Mariah Carey has revealed that she worked on an alternative rock album in the 1990s.
The “Hero” singer has been sharing excerpts from her new memoir, The Making of Mariah Carey, on social media ahead of its release tomorrow (29 September).
In one snippet shared on Sunday, it was revealed that Carey secretly wrote and produced an album called Someone’s Ugly Daughter for the band Chick in 1995.
“Fun fact: I did an alternative album while I was making Daydream,” she tweeted. “Just for laughs, but it got me through some dark days.”
In the excerpt, Carey writes about how she would “bring my little alt-rock song to the band and hum a silly guitar riff”, adding how the recorded music was “irreverent, raw, and urgent”.
She then describes how she used the sessions to commit to a “character” similar to “the breezy-grunge, punk-light white female singers who were popular at the time”.
“You know the ones who seemed to be so carefree with their feelings and their image,” she wrote. "They could be angry, angsty, and messy, with old shoes, wrinkled slips, and unruly eyebrows, while every move I made was so calculated and manicured."
She continued: “I wanted to break free, let loose, and express my misery – but I also wanted to laugh. I totally looked forward to doing my alter-ego band sessions after Daydream each night.”
The revelation shocked fans, many of whom joked that the R&B singer could also now claim the title of “queen of alternative music” and should release the record.
“Ma’am. The lambs need the album, STAT. Hand it over. Thanks,” one fan replied to Carey.
“HOLY CRAP, why was this never released,” another wrote. “Alternative rock songs from Mariah Carey?! I want to hear the full thing. Giving me Hole vibes.”
“The Mariah Carey alternative album feels like The Missing Piece,” one social media user joked. “Like if I had this album in the 90s, by now I'd have serotonin, a house, the ability to not be so self-critical.”
