Pros
• The simple, graceful elegance of Mariah 's performance
• Clever, sexy lyrics
• Finger snapping beat

Cons
• Musically so slight it may be easy to forget

At age 37, it would seem that Mariah Carey might have to struggle to remain relevant in a pop music world that reveres youth in the form of a Chris Brown or Rihanna. On the contrary, Mariah Carey makes stardom look effortless and sexiness sound eternal. On her latest single she has delivered a simple, elegant performance that has already sent pop radio programmers scrambling to add "Touch My Body" to their playlists.

Terius "The-Dream" Nash, and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, key members of the team that helped make "Umbrella" a smash, deliver songwriting and production with a sure-handed if light pop sensibility. Lyrically, "Touch My Body" is overtly sexy without being dirty and clever in its warning to keep the song's tryst off YouTube. The gentle finger-snapping beat will send countless fans dancing in private reveries.

Mariah Carey has described her upcoming album E=MC² as the dessert to The Emancipation of Mimi's main course. If "Touch My Body" is representative of what is to come, the chefs have hit the target just right with sweet, frothy sexiness that will titillate the palate while never feeling too heavy.

Erik Bradley
Music Director, B-96, Chicago, IL
February 12, 2008

"'Touch My Body' picks right up where The Emancipation Of Mimi left off. It's another classic Mariah mid-tempo SMASH with a hook that will stick with you for days. The reaction to it thus far has been incredible...I believe at the end of the day this will be Mariah's 18th #1 single. I've heard many of the songs on E=MC² and not only is it full of killer songs, I feel it stands just as tall (perhaps taller) than T.E.O.M. Here comes another 10+ million worldwide sales and more time at the top of the charts for MC!"

Todd Martens
Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times
February 12, 2008

The Mariah formula: First listen on 'Touch My Body'

Pop star Mariah Carey unveiled today her new single and the science-friendly title of her new album, "E=MC²," due April 15. The title alone already does Janet Jackson one better. The latter went all sci-fi with her latest video, "Feedback," but Mariah is cutting out the B-movie trappings and going straight to the equation.

So is Mariah unveiling her inner Albert Einstein with the title? Or is she leaking the formula that goes into crafting a mega-hit?

E = extreme, acrobatic-like wailing.

M = multimillion-dollar production team. (Billboard.com writes that the A-list lineup cooking with Mariah in the M lab includes Jermaine Dupri, will.i.am, Stargate and Bryan Michael Cox, among others.)

C2 = Club songs multiplied by colossal ballads.

All right, so the title is certainly a not-so-subtle nod to her top-selling 2005 album, "The Emancipation of Mimi." The first single, "Touch My Body," hit radio today. It was produced by C "Tricky" Stewart and The Dream, the pair who worked on Rihanna's Grammy-winning "Umbrella."

So how is it? "Touch My Body" rides a relatively restrained slow-dance groove, with some light, orchestral-synth flourishes thrown in. The rhythm is almost completely carried by an effortless keyboard bump, the easygoing repetitiveness of which eventually wears the listener down, and sets up a delicate frame for Carey to sing around.

She pulls back when the song picks up the pace, and Carey keeps it simple here, playing with tempos rather than range. Indeed, she almost quietly slides into the chorus. "If you run around and brag about this secret rendezvous, I will hunt you down," she sings, letting the last line trail off. But you don't necessarily believe her, as the feel is more playful that sinful.

The song will be getting the full blockbuster treatment, as "Rush Hour" director Brett Ratner shot the video for the cut.

Blender
February 12, 2008

Mariah's New Sex Tape-Themed Smash
WHO: Mariah Carey
WHAT: "Touch My Body"
WHY: While Mariah's new album, E=MC², is set to be one of the year's biggest, this introductory single is downright subtle - yet effective. Co-written by The-Dream and produced by Tricky (a.k.a. the dudes behind "Umbrella"), "Touch My Body" rides the same never ending snap blueprint T-Pain used to brilliant effect on last year's feather-light super hit "Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin')." You won't mind hearing it on the radio and TV every 10 minutes for the next few months - this thing sooths as it repeats. Here, Mariah is focused on one thing: "Come on and give me what I deserve and touch my body," she coos. And make no mistake, she wants to be touched on her terms only: "Cause if you run your mouth and brag about this secret rendezvous, I will hunt you down." She even thinks about the possible ramifications of her touchy tryst when she sings, "If there's a camera up in here then I best not catch this flick on YouTube" (nevermind the fact that the video in question would never get past YouTube censors). A pop genius making genius pop.

Sal Cinquemani
Music Critic, Slant Magazine
February 12, 2008

Single Review: Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body"
Those wondering how Mariah Carey could possibly top the inane title of 2005's The Emancipation of Mimi need wonder no more. Yesterday it was announced that the singer's 10th album, which drops on Tax Day, will be titled Energy Equals Mass Times the Velocity of Light Squared, or more specifically, E=MC². It's either a stroke of sheer self-effacing brilliance or a sign that Mimi has officially fallen off her rocker. The album's lead single, "Touch My Body," isn't exactly filled with combustible energy and it lacks the full-throttle belting that accompanied the Return of the Voice three years ago, but it features all of the characteristics one expects from a latter-day Mariah track: rapid-fire verses (she slows down only to warn her clandestine lover about his loose lips: "I will hunt you down"), coquettish vocals (the lyrics are racy without being raunchy, so that means no mentions of heavy-flow days, but there is a reference to a sex tape popping up on YouTube), and of course, a memorable hook. There are shades of both "Always Be My Baby" (good) and "Shake It Off" (bad), but "Touch My Body" also harks back to, dare I even say it, Like a Virgin-era Nile Rodgers. Think "Angel"--that is, not a whole lot of bass but plenty of plinky, synthetic-sounding keyboards and bouncy rhythms. The song's biggest flaw is its attempt at hip, pop-culture-referencing lyrics: "They be all up in my business like a Wendy [Williams] interview," she sighs. "Touch My Body" strikes me more as good album filler than lead single material (it's no "Fantasy" or "Honey"; hell, it's not even another "It's Like That"), but it's worth noting that I found "We Belong Together" a little boring the first time I heard it too--and that thing tanked faster than Glitter.

Entertainment Weekly
February 12, 2008

Snap judgment: Mariah Carey's new single, 'Touch My Body'
You've waited so patiently, Mariah Carey fans; nearly three years since the release of 2005's The Emancipation of Mimi. Behold, then, the Mariah Motherlode: Not only was her upcoming album's title released today (it's E=MC², physics fans!), but a sneak peak at a new track dropped online; listen here.

It's not a bad mid-tempo jam -- sunny, flirty, and syncopated just the way Mimi likes it; basically, classic Carey. But allow us to offer one quibble: What the eff is going with this recent Diva Cougar Complex? Janet just dropped an album full of bathroom-wall come-ons, and now Mariah, who used to be all, "I had a vision of love," is cutting straight to "TOUCH MY MONKEY! TOUCH IT!" Are we being overly Amish here, or would it be nice to retain a little mystery? Your comment board awaits!

Bob Burke
Music Director, FMQB
February 12, 2008

MARIAH CAREY
"Touch My Body"
(Island/IDJMG)

How does an artist follow-up one of their biggest selling albums that included two number one singles when most had written the artist off as a causality of being relevant or not? If you're Mariah Carey, you keep it simple, and that's one thing MC has done with her debut single from her forthcoming album, E=MC². "Touch My Body" (co-written and produced with Tricky Stewart and The-Dream) is the perfect lead track to re-ignite her most passionate fan base, who've kept her relevant through good times and bad... times are pretty good for Mariah nowadays! This mid-tempo track is pure fun, sounding at times reminiscent of another Carey gem, "Always Be My Baby," but yet different enough to sound like something totally fresh and new. Mariah's vocal range is also kept in check and fits the song to perfection. The hypnotic "Touch My Body... My Body" hook is sure to stick after one-listen. While the thought of Mariah Carey exceeding expectations remains a question, simply because the bar she's set is so high, matching them is a good way to start. This "body" of work sounds like a hit! BET ON IT!