Considering everything she’s been through recently, it is a triumphant declaration and a testament to her perseverance.
She delivers the kind of multi-layered and emotive vocal performance that modern day artists can only dream of.
The music scene has changed so much throughout Carey’s 30 plus year long career. But all “Here For It All” proves is that time and change are no match for Carey. As she’ll tell you herself on “Mi,” “I don’t acknowledge time, I do whatever I please.”
For fans of Mariah, this album will be a very welcome return. It has all the hallmarks of her previous work, but it’s mix of modern and vintage production gives it one foot in the future as well as one in the past. For new listeners, everything here is as it should be, and for someone who has been in the game for this long, that’s no mean feat.
Carey’s new album pays homage to the past. Here for It All is an affectionate and charming look at Black pop music of the 1970s and 1980s, charmingly retro without feeling stale or derivative. It’s a nod to the kind of music Carey grew up on and the sounds that influenced her as she came of age. Here for It All also highlights her enduring gifts, especially that spectacular voice, which is miraculously intact.
Here For It All presents a carefully crafted blend of genres that reflect Carey’s wide-ranging musical influences and abilities. The album incorporates elements of pop, R&B, gospel and hip-hop, creating a sonic landscape that feels both familiar and refreshingly current. This genre-blending approach allows Carey to showcase different facets of her artistry across the 11 tracks.
HotNewHipHop (USA) - 28 September
Mariah Carey is leading the way with her new album Here For It All, which brings back the pristine and wondrous soul sensibilities she's legendary for.
While there are a few highlights to discuss, none caused as much conversation as "Play This Song," a collaboration with rumored flame Anderson .Paak. Carey's charismatic vocal performance, the clean sheen of the production, and the dreamy instrumentation and song structure tell you everything you need to know about this LP.
Both "Play This Song" & "Sugar Sweet" ft. Shenseea & Kehlani have been added to their latest R&B Season playlist, check it out HERE!Sunday Mirror (UK) - 28 September
What's refreshing is how Mariah allows songs to shine gimmick-free on this first LP in seven years. She's teamed with hitmakers like Anderson .Paak who updates her voice with R&B flavours.
"Mi" reminds the listener of her diva necessities, before "Play This Song" taps into a more vintage soul vibe. Big ballad "Nothing Is Impossible" is up there with her best.
The voice, and Carey’s decision to spotlight where she is (which, whether she admits it or not, is a tacit acknowledgment of time), is the boldest of Here for It All’s moves, a kind of no-makeup sound for a persona devoted to glamour. The album is otherwise a pleasant collection of the kind of well-constructed melodies that typify Carey’s output. It leans toward a full-band sound, particularly on its collaborations with Anderson .Paak and Carey’s bandleader Daniel Moore II, though there are bassy electronic ballads as well, like the skittery opener “Mi,” the lovely Caribbean-kissed single “Sugar Sweet,” and the deliciously petty “Confetti and Champagne,” a fuck-you to an ex in which Carey proclaims, “Cheers cheers cheers cheers cheers/To me, not you, just me.”
...when the album is great, it soars. Title and closing track ‘Here For It All’, a rare six-minute song in 2025, starts off as a vulnerable piano ballad before it takes flight, segueing into a mid-tempo gospel moment: “Oh, my Lord, hallelujah / Holy Spirit, fall down on me / This is just a rehearsal, test flight / Praise the Most High”. The groovier moments on the album – funk-tinged ‘Play This Song’, assisted and produced by Anderson Paak., and disco-funk number ‘I Won’t Allow It’ – are also standouts sonically, with cheeky lyrics to match. “Wanted the fame, used my name, bet you thought you could do that… I won’t allow it,” she sings on the latter.
Carey’s lightness and joy shine through for the first time in years. Her voice may not be what it was, but we’re still glad to have it around all the same.
Mimi remains committed to the craft that she’s had so much influence over, and we, too, are staying here for it all.
...Carey must be commended for constructing an LP that manages to simultaneously represent a step forward in her sonic progression while also keeping her changing voice at center stage. The production across the LP is flavorful and bright, but never overwhelms or drowns out the prominence of the vocals in the mix. Carey’s vocal adaptability is one of her greatest assets, and even as her personal instrument evolves in tone and sound, she has once again demonstrated her unparalleled ability to access untapped pockets of her voice.
As fans get to enjoy the treat of new music from one of music’s most iconic divas, Carey has proven once more that she will forever be the Songbird Supreme.
...Carey’s unrivaled understanding of melody and glistening rhythmic production remains strong enough to successfully meld nostalgic sounds of the 1970s with contemporary R&B flourishes.
Pitchfolk (USA) - 26 September It’s been a long wait, but Mariah Carey’s first album since 2018’s Caution is here. The pop star with perfect pitch declares she’s Here for It All, taking notes on all she’s been through over the past decade, most notably raising twins and the prioritizing loving relationships. After keeping most of the album’s details under lock and key, Carey dropped two singles—the groove-focused rap-soul song “Type Dangerous” and the dancehall-influenced track “Sugar Sweet,” with Kehlani—and revealed a handful of featured artists, including Anderson .Paak and the Clark Sisters. Summer is officially over, but, on her 12-track comeback, Carey insists the sunny season is a year-round mentality, if you want it to be.
Even 35 years into a career that's earned her a list of accolades, including five Grammy Awards, a spot in the Songwriters Hall of Fame and a Video Vanguard Award from MTV, Carey, 56, hasn’t abandoned artistic growth.
Daily Star (UK) - 26 September Forget vocal gymnastics, what's refreshing is how Mariah allows the songs to shine, gimmick-free on this first LP in seven years.
It helps that she's teamed with hitmakers like Anderson .Paak who update her evolving voice with new and old R&B flavours, some saucy, always heartfelt.
Mi amusingly reminds the listener of her diva necessities, before Play This Song taps into a vintage soul vibe. Big ballad Nothing Is Impossible is up there with her best.
The Independent - 25 September(UK) Your eyes are not deceiving you. Mariah Carey will release her first new album in seven years, “Here for It All,” on Friday. Start with “Sugar Sweet,” featuring Shenseea and Kehlani. Or “Type Dangerous,” with its sample of Eric B. & Rakim’s “Eric B. Is President.” Start anywhere — and expect smooth R&B-pop bliss.
A contradictory sort, Mariah Carey is both an ageless wonder who chooses not to acknowledge time, and an artist eager to remind us she’s been around forever. Here for It All, Carey’s 16th studio album and her first in seven years, marinades in the singer-songwriter’s sheer, unadulterated Mariah-ness
… there’s a lovely grit to her vocal across Here for It All that only enhances the latest of those classic triumph-against-adversity ballads she’s so well known for. The spectacularly simmering title track – which climaxes in a three-minute jam full of heavenly vocal runs and production chaos – and the similarly pretty “Nothing Is Impossible” both find Carey backed up by little but elegant piano riffs and reverb. They actively utilise the battle-worn maturity of Carey’s voice today rather than pretend it’s not there...
Carey has stayed in her lane of glitzy, nicely overwrought if always immaculately well-written R&B for much of her career (there’s a reason her oft-teased but sadly still unreleased secret Nineties grunge album is so often begged for). Here for It All doesn’t exactly shake things up, but it’s a pretty, polished affair all the same, Carey sitting comfortably on top of her sonic throne and uninterested in relinquishing it any time soon
..."Here For It All" leans into a decidedly retro vibe, with soulful ballads reminiscent of Motown greats and uptempo tracks that draw from disco and funk.
“Here for It All” proves that Carey’s voice is still present and powerful as ever, but it’s her album and she’ll (only) belt if she wants to. And if she also wants to take an extended break, the music legend has left fans with an album that’s ultimately full of timeless, endearing cuts that can tie them over until this Butterfly returns. If this is the only music we get from Mariah Carey for awhile, consider “Here for It All” a well-deserved victory lap.
Don't forget to checkout "Here For It All," the new album by the legendary singer songwriter Mariah Carey, out 26 September, 2025. Click here to stream or purchase NOW!
"Here For It All," features award winning "Type Dangerous" & new single "Sugar Sweet."
