Up Out My Face is a song from Mariah Carey's 12th studio album, "Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel." The song was written and produced by Mariah, Terius "The-Dream" Nash, and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart. It was remixed to feature American rapper, Nicki Minaj and then released on February 16, 2010 as the intended lead single from Carey's cancelled thirteenth studio album and second remix album, "Angels Advocate."
The song was moderately successful having peaked at #39 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The accompanying music video, produced by Carey and her husband, Nick Cannon, takes place in a store and features Carey and Minaj as Barbie characters. Soon after its release, it was announced that "Angels Advocate" was cancelled and so subsequent promotion and releases of the song ceased.
Song Background[]
Nicki Minaj spoke to MTV News about how surprised she was to be asked to work with Carey and admitted that she didn't actually expect to appear in a video with Carey even before she released her debut album. Additionally it was revealed that the pair entered the studio for a day to record the remix together, the featured vocals were not recorded separately and then simply inserted into the song.
Music Video[]
A music video was shot in December 2009, along with the video for "Angels Cry" featuring Ne-Yo. Both videos were co-directed by Carey and her husband Nick Cannon. They premiered together on VEVO.com on January 27, 2010. Cannon makes a cameo in the video in a reference to his 2002 film, "Drumline."
The video features Carey and Minaj as several different characters. In one scene, they are dressed as Barbie dolls who escape their boxes. In another scene they are dressed as nurses. Another finds them in a nail salon. There are also several scenes of the two attending a shopping store wearing large dresses. Minaj said that Carey said, "Everybody's gonna say 'she's doing Nicki.' But I told her, she's always had a doll persona, like all that 'doll baby' [stuff]. So it goes perfect with Barbie and we had fun. That's all that matters." The video also features an appearance by TV personality, B. Scott.
Reception
In a review of the video, Chris Ryan of MTV News said, "No offense to the imperfect angel or anything, but Nicki kinda steals the show here, dressed up like Nurse Barbie, referencing Trey Songz' "LOL" in a British accent, she basically pops balloons all over this thing."
Shaheem Reid of MTV said that "the two bust out and have a good time changing outfits and playing with men," and that "The doll angle plays perfectly with Nicki's "black Barbie" personality."
Song Reception[]
Alison Stewart from the Washington Post gave the song a somewhat positive review, stating: "Sometime in the past six months, Minaj became the go-to girl for artists who wanted to add some skank to their tracks without sullying themselves in the process. Here, she enlivens an otherwise polite track from Carey's upcoming remix disc."
Charts[]
In the chart week of January 28, 2010, the song debuted at #97 on the US Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart. With the entry, Carey extends her lead as the female artist with the most consecutive yearly "R&B/Hip Hop Songs" chart debuts. The remix for "Up Out My Face" is Mariah's first 21st annual chart debut on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart, and her 42nd overall entry on the chart.
The song eventually peaked at #39 on Billboard's Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Songs chart and #100 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. It also charted in South Korea as well.
The Reprise[]
TBA
Remix[]
TBA