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By JEREMY HELLIGAR

Either Mariah Carey has been reading my True/Slant blog, or she came to her senses all on her own. Whichever it was, it’s the end result that matters most: After reshuffling the release date numerous times (the most recent one was March 30), she’s scrapped Angel’s Advocate, the planned remixed and repackaged version of her 2009 flop album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel.

The official word is that she’s decided to return to the studio to record a proper album. But I suspect it had something to do with the dismal chart performance of the first single, “Up Out My Face,” featuring Barbie doll rapper Nicki Minaj, which only managed to scale Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 100. That’s a long way from the 14 weeks spent at No. 1 by “We Belong Together,” the Grammy-winning smash that was released exactly five years ago tomorrow.

Carey has risen from the career ashes before, but something tells me she might have to come to terms with the fact that her days of easy No. 1’s may be behind her. She had an excellent run — 18 No. 1 singles in 15 years and a truckload of platinum certifications — but at 41 (or 40, depending on which source you believe — the Long Island DMV insists on the former), she’s entering that difficult period for female entertainers. Although stars like Cher, Tina Turner and Madonna have managed to score hits well into their cougar years, Carey’s fellow fortysomething ’90s superstars like Celine Dion, Sheryl Crow, Gwen Stefani, the long-lost Shania Twain and the soon-to-return Sarah McLachlan may find the going tough from here on out.

I, for one, hope Carey continues to keep trying (and that McLachlan beats the odds). I find her more recent music to be the most interesting stuff she’s ever done, and although I never thought Angel’s Advocate was a particularly bright idea, I do hope those Timbaland collaborations and the version of “It’s a Wrap” featuring Mary J. Blige eventually see the light of a commercial release.

My advice to Carey would be to take off a year or two, kiss and make up with Eminem, record a banging duet with him, and come back with a new sound (time to ditch the mid-tempo R&B and start singing again), a new look (get a new stylist, girl) and maybe an Oscar — or at least a Golden Globe — in hand.

It worked for Cher in late 1980s and Madonna in the late ’90s, and it could for Carey, too. With her 11-years-younger husband (Nick Cannon) she’s already rocking the cougar thing. Now all she needs to do is wish on a lucky star (or a ray of light) and believe in life after not going platinum.

http://trueslant.com/jeremyhelligar/2010/03/28/mariah-carey-scraps-album-starts-from-scratch/