Mariah Carey Apologises For The Release Of The Wrong Version Of "The Art Of Letting Go"

Mariah Carey's plan to première new single The Art Of Letting Go via Facebook seems to have backfired on the Diva.You wanna know why? Turns out the wrong version was uploaded by some naughty engineer!



Clearly upset with the mix-up, the Diva took to Facebook (once again) to personally clarify the situation and actually communicate with fans who commented on the post (I'll bold the bits I find most interesting, but feel free to read the whole thing):

Hey Lambs, I have to tell you this, I can't do what I always do and say nothing at all. It is 3:30am (11.14), and I'm sitting on my bathroom floor, very upset by some news I just got from a close friend and employee. Lucky her, she was "nominated" to deliver this message to me after the long awaited 11.11 moment and the Jimmy Fallon show, knowing how upset I would be. Not because the world has come to an end or something, but because this 11.11 listening party was so important to me on a core level as a musician, who cares so much about how my fans hear my music for the first time that I didn't even allow a snippet to be released until 11 on the dot.

To cut to the chase, a mistake was made by a brand new sound engineer whose only task was to press the space bar and upload the song to Facebook, while my team, and an incredible group of people from Facebook, partied while listening to the properly mixed and mastered version of "The Art of Letting Go" on repeat from my iPod on my home speakers. Clearly, I was focused on answering your questions during the Q and A. There was no reason for me to wonder if the final mix we were listening to in that room together was different than what you were listening to!!!!! Like I always say, I am involved with every record I make, from the inception to the completion of the song. Every nuance of the beat or vocal matters to me. Even if the differences may seem slight to you, I had put time, effort and emotions into "The Art of Letting Go" and the real mix is how I intended for you to hear the song.

Rather than remove the old version from Facebook (the iTunes version is the real one), I just figured I would put up the real mix and allow you to listen to it back-to-back, should you choose to do so and tell me what you think the differences are.I want you to hear it like you're hearing it for the first time with me, and I will answer any questions that you have, pertaining to the song. You know that I don't comment on gossip, I typically don't respond to things like this or go into so much detail to the world, but this is something I'm upset about and I wish I would have known sooner.

There's no doubt in my mind that this sounds like a self absorbed diva on a "woe-is-me" tangent about a couple of ad libs or some other triviality, but the reality is this is me, focusing solely on the record, wanting you to hear it and experience it the right way. I love and appreciate you so much for taking the time to even glance at this 20-page "diva in distress" thesis. Thank you for letting me vent, this is another reason why Facebook rocks! You'll be hearing from me soon. Here is the REAL version of "The Art of Letting Go".

Answers these questions for me:
1. Can you hear a difference at all?
2. Can you see why I like this version better?
3. Where can you hear the differences?
4. Does the song affect you different emotionally after hearing the real version?

Let's talk about it, I'll be here waiting!

Get "The Art of Letting Go" on iTunes now:
http://smarturl.it/iLettingGo

(Yes, the REAL version was on iTunes from the beginning!)

An interesting peek behind the creative curtain! Poor Mariah seems genuinely upset by the mistake. If anything, it shows just how much she cares about the music she puts out. Something which is made even more apparent when listening to how minor the differences between the versions were.

Still, I'd really like if you guys could answer the above questions Mariah posed to fans in the comments below, RE: the two versions. Maybe it'll help us all figure out where the changes were made. I'll go first:

1) Erm, I think I've only listened to the Facebook (duff?) version once, but the Vevo version a fair few times. I can't say I really noticed much difference between the two.
2)Not really, other than the "real" version sounded crisper and mastered.
3) Now, having just listened to the versions at the same time, differences are even less apparent- if that's actually possible (!)  Seriously though, the most obvious changes I caught were at the song's climax. But it was nothing major.
4)Erm. No. It's still too wordy, with an odd structure. However, both those issues have become (so much) less bothersome as I've listened to the song more. Still annoyed about the decision not to replace the synthetic (and totally dating) percussion.  But the vocals are great (yes to the solid and full midrange), and am loving the mature direction. Can't wait to hear The Art Of Letting Go live!

Now, your turn!

Post by Mariah Carey.

Thoughts?