Let's Talk About The yes, and? Remix
Does it pass the Mariah Carey Remix test?
If you are new here or idk maybe never spoken to me then you may not know that I am a hardcore Lamb (Mariah Carey Stan). I have always loved her but it wasn’t until sophomore year of college when I really began my Lamb journey. Since then Mariah has secured her 19th #1 hit, gotten even prettier, and now collaborated with Ariana Grande. People are very divided on if they like it. Unfortunately, upon first listen I didn’t love it but I have not decided on my official take. Come with me on my journey to process the yes, and? remix.
Bob Watch
FYI: I am always looking for bobs but I also love it when The Jury is also on the look out so always feel free to send me any Bobs you see in the wild! New or old!
If you are new to pop culture you may not remember when Arianka1 first got on the scene and everyone started comparing her to Mariah and saying all types of ridiculous things. Luckily they were never actually feuding and Arianka always gave Mariah her flowers. Their first collab was actually with Jennifer Hudson for the Oh Santa! Remix. Which, for the record, has always been my favorite Mariah Christmas song. I also had the pleasure of seeing them sing it live for the first time this past December at her Christmas MSG show. However, this is the first time that they are collaborating on something non-Christmas related.
As crazy as this may sound I forget all the time that Mariah has Christmas music. To the general public that is the only time they think about her. But for me, I am usually knee-deep in her other 14 albums to even think about her being the Queen of Christmas. I also forget that she has We Belong Together because that is not even close to one of my favorite songs by her or even my favorite songs from Emancipation of Mimi.
I want to preface this by saying that each time I have listened today I have liked the song more. Now, my issue with the remix is I’m not sure if it passes the Mariah Carey Remix test. Most people don’t even know that Mariah Carey has been remixing her songs since the 90s. So when I say the Mariah Carey Remix Test, I mean giving them new instrumental arraignments, vocal arraignments, and most times new lyrics. She regularly collaborated with David Morales who in my mind is THEE remix goat. Just about every single that she released since 1993 has a remix and most of them are house remixes. Dropping some of my favorites below:
Any Time You Need a Friend (Remix) 1993
DreamLover (Def Club Mix) 1993
Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise) 1997
Heartbreaker (Remix) Ft. Missy Elliot and Da Brat 1999
Here is an Apple Music playlist ( and here is Spotify2) of all my favorite Remixes.
There are SO many more like this has barely scratched the surface. She basically stopped making them after Me I am Mariah……The Elusive Chantuse.
So it is no surprise to the real Lambs that she would hop on Arianka’s song “yes, and?” The issue is that Mariah has not made a house song or remix in a while and that is so sad. But, does this song pass the test? I’m not so sure.
Why does Mariah’s vocals sound like she recorded it in a vacuum? I liked the harmonies that Mariah had on the chorus. The lyrics are different but a little lackluster. However, they are still very real.
Now, I'm so done with sharing
This hypocrisy with you
Baby, you have been rejected
Go back, no more pretending, bye
My real issue is that I wanted the production to be different. Mariah usually changes the entire production and makes the song twice as long. I understand that this is an Arianka song and not a Mariah song, but I wanted Mariah to convince Arianka to let her truly remix it. Especially since I am pretty sure this is a one-off single and is not going to be on the album. If it was significantly different it could have gone on the album like the Heartbreaker Remix!
I am just disappointed because whenever I see Mariah’s name next to a remix I feel like I know what I am getting into. However, now that I think about it, the Big Energy Remix was disappointing too. But that will have to be a whole different letter because I HATE that song. Dr. Luke, you will burn in hell for your MANY crimes.
As a Lamb it is just disappointing because I expected one thing in my mind and this wasn’t that. I know that’s not fair but it’s just how I feel. Like I said before, each time I listen to it I like it more. So maybe it’s a grower!! I can say that it is very Mariah. I love the bridge part the most. I do love Mariah and I love what she did with it but I think ultimately I wanted more. Maybe there will be more? Who knows. Mariah usually releases an entire EP of different remixes all with different vocals and production!
The real reason is that Mariah probably didn’t want to overstep on Ariana’s song which I understand. For everyone who thinks Mariah is a diva, she actually is very considerate in that way and holds back a lot more than you would think.
I also don’t feel like this is worthy of being her 20th number one. All the Lambs are trying to push for it to be and I’m like y’all we can get her a #1 when MC16 comes out! Either way, I am happy for Arianka that Mariah hopped on the remix at all. Is this the mother-daughter collab we have been hoping for? Do you think she left something to be desired? Let me know how you feel about the remix in the comments please!
If you are new here, just know that I always call Ariana Grande Arianka because of this Azealia Banks video.
One huge pro for me using Apple Music is that the Up Out My Face Remix with Nicki Minaj is on there and not Spotify.
wait i’m crying i didn’t know it was “no more pretending bye” bc apple music used to have the lyrics say “no more pretending that” and i was like that makes no sense…