Culture Craze
Fans Beg Mariah Carey to Release Her Secret Grunge Album
A hidden album comes back into the spotlight
Mariah Carey may be celebrating the release of her 16th studio album, Here For It All, this Friday, but fans have their eyes on a very different project. During her Apple Music interview with SZA on 24 September, the superstar played snippets of her long-whispered grunge record. Within minutes, social media erupted, calling on her to finally share it in full.
The album in question, Someone’s Ugly Daughter, was recorded nearly thirty years ago in 1995. At the time, Carey was also creating Daydream, the record that solidified her status as a global pop icon. Yet behind the studio doors, she was experimenting with a completely different sound: raw, irreverent and far from the polished ballads that made her famous.
What we know about Someone’s Ugly Daughter
When the project first surfaced, it was released under the band name Chick, with Carey’s friend Clarissa Dane on lead vocals. For years, it was treated as a curiosity until Carey confirmed that her own version exists with her vocals up front.
In her 2020 memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey, she described the sessions as a release valve from the pressure of her career, saying the songs were “irreverent, raw and urgent”. For many fans, this authenticity is exactly why they want to hear it.
Social media reactions: “We need GrungeRiah”
The interview with SZA reignited what Carey’s followers have dubbed the “GrungeRiah” movement. One fan on X pleaded, “Please release Someone’s Ugly Daughter with Mariah’s vocals! We need GrungeRiah.” Another wrote with equal parts humour and frustration, “If she isn’t going to release it, I don’t want to hear about it anymore. Filing it away with the rare cuts and B-sides tour.”
This mixture of longing and playful exasperation captures the unique position of the project. For years, it has been part of Carey lore, and hearing even a few seconds has only made fans hungrier for more.
Will it ever see the light of day?
Carey has not ruled it out. She has hinted at adding new visuals or collaborations to make the release more than a nostalgia drop. Earlier this year, she admitted she would “love to” release some of the tracks but stressed she wants to do it the right way. Her comment that she already has “so many ideas” for videos suggests she is thinking carefully about how to present them.
The timing feels significant. With Here For It All arriving on 26 September, featuring artists like Anderson .Paak, The Clark Sisters, Kehlani, and Shenseea, Carey is showing she is still committed to evolution. The grunge project, if released, would highlight just how long she has been willing to experiment beyond pop.
.@MariahCarey played some songs from her unreleased grunge album for @sza. Watch their full conversation on Apple Music, and start the petition for Mariah to drop the album in the replies ⤵️ https://t.co/zyFW5SQNc8 pic.twitter.com/CNnl99SwkX
Apple Music (@AppleMusic) September 25, 2025
A fresh reminder of Mariah’s range
What makes this moment powerful is not only the curiosity around the songs but the reminder of Carey’s versatility. Long before genre-blending was celebrated, she was writing tracks that channelled angst and grit, a sharp contrast to the glossy image pushed onto her in the 1990s.
Now, at 56, with a career that has already stretched across decades and continents, Carey has the chance to reclaim that hidden part of her artistry. Whether or not Someone’s Ugly Daughter is ever released, the renewed buzz proves that her legacy is still unfolding, and fans are ready to follow her wherever she goes, even into grunge.
Also read: Did A$AP Rocky And Rihanna Secretly Get Married?
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Source: IOL
Featured Image: People.com
