Sunday Selection: Mariah Carey ft. Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri “Bye Bye” Remix

The views expressed in this Sunday Selection are not the views of AllHipHop.com.This week I was going to talk about the #1 single in the country “Bleeding Love” by the English chick Leona Lewis that’s making a lot of noise over here in the States, but instead I couldn’t hold back – Mimi has been on my mind. I’m a huge Mariah Carey (Mimi) fan and all week the entire internet has been flooded with confirmed and unconfirmed stories that she tied the knot to “HOT” 20-something actor/rapper Nick Cannon, but is anyone talking about her second single “Bye Bye” ?? I don’t think enough people are, so I am…amongst a few other things I want to get off my chest.Let me say that Mimi is my inspiration! I mean seriously as a woman in my early ‘30s, she gives me hope that when I’m in my late ‘30s I can still snatch a young hottie to call my own. She and Tameka Foster are prime examples that you don’t have to be some “Tender Ronie” to lock down a young fella! And since the subject is in the air let’s throw Star Jones in the mix, she’s also on my list of chicks who got game (even though her soon to be ex-husband has been rumored to play for the other team). Just in case you haven’t heard people are whispering about her and Dwayne Wade. He claims they are just “friends,” but the fact that the two of them have been paired together in any capacity makes me tip my hat to Star. All you cougars out there keep on doing what you do! And for anyone who says Usher’s marriage to Tameka is affecting his career or don’t like him anymore because he married her need to grow up. Older guys (i.e., Jay-Z) aren’t the only ones who can snatch up someone 10+ years younger and have it be beneficial to their career.But anyway, not to lose focus on what the Sunday Selection is all about, this week I have chosen to comment on the remix to “Bye Bye” (the second single off Mimi’s new album E=MC²) which features Jay-Z and Jermaine Dupri. When I heard the original version of “Bye Bye” I thought it was just OK. Mariah typically likes to do songs that are inspirational and heartfelt, and I chopped this up to this being one of those. It didn’t really grab me as a good choice for a second single, but I’m a die hard fan so I embraced it anyway. Jay-Z’s verse is not earth shattering, but it fits. As for Jermaine Dupri, his adlibs are sometimes better left off some songs; this one is a perfect example of that. Now that I’ve heard the remix, it’s made me pay more attention to the song and realize that it’s a valuable song right now in 2008. I live in Chicago, and the number of deaths in the city this year alone, better yet in the last two weeks has been unbelievable. So I dedicate this song to everyone in the Chi and all over the world that lost someone to senseless acts of violence. People have been comparing that English girl I spoke about earlier Leona Lewis to Mariah Carey, and if you’ve haven’t read up on what Mimi thinks about the comparison let me fill you in – she’s not feeling the thought of the two of them in the same sentence. It’s no coincidence that I chose Mariah over Leona Lewis – after all in 15 years will she have the credentials that Mimi has? I think not! That means she would have to surpass Elvis and Mariah. Not likely. But who knows, maybe I’ll have to eat my words in another decade or so (yeah right).If the rumors that Mariah has married are true, I don’t want to hear any Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon collaborations anytime soon! Please let them keep their musical careers separate, but then again Mariah might be good for Young Nick’s career. I’m going to stop here because I could go on and on about Mariah. Until next week, y’all enjoy this week’s Sunday Selection…“Bye Bye.”