MARIAH CAREY LAUNCHES BUTTERFLY MC RECORDS
(By Variety Staff | Published on April 10, 2017 for Variety.com)
Epic Records has recommitted to Mariah Carey, announcing Monday a new joint partnership between the singer’s Butterfly MC Records and the Sony Music Entertainment label as well as a long-awaited studio album due out “later this year.” Terms of the partnership were not disclosed.
The deal seemingly puts to rest rumors that Carey’s recording contract was in jeopardy. The five-time Grammy winner was signed by Epic Records chairman-CEO LA Reid in 2016, with whom she worked on 2005’s multi-platinum-selling album “The Emancipation of Mimi” (recorded and released while Reid was running Universal Music label Island Def Jam).
Carey launched her career at Sony’s Columbia Records in 1990, when she scored the first of her five consecutive Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits ( “Vision of Love,” “Love Takes Time,” “Someday,” “I Don’t Wanna Cry,” and “Emotions”).
Said Reid in a statement: “To continue working with Mariah Carey at Epic has been another rewarding chapter of my career. Mariah’s incomparable talents as a singer, with her vocal range that is nothing short of legendary, are matched by her brilliance as a songwriter, producer, and performer par excellence. Mariah’s chart records have established her enduring place in music history, a position that is cherished and supported by her loyal fans worldwide. I look forward to building upon all of Mariah’s success for years to come.”
Added Carey: “I am putting my heart and soul into making more new music. I am so thrilled for this next chapter and to continue working with, and for, everyone that I love.”
The partnership comes on the heels of several headline-grabbing months for Carey. In December, the singer launched “Mariah’s World,” a docuseries on E!; famously endured technical complications live on ABC’s “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest”; broke off her engagement to Australian billionaire James Packer; and announced, then postponed, a tour with Lionel Richie. Carey is also headlining a Las Vegas residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, to which she’s set to return in July.
