Mariah Carey and Miguel’s “Beautiful” single cover

What a way to kickoff the week. At the crack of dawn, Mariah Carey finally released her highly anticipated new song, “#Beautiful”, which features Miguel, to signal the official launch of the next era of her career. Yet, is the song the comeback hit she needs or has she missed the mark yet again?

Written by Miguel, Carey, Nathan Perez and Brook Davis with additional production credits by Happy Perez, “#Beautiful” is a melody-driven R&B cut that represents an entirely new direction in the diva’s sound. Carey will reportedly channel the spirit of her reinvention into the first live performance of the tune on the May 16th American Idol finale and on Good Morning America’s Summer Concert Series on May 24th.

That’s enough rambling. Listen to Carey and Miguel’s “#Beautiful” below:

Now we know why Miguel was billed as the lead writer on “#Beautiful” instead of Carey: this song is strikingly similar to the work featured on Kaleidoscope Dream and he sings lead on most of it. Still, there is no denying that “#Beautiful” is a definite improvement from Carey’s last comeback attempt, “Triumphant (Ft. Meek Mill & Rick Ross)”, and should score healthy airplay on Urban as well as Adult Contemporary Radio throughout the summer.

Will “#Beautiful” be a Billboard Hot 100 hit? That is difficult to determine at this point. Top 40/Mainstream radio is still largely in favour of EDM-driven Pop records, although prom season has brought ballads back to the forefront of the music scene. Carey’s new Clear Channel deal, which has greatly aided Justin Timberlake’s recent singles, should greatly improve her chances of chart success, though, so the chances are slim that “#Beautiful” will be a flop.

In yo face!