Background
| 'Bye Bye', appears to be about her late father, Alfred Roy, who died of cancer in 2002. Mariah reminisces about the too-little time she shared with her mostly absent father and regrets how as a child, she didn't understand why he failed to show up sometimes to see her after he and her mother divorced when she was 3. But mostly Mariah regrets that he 'never got a chance to see how good I've done / And you never got to see me back at #1'. This confessional moment doesn't last long, since she extends this song about death to be for anybody "who just lost somebody." | ||
| —Jennifer Vineyard, MTV News. | ||
In 2001, Carey suffered a physical and emotional breakdown, causing her to abandon promotion of her then-released studio album Glitter (2001), and its film of the same name. As she was hospitalized for exhaustion, the film project received strong negative critical feedback, with the album faring only slightly better. Following Carey's absence from the public eye, as well as her abandonment of promotional appearances for the film and soundtrack, her unprecedented $100 million five-album record deal with Virgin Records (EMI Records) was bought out for $50 million. After recovering from her breakdown, and completing her contractual agreement with Virgin Records, Carey began recording her intended "comeback" and follow-up album, Charmbracelet (2002). Though the album focused on incorporating several inspirational and adult contemporary ballads, and re-capturing Carey's audience from throughout the 1990s, critics took notice of Carey's different vocals.
During the album's conception in 2002, Carey's estranged father, Alred Roy, was diagnosed with Cancer. After divorcing from Patricia, Carey's mother, when the singer was only three, he kept only limited contact with her throughout the years, as Patricia continuously moved due to their poverty. During this period of Carey's life, when she was just recovering from a breakdown and career slouch, she began reconnecting with her father during his short time in hospital care. In a song titled "Sunflowers for Alfred Roy", present on Charmbracelet, Carey refers to a moment she shared with him on his death-bed. Critics described the song as "the album's most lyrically personal song" and appreciated its simple piano accompaniment, while Carey retells of a visit she shared with her father in his hospital room, "Strange to feel that proud, strong man / Grip tightly to my hand." In later interviews, Carey explained how during those heartfelt and emotional moments they experienced during his sickness, they were able to maintain closure for all those years of separation. She also said how she felt at ease, after being able to see her father again, in his most vulnerable state.
After the album's release, and its succeeding tour, Carey began conceptualizing and working on a new project, eventually titled The Emancipation of Mimi, her tenth studio effort. The album became the best-selling album in the United States of 2005, and the second best-seller around the world, with over 12 million units sold. It earned a myriad of music industry awards, and brought Carey back to the top of pop music following her decline in 2001." After completing The Adventures of Mimi Tour, Carey began working on material for her eleventh studio effort, the yet untitled E=MC² (2008). E=MC² was hailed as one of the most anticipated albums of 2008, with many critics weighing their opinions on whether Carey would be able to deliver significant success, following her achievements with The Emancipation of Mimi. "Bye Bye" was released as the album's second single, following "Touch My Body", and premiered on radio on April 7, 2008, and became available to download at iTunes on April 15, 2008. The single officially went for adds on April 22, 2008 on Mainstream and Rhythm/Crossover stations.
Read more about this topic: Bye Bye (Mariah Carey Song)
Famous quotes containing the word background:
“They were more than hostile. In the first place, I was a south Georgian and I was looked upon as a fiscal conservative, and the Atlanta newspapers quite erroneously, because they didn’t know anything about me or my background here in Plains, decided that I was also a racial conservative.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)
“Pilate with his question “What is truth?” is gladly trotted out these days as an advocate of Christ, so as to arouse the suspicion that everything known and knowable is an illusion and to erect the cross upon that gruesome background of the impossibility of knowledge.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“In the true sense one’s native land, with its background of tradition, early impressions, reminiscences and other things dear to one, is not enough to make sensitive human beings feel at home.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)