“Touch My Body” Reviews
Erik Bradley
Music Director, B-96, Chicago, IL
“‘Touch My Body’ picks right up where The Emancipation Of Mimi left off. It’s another classic Mariah mid-tempo SMASH with a hook that will stick with you for days. The reaction to it thus far has been incredible…I believe at the end of the day this will be Mariah’s 18th #1 single. I’ve heard many of the songs on E=MC2 and not only is it full of killer songs, I feel it stands just as tall (perhaps taller) than T.E.O.M. Here comes another 10+ million worldwide sales and more time at the top of the charts for MC!”
Todd Martens
Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times
The Mariah formula: First listen on ‘Touch My Body’
Pop star Mariah Carey unveiled today her new single and the science-friendly title of her new album, “E=MC2,” due April 15. The title alone already does Janet Jackson one better. The latter went all sci-fi with her latest video, “Feedback,” but Mariah is cutting out the B-movie trappings and going straight to the equation.
So is Mariah unveiling her inner Albert Einstein with the title? Or is she leaking the formula that goes into crafting a mega-hit?
E = extreme, acrobatic-like wailing.
M = multimillion-dollar production team. (Billboard.com writes that the A-list lineup cooking with Mariah in the M lab includes Jermaine Dupri, will.i.am, Stargate and Bryan Michael Cox, among others.)
C2 = Club songs multiplied by colossal ballads.
All right, so the title is certainly a not-so-subtle nod to her top-selling 2005 album, “The Emancipation of Mimi.” The first single, “Touch My Body,” hit radio today. It was produced by C “Tricky” Stewart and The Dream, the pair who worked on Rihanna’s Grammy-winning “Umbrella.”
So how is it? “Touch My Body” rides a relatively restrained slow-dance groove, with some light, orchestral-synth flourishes thrown in. The rhythm is almost completely carried by an effortless keyboard bump, the easygoing repetitiveness of which eventually wears the listener down, and sets up a delicate frame for Carey to sing around.
She pulls back when the song picks up the pace, and Carey keeps it simple here, playing with tempos rather than range. Indeed, she almost quietly slides into the chorus. “If you run around and brag about this secret rendezvous, I will hunt you down,” she sings, letting the last line trail off. But you don’t necessarily believe her, as the feel is more playful that sinful.
The song will be getting the full blockbuster treatment, as “Rush Hour” director Brett Ratner shot the video for the cut.
Blender
Mariah’s New Sex Tape-Themed Smash
WHO: Mariah Carey
WHAT: “Touch My Body”
WHY: While Mariah’s new album, E=MC2, is set to be one of the year’s biggest, this introductory single is downright subtle – yet effective. Co-written by The-Dream and produced by Tricky (a.k.a. the dudes behind “Umbrella”), “Touch My Body” rides the same never ending snap blueprint T-Pain used to brilliant effect on last year’s feather-light super hit “Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin’).” You won’t mind hearing it on the radio and TV every 10 minutes for the next few months – this thing sooths as it repeats. Here, Mariah is focused on one thing: “Come on and give me what I deserve and touch my body,” she coos. And make no mistake, she wants to be touched on her terms only: “Cause if you run your mouth and brag about this secret rendezvous, I will hunt you down.” She even thinks about the possible ramifications of her touchy tryst when she sings, “If there’s a camera up in here then I best not catch this flick on YouTube” (nevermind the fact that the video in question would never get past YouTube censors). A pop genius making genius pop. (4 out of 5 stars!)
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