The Lambs continue to seek justice for Mariah Carey’s Glitter, as the album is removed from streaming

A screenshot of Mariah speaking to a member of the press during her promo for Glitter back in 2001 — with an on-screen subtitle which reads ‘I demand justice for Glitter’.

It seems that the life of Mariah Carey’s Glitter will be one of perpetual mess and eternally seeking justice. Because nothing ever seems to end nor lay to rest with this album.

After a few quick ‘n’ short years of Mariah Carey’s 11th studio album appearing on streaming platforms, much to the delight of the Lambs — the album has now been yanked from all DSPs globally.

Glitter does not know how to keep out of some type of drama. The album has had quite the history on streaming alone — let alone its ill-fated September 9th 2001 release date, the amount of money Virgin paid to sign Mariah, the amount of money Virgin paid Mariah to exit out of her contract with them, Mariah’s infamous promo run and the Glitter movie being panned every which way. But back to the streaming history of Glitter.

When Mariah’s discography hit streaming, it was immediately noted that Glitter was absent. The most obvious reason was probably linked to the rights and licensing, as Glitter was Mariah’s only album to not have been released by either Sony or Universal — it was released through Virgin. The absence of Glitter on streaming platforms resulted in it topping the iTunes charts in 2018, which was part of an orchestrated effort by the Lambily. It would still be another 2 years until Glitter would hit streaming. But, still. We all thought that some justice for Glitter had been sought. Mariah herself even seemed to concur, evidenced including Glitter songs on the setlist of her 2018 Caution World Tour — which I think may have been the first time we had gotten Glitter songs as part of a tour setlist, even if it was only a short medley.

And now the album has been removed from streaming. Lambs are now resorting to have to bust out their Glitter cassettes, CDs, Hello Kitty boomboxes and vinyls to listen to the album. I have Glitter on CD and done ripped that bitch to mp3. So, I’m good.

A screenshot of a video taken during the September 11 attacks — showing a billboard for Mariah Carey’s Glitter, as the twin towers can be seen on fire in the distance.

September 11, 2001 | Remembering Glitter

There is a surprising overlap of Mariah Carey and Namie Amuro fans. So the realisation of Glitter being removed from streaming had these fans having flashbacks to the great Namie Amuro discography removal of 2023.

The absence of Glitter on streaming is probably once again linked to some licensing foolishness. But it resulted in rumours percolating that an anniversary edition of Glitter would be on the way, as September 2025 would mark its 25th anniversary. Word has it are that we may get a previously unreleased song or two, which was recorded circa 2001 for Glitter. And that there may even be a re-release of the film. This should all be taken with a pinch of salt. But it’s not out of the realm of possibility. It doesn’t explain why Glitter would just be outright removed from streaming. It wasn’t like The Emancipation of Mimi was yanked from streaming in preparation for its 20th anniversary release. But… [Shrugs]

To help ease the pain, I have made two mashups of “Loverboy”. One with Ariana Grande’s “Yes, And?” and another with “I’m Real” by that woman whom Mariah doesn’t know.

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The Lambs continue to seek justice for Mariah Carey’s Glitter, as the album is removed from streaming

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