If I had directed the clip for Mariah Carey’s new single “I Don’t,” it would have been one unbroken take of the diva preparing to and then lighting a wedding dress on fire. I think it would have been interesting to watch her negotiate her existence as a creative force with an element as powerful as fire (and it could have been a cool art movie), and I also would have liked to see how she got from up there to here:
But as it stands, that’s something we can only fill in with our imaginations. (I assume the coldness of unrequited love sent a chill through her body, forcing her to huddle for more warmth than even the fire could provide.) The clip is pretty standard as Mariah Carey videos of the past 10 years go, in that it’s light on plot and heavy on skin. This one is also ridiculously pose-y.
The song, which samples Donnell Jones’s 2000 slow jam “Where I Wanna Be,” though, is great, with a stripped-down trap-soul arrangement that makes leaves of room for Carey’s voluptuous vocal (and a guest verse from YG). Like her bosom does to black twine, Carey’s soul heaves out of this song (which she claimed on her reality show was inspired by her breakup with James Packer). I love it, but then again, I would, so don’t trust me, trust your own ears: