Mariah Carey puts Brandy on a new version of the Butterfly classic, “The Roof”

Mariah Carey had mentioned in an interview with Harpers Bazaar back in December that she had done something with Brandy, but kept tight lipped on what and when and even IF we would ever hear it. But her MasterClass revealed exactly what it was and the full project itself; a re-recording and re-imagining of the Butterfly classic, “The Roof”.

Now. Lemme tell you something. “The Roof” ranks HOIGH-LEEE on my list of favourite Mariah Carey songs. And as much as I adore Brandy, I was sceptical of anything being done with the song at all. Especially in light of how “Oh Santa!” turned out, and that remix of Latto’s “Big Energy”. But I have to say...this new version of “The Roof” isn’t bad. Mariah herself says that it’s better than the original. But I’ll let y’all decide for yourselves whether it is or it isn’t.

“The Roof” not requiring everything from Mariah vocally certainly helps with her still sounding decent. It took me a minute to even realise Mariah had re-recorded anything. But I become very aware of the fact that she had done so as the song progressed. The first verse was cute. But that second verse, was...something. Mariah really does need to stop trying to sing her old songs as she did, because she just can’t. And it’s a testament to how Mariah’s vocal prowess wasn’t just in belting. Even when Mariah sounds like she’s not doing much, she’s doing a lot. As effortless as the vocals on the original version of “The Roof” sounded, Mariah was still having to put in a lot of effort to sing that way on the new version. And this for me is why I still prefer the original. The smoothness in how Mariah sounds and the way she just glides through the entire song is a large part of what makes it - she’s locked into the vibe of the song. Where-as on the newer version you can hear the effort Mariah is putting in to try and sound how she did.

Brandy in the Butterfly Lounge | December, 2021

As for Brandy, I actually liked this approach in terms of how she was put on the song. When Mariah first mentioned doing something with Brandy, I couldn’t think of how they would sound on a song together. “The Roof” is one of Mariah’s most vocally dense songs when it comes to background vocals, and her vocals on them are in a key which is a sweet spot for Brandy - which makes her and Mariah’s voices work so nicely together. So it was a clever choice on Mariah’s part to have Brandy on the “The Roof” of all songs. I would have liked to have heard Brandy take on a verse. But still, I like how unconventional this collaboration seems on the surface, but how much sense it makes, in addition to the ear Mariah has. Brandy is known for are her background vocals, and Mariah all the way into that. Whilst casual listeners may wonder where on the song Brandy is, her fans (like myself) will hear her presence throughout the song.

The ending of this new version of “The Roof” was the one moment where I felt it was better than the original. The inclusion of a whistle was a nice surprise, although the transition into it wasn’t quite so smooth. But I’ll let that slide. And the new string arrangements and Brandy’s ad-libs give “The Roof” more of an actual ending, which the original never had. It makes the song feel a lot more complete.

I personally, would have had Brandy jump on a remix of “Giving Me Life”, which is VERY similar to “The Roof”, is in an even better range for Brandy, and has enough space for Brandy to work with in terms of vocal arrangements. It would also direct people back to Caution, a great album that never got the commercial recognition that it deserved. But Mariah’s thing now is really just dipping back into her old shit and celebrating it all, and I’m not mad at that. Also, “The Roof” got a really wonky release as a result of conflicts that Mariah was having with Sony at the time. It wasn’t a global promotional single, it was a Europe only single, which meant that it didn’t get promoted or chart that highly. So if we can get justice for “The Roof” 24 years later, then why the fuck not? Maybe in another 20 years, we’ll get justice for a song from Caution.

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Mariah Carey puts Brandy on a new version of the Butterfly classic, “The Roof”

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