Brow Beat

Mariah Carey Sings About “The Art of Letting Go”

Mariah Carey’s 14th studio album has been a long time coming. Last year, she released the lackluster “Triumphant (Get ’Em)” which was originally intended to be the lead single but failed to garner much attention or praise. Earlier this year, the Miguel-assisted single “#Beautiful” peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, and The Art of Letting Go was pushed back from a July release to an unspecified future date to give her more time to work on the album. To add to the setbacks, Carey also sustained a serious injury on the set of a music video.

Amid much anticipation from fans, the singer has finally premiered her next single on her Facebook page. Was it worth the wait?

Yes it was. “The Art of Letting Go,” along with “#Beautiful,” suggests that Carey’s next effort may be a solid one yet. Her voice remains strong and the track, sung to an ex-lover (“Your audacity is too much to be believed/ So go to Mimi on your contacts, press delete”), harkens back to her best old ballads, with its ’60s-style pop instrumentation (à la  “Forever”), assertive lyrics (as in “We Belong Together”), and powerful climax (like “Vision of Love”).

Familiar enough to please old fans, it’s also a pleasant sign of things to come.