Mariah Carey - Almost Home Coming?

Just when this woman was facing becoming a 'has-been' for the second time in her career, she has not had a number one single in 5 years. Mariah Carey, 42, made a comeback last year with Triumphant (Get 'Em) too much disappointment to herself and more importantly her fans due to the lack of Mariah Carey on a 'Mariah Carey comeback record'. The comeback seemed to have been on a light simmer since with the release of the Obama tribute Bring It On Home which sank without trace possibly down to the song not being built up of a verse, Chorus, verse structure. Beside her craft of song writing apparently on the slide it was not exactly nothing new... but then nothing has been since the success of her 2005 US No. 1 We Belong Together. Flop after flop and then it was time for Mariah to take the judging panel on American Idol, luckily no one knew who Keith Urban was!

With herself perched back into the public eye it was time for another assault on the charts. This latest attempt came in the shape of Almost Home, a song for the new Disney motion picture 'Oz The Great And Powerful' which sounds more like a prequel for a spin off computer game franchise than some on-a-whim Wizard of Oz Prequel....

The song however, is possibly Mariah Carey Gold for the noughties in their difficult teen years! The song is nothing new in subject matter for the Mother of two but with the slightly modern musical backdrop and those signature polished pipes that she has kept very well hidden of late, someone has been very kind here when adding effects. This new slice of Mariah Carey Pop could easily sit up there with hits such as Make It Happen and Hero, however it does somehow sit in limbo quite comfortably... is it what to expect from her new album or is it just a sound for the movie. There have been so many attempts of late to make another comeback and Carey has not supplied a song for a movie since 1998’s Babyface penned Duet with Whitney Houston, When You Believe for DreamWorks animation The Prince of Egypt.

The verdict: Who cares? The song has a very punchy beat and great vocals with a positive message! Let's hope this puts the diva back on the map somewhere where she is safe from becoming the next Paula Abdul to American Idol or Dannii Minogue to X Factor.... a woman who needs to pay her bills.