Charmbracelet

Tracklisting
1. Through The Rain
2. Boy (I Need You)
3. The One
4. Yours
5. You Got Me
6. I Only Wanted
7. Clown
8. My Saving Grace
9. You Had Your Chance
10. Lullaby
11. Irresistible (West Side Connection)
12. Subtle Invitation
13. Bringin' On The Heartbreak
14. Sunflowers For Alfred Roy
15. Through The Rain (Remix)

Bonus Tracks:
16. Miss You
17. There Goes My Heart
18. Got A Thing 4 You
19. I Know What You Want

"Charmbracelets have always had a personal and sentimental significance for me. Charms are like pieces of yourself that you pass on to other people... items that tell your story, and that can be shared... like a song. The bracelet represents the foundation of this album, a body of work that encompasses many feelings."

All in all, "Charmbracelet" is probably the best thing Mariah has ever done. Said producer Randy Jackson: "It's the most real and honest record she's made. She didn't care what anyone thought of the lyrics. They were only important to her."

"Charmbracelet", the first album on Mariah's MonarC Records, was released on November 20, 2002 in Japan and November 29 in Europe. The fans from the USA had to wait until December 3. A month earlier, the album was played for fans chosen by lottery and some press and radio people at the Hayden Planetarium.

In Japan, the album became a huge hit and stayed for many weeks at the first place of the charts. In the USA, it entered the Billboard 200 at number 3, selling 241.000 copies (her second biggest first week sales). In the rest of the world, the chart entries were less spectacular. In the UK, it failed to enter the top 50 and in Canada it only entered at number 30.

Billboard wrote about the album: "The title of Mariah Carey's new album (her first from her new Island Def Jam-distributed Monarc label) recalls simpler, more innocent times. And that's precisely what Carey pines for and ultimately delivers on 'Charmbracelet'. While fans of her early-'90s material will find much to embrace here, those that rallied around the singer during her hip-hop days may feel lost and abandoned.

Classically Carey, 'Charmbracelet' opens with the autobiographical 'Through the rain', a tale of pressing on when the going gets tough. From there, it's primarily one ballad after another (too many, in fact), detailing the ins and outs of love. Songs of note include 'Boy (I need you)' and 'Irresistible (West Side Connection)', which sample, respectively, Rose Royce's 'I'm goin' down' and Evelyn Champagne King's 'The show is over'. The set's crowning glory is a power-ballad cover of Def Leppard's 'Bringin' on the heartbreak'."

Seven months after the release of "Charmbracelet", Mariah started her biggest world tour so far. The Charmbracelet World Tour had three legs with 69 concerts during a journey of eight months, all of them were commercially successful, with great reviews, and made thousands of fans worldwide happy.

The Charmbracelet World tour 2003 started on June 21, 2003 in Seoul, Korea, where Mariah sold out. The next cities of the Asian leg were in Japan - Osaka, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Tokyo, and Nagoya - all of these dates sold-out, which reminds us that Mariah Carey is one of the most successful artists in that country.

During the summer, Mariah arrived in the United States for her American leg. The first show was in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 26, 2003 at the Caesar's Palace. Then, Mariah arrived to one of two shows where the tour flopped, Chicago. The rest of the American leg was amazing, every concert had a special magic and emotions in the air. Mariah's music everywhere, fans screaming, and Mariah Mania taking over the United States. Other cities where the Charmbracelet tour had stops were New York city, Los Angeles (California), San Diego (California), Boston (MA), Orlando (Florida) and Phoenix (Arizona), among others. The American leg ended in Manchester (NH) in September 23, 2003.

After taking over the United States, Mariah traveled to Europe, where the tour continued with success. The new leg included four concerts in Russia, three in Germany, four in England, and stops in countries such as Austria, Italy, The Netherlands, and France, among other countries. Initially, the first end of the tour was supposed to be in Milan, Italy in November, but the success of the tour made Mariah extend her tour with massive concerts in China and the Philippines. At the end of the Charmbracelet World tour Mariah was set to visit many new cities in the United States. The concerts in December included cities such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Tucson. These new concerts presented new additions to the tour. Mariah removed a few songs such as "Subtle invitation" and "Clown", and instead, Mariah sang songs from her "Merry Christmas" album. These nine shows were closed with great performances of the song "All I want for Christmas is you".

The last part of the tour was in the middle east in 2004. Mariah was set to visit by first time Dubai (UAE), Beirut (Lebanon), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), among other cities. These last concerts were highly acclaimed, once again Mariah got amazing reviews, and the fans lived the experience of being witness of these concerts.

In 2003, a tour edition of "Charmbracelet" was released with four extra songs and two videos.


Go back