Pop icon Mariah Carey made an alternative rock album in the mid-'90s but kept it hidden until two years ago.
That's when the singer revealed in her memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, that the 1995 album Someone's Ugly Daughter by the band Chick was in fact the album in question. Carey's lead vocals were recorded over by a musician named Clarissa Dane.
"Fun fact: I did an alternative album while I was making Daydream," the pop star tweeted in 2020, saying her "friend Clarissa … performs the lead [with] me as a hidden layer." Carey said she made the record "just for laughs, but it got me through some dark days."
Now, a version with Carey's original vocals has evidently been recovered by the star, and she plans to release it, according to a new interview with the singer on Rolling Stone's Music Now:
She's found the buried version of her secret, lost alt-rock album, 'Someone's Ugly Daughter,' with her own lead vocals intact. … Carey is planning to put those versions out — and she is also planning something mysterious related to the project with 'another artist.'
In a 2004 interview with Dane, the Chick singer explained she was Carey's roommate at the time of sessions for both Daydream and Someone's Ugly Daughter.
On the Chick album, Carey's remaining contributions amounted to backing vocals and production and on all songs save for a Cheap Trick cover. Now, it seems fans of the superstar will finally hear the lost Mariah Carey rock album with her own vocals.
The Chick album isn't currently available to stream. When initially issued, it had major label support and spawned singles such as "Malibu" and "Demented." Listen below.
Hear Rolling Stone Music Now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.