Mariah Carey is known to all of us for her five-octave voice, sparkling pop songs, and Christmas tunes such as All I Want for Christmas Is You. But then, in 2020, we got word of an incredible chapter of her life story— that Mariah Carey had secretly recorded a grunge album in the mid-1990s. The revelation became the object of fascination, as it called into question public conceptions of the pop diva and revealed an elemental, subversive nature to her craft.
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Finding the Unknown Chapter
The grunge album curse was resolved in September 2020 when Carey’s biography The Meaning of Mariah Carey came out. In the book, Carey revealed that, while she was recording her breakthrough album Daydream (1995), she had been developing a grunge/alternative rock side project. This personal project was an obvious break from her pop and R&B anthems and a reflection of her dissatisfaction with her overly political image at the time.
Those were times when Carey was incredibly pressured by her record label and her then-husband, Tommy Mottola, head of Sony Music Entertainment. As a dictatorial man, Mottola micromanaged Carey’s career and public image, controlling her music and even her wardrobe.
“I was experimenting with the windswept grunge/alternative band sound at the time,” Carey wrote in her biography. She referred to it as an “exit” from the death-dealing life. It was cathartic, and it allowed her to explore darker, deep topics and feelings that she couldn’t express.
Recording the Album
Carey recorded this during studio sessions with her band and friends. She went by the name Chick and wrote ragged, angst-ridden music in stark contrast to her meticulously polished pop albums. She wanted to direct her anger and disappointments into a genre that accepted imperfection and emotional authenticity.
She recorded the grunge, she wrote in her biography, often at night, after her band had departed. Its music took a DIY approach to 90s grunge and alternative rock, drawing on the likes of Hole, Garbage and Nirvana. Its words and songs spoke to separation and revolution, something quite distinct from the love songs and catchy pop songs for which she was famous.
Yet Carey never issued the album under her own name. Rather, it was quietly released as Someone’s Ugly Daughter in 1995 by the band Chick. Carey’s vocals were largely supplanted by her friend and fellow collaborator Clarissa Dane, although Carey provided background vocals and composed the songs.
A Growing Fascination
This was a project that had been wrapped behind the scenes for years, visible only to friends and hardcore fans. But the 2020 discovery made the internet frenzy, with fans and music historians aching to hear Carey’s live takes.
Carey also whipped up the fury by teasing some moments of her involvement on the Chick record, calling it “raw and unfinished.” She would like to unearth the songs with her own lead vocals. “I’m trying to track down my copy of this album,” she tweeted in 2020.
Fans also noted how revolutionary the idea was. By the mid-1990s, pop music was rarely released from its box. That Carey tried grunge in private, even at the time, was evidence of her inventive drive and refusal to accept conventionalities.
The Significance of Someone’s Ugly Daughter
Chick’s Someone’s Ugly Daughter, while still not as popular at the time, is now regarded as a cultural curiosity. Its sound carries the slacker-rock vibe of its time, with grungy guitars, kick drums, and witty vocals. Reviewers who re-listened to the record have told me it’s not something groundbreaking but that it is very real and DIY-ish.
The grunge experiment likewise highlights Carey’s versatility as a musician. Even as she ruled the pop charts with Fantasy and One Sweet Day, she was secretly tapping into a style that praised inadequacy and escapist defiance. This paradox presents both the range of her musical abilities and the depth of her artistry.
So What Happens to the Grunge Album?
Carey has been discussing recording her own tracks off the grunge project since 2020, but no plans have been made. Fans are holding out hopes that the unreleased tracks will eventually become a reality, and provide a fuller window into this obscure side of her work.
The recognition of Carey’s grunge aesthetic speaks to a new generation of listeners who are interested in people who defy convention and expectation. It also speaks to wider shifts in the musical landscape, where genre fluidity and individual authenticity are more prized today than in the sterile 90s.
Mariah Carey’s grunge album curse adds yet more suspense to her storied career. She showed us not only her extensive creative horizons, but also how strong she was, and how brave she was to take chances even in the dark. As fans are hoping for a chance to see her raw tapes again, Carey’s grunge experiment reminds us of her longevity and her talent for surprising us, decades into her career.
