Just so you know, I received the album 2 days ago. And I've listened to every song at least 2x, my favorites even more.

*

**

***

**

*

Migrate 8.25/10 Used to annoy me. Should've used some other rapper other than T-Pain.

Touch My Body 9/10 Great song but overplayed.

Cruise Control 8.75/10 A nice rhythm to it. Composition is nice too. Melodic.

I Stay In Love 10.25/10 What else is there to say besides the fact that it blows Touch My Body out of the water and 95% of the other tracks also.

Side Effects 8/10 Great lyrics, average rhythm.

I'm That Chick 9/10 Very dance-able and vibe-ish. Nice Mariah. Nice.

Love Story 7/10 Nothing special in my eyes. The rhythm is boring and the song on a whole, takes you nearly nowhere.

I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time 9.5/10 Amazing for a modern pop song. The production, strong, rhythm, nice.

Last Kiss 7.5/10 Like Love Story, this track is one of the weaker ones. OK rhythm but the melody isn't strong and you probably won't remember this unless you like the unexciting lyrics.

Thanx 4 Nothin' 8/10 One thing I've noticed is that a lot of these songs are midtempos that don't separate themselves apart too much. What I'm saying here is that a lot of them like Love Story and Last Kiss sound very similar. The Emancipation wasn't like that.

O.O.C. 5/10 Unlisten-able. Unoriginal. Boring. Ugh.

For The Record 7.5/10 Not much to say. It's better than some of the previous tracks.

Bye Bye 10.25/10 My second favorite track (behind I Stay In Love).

I Wish You Well 6.75/10 An endearing gospel kiss off to the people that have hurt you. Doesn't come close to comparing to Fly Like A Bird but is better than the boring O.O.C.

114.75/14 = 8.196428571

8.196428571 = 4.10

4.10 stars.

end note: I can't believe this album wasn't as bad as I anticipated. When I heard Touch My Body and early versions of Migrate and Bye Bye, I was only super-impressed with Bye Bye. Touch My Body was next up but it wasn't classic material.

i luv tis alb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!=)

ilove this album and mostly i love the song bye bye on it ts sad it makes me think of my nana who i lost last ear o brest cancer all im sayin is this album is the best one yet and you should pick up a copy or two.

First, the CD itself. I wish there were a few more pics. The booklet is very simplistic. I would have expected something slightly different, and potentially a different font. This is not easy on the eyes.

Highlights are TOUCH MY BODY, STAY IN LOVE, LAST KISS & BYE, BYE. This last track is the HERO of this album. Evolution in her music is evidenced by less of the fluff she's served over the past 10 years, through the tracks CRUISE CONTROL, SIDE EFFECTS (this one screams "emancipation", and deserves the "²"; she tackles a serious message with a funk beat, which may show that she's growing beyond her past.) I'LL BE LOVING 4 LONG TIME is reminiscent of some Jackson track while THANKS 4 NOTHIN' is of a Toni Braxton-era.

Apart from this, you have the MC typical stuff, i.e. MIGRATE and LOVE STORY; fillers. The last track, while showing MC as a spiritual person is not a great tune.

Overall, it is good to hear Mariah's voice again vs. the humming, breathing tone that she had got so used to with the release of BUTTERFLY. I actually find this effort stronger than her EMANCIPATION album. The tracks offer a wider panel of her talent. It looks like there are fewer collaborations with other writers, which may explain the lack of cacophonic sound that previous efforts have yielded.

This is a respectable effort, while some of the songs seem to be an extension of WE BELONG TOGETHER. Fans will definitely love it. Others will feel satisfied with what the diva songbird has to offer. On a personal note, this is probably the best release of hers since DAYDREAM. Not quite her years again, but a solid release, which I do recommend. I think this one should be surpassing the success of EMANCIPATION