Mariah Carey lived up to her word by dropping an impressive seven-minute version of her classic 2005 hit We Belong Together on Tuesday (February 16) night.
The diva first performed her ‘Mimi’s Late Night Valentine’s Mix’ of the tune, taken from ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’, during last Friday’s instalment of ‘Live With Kelly and Ryan’, ahead of Valentine’s Day.
Accompanied by keys, guitar and drums, Mariah showcased her full vocal range – including her signature whistle register – for a version of the tune that’s been heralded as the most complex ever.
Following the showcase, she took to social media to tease plans to drop the new take on download and streaming sites – plus the previously-unreleased extended cut.
“Happy early Valentine’s Day! Hope you enjoyed ‘We Belong Together’ on @LiveKellyRyan which we did after a late night jam session,” penned Mariah.
“We actually recorded a 7 minute version of this song thinking of putting it out for the lambily!”
We Belong Together was featured on Mariah’s 10th studio album and earned four Grammy nominations in 2006, including Record and Song of the Year, and eventually won for Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.
The release comes off the back of a busy year for the star, who dropped her top-selling memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, and celebrated three decades since her chart-topping debut album.
Along with vinyl reissues of her entire discography, up until 2014’s Me. I Am Mariah. The Elusive Chanteuse., she also released The Rarities – an album of outtakes, B-sides and live cuts.
In our review of the album, Retro Pop said Mariah “more than proves she’s earned her ‘icon’ status” across its 15 tracks.
