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Torvekia Jones
ENG 1201
Dr. Cassel
1 December 2021
Analyzing Emotions by Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande

There are several factors that play into making an emotional response. Emotions

are not confined to the brain like attention, cognition and memory (Aldao, Lia, et al). In Mariah

Carey’s song she sings about someone who makes her feel emotions. Emotions is the first track

on Mariah Carey’s album named Emotions. Emotions was released August 13 back in 1991.

Ariana Grande did a cover of the song back in 2012. Both of the music videos are targeted at a

different audience and different visual appeals. The Emotions music video by Mariah Carey

appeals more to an older audience than Ariana Grandes cover of the song in 2012.

Mariah Carey is a singer, songwriter, and actress born in Long Island, New York on

March 27, 1970. In 1987 she moved to pursue her music career and was introduced to CEO

Tommy Mottola (“Mariah Carey”). Soon after she was signed to Colombia Records and released

her debut album Mariah Carey in 1990 ("Mariah Carey (1970–).”). Mariah would go on to have

many number one singles from then on. Mariah also holds the title of being the third best-selling

female in the music industry ("Mariah Carey (1970–).”). She married Tommy in 1993 but

divorced him 5 years later in 1998.

Mariah Carey’s song emotions is a mix between soul and pop music. Mariah’ s song is

about someone that makes her feel strong emotions. Emotions appeals to the Pathos of the

audience. This can be noticed in the chorus as it says:

You’ve got me feeling emotions

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Deeper then I’ve ever dreamed of

You’ve got me feeling emotions

Higher than the heavens above (Emotions)

The lyrics make it clear that this person has her feeling emotions. The emotions she is

talking about is most likely love. The emotions fluctuate from deep to high as sung in the chorus.

A listener can also see the emotions she is feeling throughout the music videos. It often

shows her in the back of a convertible car with her hair blowing in the wind. This symbolizes

that the emotions are light like the air blowing through hair in a convertible car. She is smiling

while she sings showing that she is happy and enjoying these emotions. The camera often pans

off to people dancing in a party to the music like they are having a good time. This music video

is meant to appeal to an adult audience’s Pathos with the dancing and its upbeat tune. Also, the

sound of the music would be more appealing to people from the 90s. There are also multiple

light colors shown throughout the video.

Ariana Grande is a singer /actress who was born on June 26, 1993. She would start her

acting career in 2008 staring in Broadway plays ("Grande, Ariana (Ariana Grande-Butera)."). It

wasn’t until 2010 that she would begin gaining more attention for her role in the Nickelodeon

show Victorious ("Grande, Ariana (Ariana Grande-Butera)."). Victorious was a show about high

school students who went to an art school. She was really able to show off her talent of singing

in this show. After the show ended she would then move onto more projects. In 2013 she starred

in the show Sam & Cat and would also release her debut album Yours Truly (Grande).

Ariana Grande did a cover of the song Emotions in 2012 a year before her debut album.

In her video she was in a studio singing into a mic. The camera often shows her playing with her
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cat and a man playing the piano. This would most likely appeal to her audience’s Pathos with her

smiling while playing with her cat. The color of the video is black and white unlike the original

that had a lot of bright colors. The sound of the music has been modernized to appeal to a more

modern audience. Because of her association with the shows Victorious and Sam & Cat this

video would also appeal to a much younger audience.

In conclusion, Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande are both talented women. Both of their

videos appeal to their respective audiences. Emotions is about a special someone that makes

Mariah’s emotions fluctuate from high to low. Mariah’s music video used colors, visuals and

sound to convey her message. Mariah’s video appealed to an older audience and generation.

Ariana’s video of the song appeals to a more modern and younger audience with its sounds and

visuals.
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Works Cited

Aldao, Lia, et al. "Emotions." The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science,

edited by W. Edward Craighead, and Charles B. Nemeroff, Wiley, 4th edition,

2010. Credo Reference, http://sinclair.ohionet.org/login?

url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/wileycorsini/emotions/0?

institutionId=6043. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021.

Carey, Mariah. “Emotions.” Genius. https://genius.com/Mariah-carey-emotions-lyrics. Accessed

30 Nov. 2021.

"Grande, Ariana (Ariana Grande-Butera)." Marquis Who's Who in the World, edited by Marquis

Who's Who, Marquis Who's Who LLC, 33rd edition, 2016. Credo Reference,

http://sinclair.ohionet.org/login?

url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/marquisworld/grande_ariana_ariana_

grande_butera/0?institutionId=6043. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021.

"Grande, Ariana." The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide,

edited by Helicon, 2018. Credo Reference, http://sinclair.ohionet.org/login?

url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/heliconhe/grande_ariana/0?

institutionId=6043. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021.

Grande, Ariana. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjzENV7rhhI. Accessed 30 Nov.

2021

"Mariah Carey." The Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music, Phil Hardy, Faber and

Faber Ltd, 3rd edition, 2001. Credo Reference, http://sinclair.ohionet.org/login?

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url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/ffcpop/mariah_carey/0?

institutionId=6043. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021.

"Mariah Carey (1970–)." African American Almanac, Lean'tin Bracks, Visible Ink Press, 1st

edition, 2012. Credo Reference, http://sinclair.ohionet.org/login?

url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/vipaaalm/mariah_carey_1970/0?

institutionId=6043. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021.

Carey, Mariah. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrJEFrth27Q. Accessed Nov.

2021.