Grammy-winning R&B diva Mariah Carey continues to carve out a big comeback with her smooth, DJ Mustard-produced ballad, “With You.”

“She was full of such trepidation / There in front of the whole damn nation.”  In case the utterance of the word trepidation took you by surprise as much as it did myself in a pop/urban contemporary song, it simply means “a nervous or fearful feeling of uncertain agitation.” Definitely one of the more ‘intellectual’ moments that Mariah Carey serves up on “With You,” her second new single of 2018 following the blunt “GTFO.” “With You” is a ballad that commences with a descending harmonic progression via piano chords. Carey joins in with smooth, tender, low-key vocals, mostly singing the titular lyrics, “with you.” Interestingly, “With You” is produced by DJ Mustard, but definitely uncharacteristic of his typical, clubby-oriented, hip-hop backdrops.  Even so, things out well.

Mariah Carey sounds solid vocally.  For the majority of “With You,” she doesn’t do anything too ‘crazy’ with her voice.  The melody definitely suits her, sitting in a comfortable range and register. By the end, however, we get some truly savvy ad-libs and those playful whistle tones she’s been renowned for.  Notably, she’s a bit looser than she was on “GTFO”.  Perhaps there isn’t a great introduction in regards the narrative of the songwriting – the listener is sort of brought in without preface.  Eventually, it makes more sense, even if “With You” feels more like a sexy ‘vibe’ than award-winning story.  Mariah Carey keeps things truly contemporary, with rhythmic lines, pop cultural references (Bone Thugs n Harmony and Usher’s Confessions get a nod), and the f-bomb, again.

“Ooh, shots of Remy

Playing Confessions, and our bodies blendin’

Oooh, I’m in love, it’s true

Yeah, damn, I f**ks with you

And we all make mistakes sometimes

But we muddle through

I don’t know what I’m supposed to do (boy)

Oh, baby, I’m in love, it’s true

With you, you, you…”

Final Thoughts 

All in all, Mariah Carey delivers a relatively strong single with “With You,” arguably with slightly more punch than “GTFO.” While this ballad still falls short of the classicism of her best, it’s great to hear Carey still sound so strong after all these years in the game. Yeah, she’s potty-mouthed once again, but you can deny how slick she is as she slips in “Yeah, damn, I f**ks with you.”

Mariah Carey • With You – Single • Epic • Release: 10.4.18

Photo Credit: Epic