Mariah Carey Drops Newly Recorded 16-Minute Dance Remix

It marks her formal return to recording dance remixes after 18 years.

It’s been a long, longgggg time coming, but one of my favorite pieces of Mariah Carey’s musical canon has made an unexpected return. Today, Mariah released “Portrait (Hopeful Child Remix),” a 16-minute dance remix overflowing with layers of brand new vocals. Mariah’s dance remixes featuring new vocals have been a somewhat-little-known, but crucial component of her musical legacy. For this writer, they served as an entry point into the incredible world of dance music.

The new remix made its debut on Thursday in the 40th installment of Audible’s Words & Music series. Mariah spends about 45 minutes dissecting the original version of “Portrait,” a deeply personal ballad that closed out her latest album, 2018’s Caution. She also discussed other compositions and her writing process as a whole, as well as her remixes and the process behind them, including the approach to this one. The episode ends with the remix’s premiere, which arrived on digital/streaming platforms Friday at midnight in a digital EP. The EP contains not just the original version of “Portrait” and this full 16-minute remix, but two remix edits clocking in at just over 3 and 6 minutes, respectively. 

For context, Mariah has technically been fluttering her remix wings since 1991’s “Emotions,” but fully took flight on 1993’s “Dreamlover,” a nearly-11-minute-long club reimagination of the hip hop-laced pop classic. Mariah rearranged, rewrote, and rerecorded new vocals especially for these club oriented remixes (as well as a string of equally significant hip hop remixes), oftentimes clocking in above 10 minutes in length. They’re a treasure, and made her a staple in clubs around the world. 

This is the first club mix with a full set new vocals she’s released since the 2006 remixes of “Say Somethin.’” In the 2010’s she cut a few lines of new vocals for dance mixes of “Triumphant” and “You’re Mine (Eternal),” but they were just loops of a few re-sung parts. “Portrait” and those before it feature sprawling, extensive new vocals, background arrangements, and even some new lyrics. 

The full ‘Hopeful Child Remix’ of “Portrait” also takes the crown for longest Mariah Carey dance mix to date. It easily dwarfs the previous record holder, 1995’s “Fantasy (Def Club Mix),” which clocked in at 11:15. While it stands as its own unique contribution to her remix canon, “Portrait”’s inclusion of spoken word bits, gospel-influenced background arrangements, and elements of jazzy club recall the 2000 “Can't Take That Away (Mariah’s Theme) [Morales Triumphant Revival Mix].” 

There’s more structure to this remix. It takes its sweet time reaching each progression, moving gradually and giving her the space to flex her voice as she sees fit during each movement. In the full-length version, she doesn’t even reach the bridge until 11:20. A minute later, everything except the piano drops out as she belts out the chorus and is soon joined by sweeping background vocals and select elements of the beat, before everything slowly mixes back in. The bridge’s beat switch sputters along, while at other moments, synths boom that recall early 90’s house music’s Korg M1 synthesizer. 

Throughout the entire record, she sounds fantastic and displays nearly all her vocal registers, from belting to whistle tones to whisper and lower registers. Her full range is on display here, a gentle, but assertive reminder that she’s still very much got it in the vocal department. She even scats her way through a few segments and throws in playful riffs, like a line about about the new background vocals. “Portrait”’s remixes are a fantastic addition to not just her catalog but specifically her remix catalog. It’s a must-listen for hardcore fans and music fans alike. 

Stream the original version of “Portrait” and all the remixes: 

And be sure to pre-order a copy of the new zine celebrating the 10th anniversary of Me. I Am Mariah… The Elusive Chanteuse, featuring a number of exclusive contributions from yours truly! Use code ‘heavenly’ to save $2 and earn me a commission!