Clown (Mariah Carey song)

Before the release of her film Glitter and its accompanying soundtrack in 2001, Mariah Carey suffered an emotional and physical breakdown. A media circus ensued that included rumors about a purported romantic relationship with rapper Eminem gone awry.[1] The following year, he alluded to them in The Eminem Show song "Superman":[1] In it, Eminem disses Carey by saying he ended their relationship because she wanted a strong partnership before having sex:[2] "What you tryin' to be my new wife? / What you, Mariah?"[3] He expounded in an appearance on the television program Access Hollywood: "The Mariah thing, yeah, that's true. Those rumors are true, and I'm not going to deny them. You know, we had somewhat of a relationship."[4]

In 2002, Eminem opined about Carey to Rolling Stone: "I don't want to say anything disrespectful because I respect her as a singer, but on the whole personal level, I'm not really feeling it. I just don't like her as a person."[5] Carey retorted in a Dateline NBC interview: "Well, it didn't seem like that for a while, but OK. If it makes him comfortable to say that, then that's great."[4] She responded with the song "Clown",[6][lower-alpha 1] which Island Records released on November 20, 2002, as the seventh track on her ninth studio album Charmbracelet.[7] Carey denied an intimate relationship with Eminem while promoting the project.[1] In an interview with USA Today, she stated, "I can still count on less than five fingers the number of men I've gone there with. And believe me, he isn't one of them."[8]

Carey wrote "Clown" with Andre Harris, Vidal Davis, and Mary Ann Tatum.[9][lower-alpha 2] She produced it with the Philadelphia-based duo Dre & Vidal.[11] Dana Jon Chappelle and John Smeltz engineered the track at Capri Studio in Capri, Italy, Right Track Studios in New York City, and The Studio in Philadelphia. Manuel Farolfi and Giulio Antognini assisted them in Capri, Paul Gregory and Dave Perini in New York, and Vince Dilorenzo in Philadelphia. Harris, Davis, and Smeltz mixed "Clown" and Bob Ludwig conducted mastering at Gateway in Portland, Maine.[9] An acoustic guitar and vocal harmonies characterize the composition.[12] It features background vocals by Carey and Trey Lorenz[9] and lasts for three minutes and seventeen seconds.[13]

"Clown" aligns with a pattern of Carey's musical output becoming more personal as her career progressed.[1] It is an answer song that addresses Eminem's comments about their relationship in "Superman".[14][lower-alpha 1] She expresses regret that it occurred[15] and denies that it was romantic.[6] Carey alleges Eminem lied about their time together:[16] "You should've never intimated we were lovers / When you know very well / We never even touched each other".[9] She posits him as a crying clown with shrouded sadness whose private life contradicts his public persona:[15] "Nobody cares when the tears of a clown / Fall down".[9] Carey justifies this proposition by referring to her experiences with him:[15] "I know what kills you slow / I'm gonna keep your little secret though".[9]

During the chorus, Carey describes Eminem as a transitory figure whose popularity will soon decline:[15] "Who's gonna care when the novelty's over / When the star of the show isn't you anymore".[9] She begins empathetically in the bridge and moves to debunk his image:[15] "Your pain is so deep rooted / What will your life become / Sure you hide it / But you're lost and lonesome / Still just a frail 'shook one'".[9] Near the end of the song, Carey labels him a puppet being pulled by strings[15] ("A marionette show / Who's makin' you move though?"[9]) and references his fraught maternal relationship[15] ("I guess your mamma never / Told you that what / Goes around comes back around ... pow"[9]).[lower-alpha 3]

The song received scholarly analysis. According to Vincent Stephens, "Clown" demonstrates a "masculinist performance of gender as the key to Eminem’s public persona, a performative dimension which extends to hip-hop culture in general".[17] He argues that the lyrics are notable because "they highlight an unusual depth of contradiction between Eminem’s public masculinist rhetoric and his demure private self", which negates the hip-hop culture of authenticity.[18] Marcia Alesan Dawkins agrees: "Carey is saying that Eminem's masculinity is a performance within and by the rap genre, and that it is based on a false foundation".[16] Stephens suggests these notions are heightened because Carey is a female pop singer "representing social identities that hypermasculinity, genderphobia and sexism typically affect".[18] Chuck Campbell of the Knoxville News Sentinel viewed Carey's persona in "Clown" not as strictly a pop singer, but varying between "a bellower, an ersatz Eartha Kitt, a rambling neurotic, [and] a giggler".[19]

Music critics compared "Clown" to other songs on Charmbracelet. They viewed it as one of the better tracks[lower-alpha 4] and one of the few whose lyrics carry any verve.[lower-alpha 5] Writing in Time, Josh Tyrangiel considered "Clown" a worthy exception to the album's formula.[22] In contrast, Scott Robinson of The Courier-Journal felt it was an unnecessary addition.[23] The Philadelphia Inquirer critic Tom Moon regarded Carey's "rap-inspired heat" superior to those of rappers Cam'ron and Jay-Z on other Charmbracelet tracks.[lower-alpha 6] Dave Ferman of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram thought "Clown" was one of the few songs in which "Carey still sounds like she has something to prove".[24]

"Clown" was juxtaposed with similar songs by other artists. Chicago Tribune columnist Greg Kot thought the "stuttering, rapid-fire production" resembled a Destiny's Child recording.[25] Amazon.com critic Jaan Uhelszki deemed "Clown" the most "compelling musical soap opera since Carly Simon's '70s roman à clef, 'You're So Vain'" and Vibe's Lola Ogunnaike felt it equaled the impact of "Ether", a diss song by rapper Nas toward Jay-Z.[26] Craig Seymour of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution considered the track part of a 2002 trend of relationship confession songs. He contrasted it with Justin Timberlake addressing Britney Spears in "Cry Me a River".[27] Robinson viewed "Clown" as inferior to his efforts.[23] Stephens considered it akin to the Pet Shop Boys' "The Night I Fell in Love" as they both challenge "Eminem's genderphobia and authenticity".[28]

The song's music and vocal production received mixed reviews. Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani viewed the partnership between Carey and Dre & Vidal as a cunning choice.[29] Writing in The Province, Stuart Derdeyn dubbed "Clown" one of "the least obnoxious marriages of studio tricks and vocal histrionics" on Charmbracelet.[30] Entertainment Weekly's Tom Sinclair described Carey's voice as "gorgeously nuanced".[31] According to Evelyn McDonnell of the Miami Herald, the "verve is undermined by Carey’s incessantly saccharine singing".[32] Stephens agreed, stating that her vocal performance makes it hard to understand the song's message.[12] He thought the music lacked intensity, as did Farber, who remarked the "melody matched to it is as interchangeable as most of Carey's fare".[33] Conversely, Oggunnaike considered it pleasant.[34]

Carey sang "Clown" during the 2003–2004 Charmbracelet World Tour following fan requests online.[35] She performed it as part of an act titled "The Marionette Show", a spin on The Eminem Show. As Carey sang "Clown" sitting down, two masked men in suits stood on stilts and controlled a female dancer wearing an Eminem-style wig and Detroit Pistons jersey with ribbons.[36] The performance received critical reviews. Fiona Shepherd of The Scotsman considered the segment bewildering and Sean Piccoli of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel deemed it "bad children's theatre".[37] In contrast, MTV News writer Blair R. Fischer described it as an opportunity for retribution.[3] Ben Rayner of the Toronto Star favored Carey's vocal performance and consequently pondered "what might have been if she'd devoted her career to something rougher".[38] The Detroit Free Press noted that she did not tour in Eminem's hometown of Detroit.[39]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Charmbracelet[9]

Recording

• Recorded at Capri Studio (Capri, Italy), Right Track Studios (New York City), The Studio (Philadelphia)
• Mastered at Gateway Mastering (Portland, Maine)

Personnel

• Writing – Mariah Carey, Andre Harris, Vidal Davis, Mary Ann Tatum
• Production – Dre & Vidal, Mariah Carey
• Engineering – Dana Jon Chappelle, John Smeltz
• Assistant engineering  – Manuel Farolfi, Giulio Antognini, Paul Gregory, Dave Perini, Vince Dilorenzo
• Background vocals – Mariah Carey, Trey Lorenz
• Mixing – Andre Harris, Vidal Davis, John Smeltz
• Mastering – Bob Ludwig