The Voice continues...

We've all been in and out and up and down right alongside Mariah Carey throughout her tumultuous and highly publicized career that has spanned almost 20 years now. And although we have seen her down at times and even counted her out, Mariah is proving everyone that the diva extraordinaire is here to stay. With her most recent single release, titled ever so teasingly, “Touch My Body”, she has managed to secure her 18th number one single of her career surpassing that of Elvis who has 17 number one singles atop the Billboard charts. In fact, by the time her new album E=MC2 is released on April 15th, 2008, she may hold the record for the most #1 singles ever as she is poised to rise above the only other artist ahead of her, the Beatles.

So what is it about Mariah in 2008 and why is everyone screaming at the top of their lungs, “Touch My Body!!”? Well, for starters, it's the music, it always is. This song is a smooth R&B mid-tempo jam that Mariah produced with mega producers C “Tricky” Stewart and The Dream (both known for Rihanna's smash “Umbrella”). The beat comes in smooth and bouncing along prompting you to sit back and relax and sing along to the catchy hook, “touch my body”. The lyrics take you through a story of a fantasy sex tape being made with the diva as she warns you that “If there's a camera up in here, then I'd best not catch this flick on YouTube”. Sex tape you say? Yes, it's a far cry from the young ballad belting, high note reaching, squeaky clean pop star we were introduced to back in 1990, but lets not forget this sultry diva is no child, celebrating her 38th birthday this year, and is looking better than she has ever before. She accompanied the song with a fun and light video of a Comp-U-Nerd geek (a la Geek Squad) coming over to her house to help with her computer problems. We then go on to experience his playful and innocent fantasies of playing guitar hero, slot car racing and laser tag with the diva showing us that although the sexy lyrics are in place, Mariah is here to have fun, and she wants you along for the ride.

Behind the scenes, Mariah has managed to maintain her long career and an amazing setup for her E=MC2 album by carrying on a close and intimate relationship with her millions of fans. She does this in a variety of creative marketing ways including extensive new media efforts (remember the infamous voice messages to her fans Howard Stern picked up from her web site back in 2000?), a tight knit fan club, open access to her personal life and a consistent message allowing fans to identify with Mariah as a person and a brand supporting any music that she releases. Mariah has always maintained since day one of her career that if you believe in yourself and never give up, you can achieve anything. It's this positive message that resonates with her fans worldwide. Sprinkle a little fun here and a dash of positivity there, you have a well rounded package and a jam you can listen to all day long. Definitely make sure to check out “Touch My Body” which is available on iTunes now or can be streamed for free from her website www.mariahcarey.com and then lookout for what could possibly be the album of the year E=MC2, available everywhere now!