Mariah Carey’s Iconic ‘Rainbow’ Era: A Gallery

Mike Wass | April 28, 2020 2:46 pm
Mariah's Underrated 'E=MC²'
We reflect on the underrated genius of Mariah Carey's 'E=MC².'

Mariah Carey’s Lambs are the most dedicated fan base in music. This has been a well-established fact for several decades, but they proved it yet again this week by sending Mimi’s 2008 opus E=MC² to number one on iTunes. Of course, The Lambily had previously obtained justice for the Glitter soundtrack in 2018 and propelled “All I Want For Christmas Is You” to the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 last year. I think our next project has to be Rainbow. Yes, the 1999 opus was a big seller, but albums like Music Box, Daydream and Butterfly cast a very long shadow.

Rainbow was not only jam-packed with bops (“Heartbreaker” and “Crybaby”) and beautiful ballads (“Thank God I Found You” and “Can’t Take That Away”), but it also consolidated her move towards a more contemporary R&B/hip-hop sound. And then there were the looks. Mariah and her low-waisted, sprayed-on jeans were everywhere, while she dared to bare more skin that usual on the red carpet. I round up the living legend’s best promo appearances, candids and performance pics from the underrated era up top.

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