Whither "Triumphant?"

August 3, 2012. Deep in the sizzling heart of East Africa, this intrepid blogger took a well-deserved break from cooking my meal of goat over an open charcoal fire and washing my few rags of clothes in the drought-stricken trickle of a river 10 miles away. Beset by mosquitoes and wild dogs, I manged to climb a banana tree and find some purchase while balancing my iPad on a cluster of unripe fruit. While the unforgiving Rwandan sun beat down, I carefully used my last few minutes of battery power to download Mims's new song, "Triumphant,"* which was intended to be the lead single off of her then as-yet-untitled 14th studio album.

[Ed. note -- actually, this intrepid blogger awoke late that day in her luxurious one-bedroom apartment in Kigali, Rwanda, made a light lunch of toast, jam, and English breakfast tea, then walked the five minutes to her air-conditioned office building where the WiFi was fast and free. After downloading the song and "working" for a couple of hours, she made the short trek home, stopping in for some beers at her favorite bar along the way.]

Video for "Triumphant," 2012

Anyway. What I DO remember clearly about that day is thinking, what the hell? Where is Mims on this track? The track opens with rapper Meek Mill, then goes into Mims's chorus; then Rick Ross raps, then Mims's chorus; then the bridge; THEN, at almost two and a half minutes into what is a just-over-four minute song, Mims starts singing. And it's not what we're used to, either; her voice is too far back in the mix, which would be ok for a singer of lesser quality, but come ON. Also, the lyrics are bland, general, definitely not her best work. And Jermaine Dupri co-produced this? Wha' happened?

In the Wikipedia entry for this song which is really amazingly long, Mims says that this was a song written while husband Nick Cannon was in the hospital for mild kidney failure, and also inspired by the death of her good friend Whitney Houston. Ok...but why does it have to be so bad? Wouldn't the ultimate gesture of resiliency be to release another "We Belong Together" in this moment?

Fast forward to May 2014 -- Mims's 14th album, Me. I am Mariah...The Elusive Chanteuse is finally released after many delays. And where is the much-hyped "Triumphant" that was supposed to be such a beacon of light in Mims's dark night? Nowhere to be found. All the other songs forgot to call it when they were getting together to be recorded, apparently. Now it sadly puts on its headgear for another sleepless night and weeps lonely tears...lost in non-album limbo.

Don't worry "Triumphant." You have a home on Ain't No Donuts.



*Actually it's "Triumphant (Get 'Em)" ft. Rick Ross and Meek Mill, but you know...

Goodbye Bobby Womack

Anyone with a radio remembers this verse from "We Belong Together" in 2005:

I can't sleep at night
When you are on my mind
Bobby Womack's on the radio
Singing to me
'If you think you're lonely now'
Wait a minute
This is too deep, too deep
I gotta change the station

Bobby Womack, The Poet, 1981

Soul and R&B singer Bobby Womack passed away on June 27th at age 70. As with so many other artists, Mariah provides a gateway to this amazing singer/songwriter of the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and beyond. Enjoy the next phase, Bobby!

"You're Irking Me, I Am Irked..."

Things that the NBC special "Mariah Carey: At Home In Concert" taught us:

• Matt Lauer has listened to MIAMTEC in its entirety
• "Chanteuse" is a word "of French origin," so we can never really know what it's meaning is
• When playing with children, full evening dress is recommended
• The video for "You're Mine (Eternal)" is really bad. Which is crazy, because this is a woman who knows how to make a video. Exhibit A:

And B:

And for good measure, C:

All of those should enable us to forget about this: