"Butterfly" (1997): MARIAH CAREY - Track by Track Review | Diva Discography {Part 1}

Welcome to our Anniversary Divas Series! 2022 marks the 25th anniversary and several career cementing and music defining projects for our divas. Picture it: the year is 1998. And within several weeks of one another, Mariah Carey’s “Butterfly”, Janet Jackson’s “The Velvet Rope”, Whitney Houston & Brandy’s “Cinderella” and the Spice Girls’ “Spiceworld” were all released into the world and pop culture was never quite the same again. Oh, and a little album called “Thriller” by an up and coming artist named Michael Jackson is also celebrating its 40th anniversary year, as well. We hope you enjoy these next episodes as we celebrate these amazing projects and artists!

To kick off Anniversary Divas, Angie and Steffi are going track by track, reviewing arguably this diva’s BEST album in her discography: Butterfly (1997).

At the top of this episode, we discuss a HUGE diva headline. RIH RIH AND THE SUPERBOWL. We share some songs we hope make the set list and briefly discuss other potential Superbowl Headliners. Also, during our Oscar & Razzie Moment of the week, we discuss the relevancy of anniversaries and whether or not artists should celebrate these milestones for their previous work. 

As we do in all of our Diva Discography episodes, part 1 is an in-depth review and discussion on EVERY SINGLE TRACK of the album. We then end our conversation sharing our Top 3 favorite songs from the album, 1 song we’d cut, and the underrated gem. 

Make sure you tune in next week for part 2 when we talk about Mariah Carey’s Butterfly era.

Album Info: Butterfly is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released on September 16, 1997, by Columbia Records. The album contains both hip hop and urban adult contemporary sounds, as well as some softer and more contemporary melodies. Throughout the project, Carey worked with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she had written and produced most of the material from her previous albums. She also worked with many famed hip hop producers and rappers, such as Sean "Puffy" Combs, Q-Tip, Missy Elliott and the Trackmasters. With the latter acts producing most of the album, Butterfly deviated from the adult contemporary sound of Carey's previous albums.

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TIME STAMPS:

- Explaining Our Next Theme: Anniversary Divas! (00:53)

- Housekeeping (01:17)

- Diva Headlines - RIHANNA & THE SUPERBOWL (03:12)

- Oscar & Razzie Moment of the Week (10:40)

- Opening Discussions: Album Intro (21:30)

- Opening Discussions: Our First Listening Experience & Initial Impressions (23:10)

Track by Track Review

- Honey (30:08)

- Butterfly (36:04)

- My All (43:20)

- The Roof (Back in Time) (53:00)

- Fourth of July (60:02)

- Breakdown (feat. Krayzie Bone & Wish Bone) (63:41)

- Babydoll (65:55)

- Close My Eyes (68:57)

- Whenever You Call (72:30)

- Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise) (76:54)

- The Beautiful Ones (feat. Dru Hill) (80:09)

- Outside (83:14)

Rapid Fire Round

- Top 3 Fave Songs (89:47)

- 1 Song to Cut (91:51)

- Underrated Gem (92:17)

- Closing Thoughts (93:24)