User:OmegaWikipedia/Pop Rivalries

JLO and Mariah Carey

The feud between Mariah Carey and Jennifer López began in 1998, when Carey recorded the song, "Do You Know Where You're Going To" for her 1998 album, #1's. Carey had intended the song to be released as a single with full treatment (remixes, music video, etc). However, she was not pleased when her ideas were vetoed by Sony Music because a new and upcoming artist who had just signed to Sony, Jennifer López, had also recorded the song with possible intentions of a single release too. Sony felt that two artists releasing two cover versions of the same song in a relatively short frame on its own label would result in an internal cannibalization of sorts. Neither track ended up getting a full single release, and both versions ended up as international bonus tracks. As López was still new in the industry at the time, she did not really mind, but Carey was not pleased as she felt she should have been given priority to release the song since she had been a veteran artist. However, as López had not even released her first album yet, this incident is generally not considered a full battle in the feud.

The feud was beginning to reach its major battle when Carey and López both released albums in a similar time frame in 1999, Carey's Rainbow and López's debut album, On the 6. Previously, Carey had been given top priority as a singer at Sony Music, both of her singles and her albums always had top promotion. However, since her last studio album, she had divorced from Tommy Mottola, the head of Sony Music and her boss. In a move she has later commented on as a "mistake", Carey decided to stay with Sony Music, as she felt that she and Mottola could still maintain a professional relationship. However, Mottolla was not pleased, and ordered Carey's priority status to be stripped from her and handed to López. As a result, On the 6 was a heavily promoted album, while Rainbow faced a relative lack of promotion. Carey was not pleased with her priority status taken away from her and publicly called out Sony Music for their lack of promotion. The media saw this as a direct attack against López, although Carey denied that it was one.

Carey's problems could also be seen in terms of production and songwriting, as many of the producers and songwriters she had previously worked with for years, seemingly defected to López for On the 6, and refused to work with her on Rainbow. Among these producers/songwriters were The Trackmasters, Cory Rooney (who has ended up as López's main creative partner throughout the years), and Walter Afanasieff. Carey was particulary upset at the defection of Afanasieff, as she had felt that they had a strong professional relationship (with the pair co-writing and co-producing the hits, "One Sweet Day" and "Hero" among others) and friendship, and treated his defection to López as almost as a betrayal of sorts.

The feud would reach its next turning point in late 2000. Although she had been dissapointed with the promotion for 1999's Rainbow, Carey began recording new songs for her next album, Glitter. One of the songs, she was recording, "Loverboy", featured a sample of the song, "Firecracker". To ensure the security of the sample, Carey placed a hold on the song and obtained clearance. However, as she was still at Sony Music at the time, Tommy Mottola was still her boss, and privy to all her recordings. Thus, Mottola knew about Carey's high priority of the "Firecracker" sample. In a move, many have considered to be an indirect personal attack at Carey, Mottola informed López and her producer Cory Rooney of the "Firecracker" sample. The pair then began to write a song over the sample, and the song "I'm Real" was soon released. Carey was shocked and quite angry as she had intended the sample for her song, "Loverboy". However, as López's album was to be released in 2000, and Carey's would not be released until 2001, López's album JLO with the usage of the sample would be released first. Carey had no choice, but to scrap the usage of "Firecracker" in "Loverboy".

Fed up with Mottola and López, Carey finally decided she had to break free from Sony Music and got out of her contract, signing with Virgin Records in 2001, and taking the Glitter album with her. However, Carey's problems were still mounting. As she had no choice but to use a new sample for "Loverboy", Carey began shopping for a new sample to fit the melody she had written for "Loverboy". No sample seemed to match the melody of "Loverboy" as well as "Firecracker" had matched it, but she ended up settling with Cameo's "Candy". Unfortunately, this substitution had a negative effect on the song, as many felt that the substitution did not fit well. The released version of "Loverboy" was panned by critics, radio programmers, and even fans of Carey. To add insult to injury, "I'm Real" was promoted as a single at the same time as "Loverboy" with "I'm Real" being a hit on radio, while "Loverboy" barely got radio play.

Although Carey's single had been seemingly beaten by López at this point, López's single proved that it was not over yet, and revealed an 11th hour twist by producing a remix of "Im Real" known as "I'm Real (Murda Remix)". Although Carey had been upset before at the sample "Firecracker" being "stolen", she became devasted at the release of the Murda Remix of "I'm Real", as she had now been "scooped" twice on one album; "Im Real (Murda Remix) was very similar to a song she had intended for a single, "If We" on the soundtrack for Glitter. As it turns out, although Carey had moved the Glitter project to Virgin Records, Tommy Mottola (who had previously helped orchestrate the sample "theft" of "Firecracker" on "I'm Real) had also kept careful note of the project before the move. Like Carey, Mottola realized that a new sound was taking over the soundscape of popular music, the Murda Inc sound that was produced by Irv Gotti and heavily featured Ja Rule. As this sound was still in its early stage of development (before it blew up with artists like Ashanti and Bobby Brown), Carey had wanted to become a pioneer in the field, and wanted to be the first established mainstream artist to promote this sound. As "I'm Real (Murda Remix)" soon came out while Carey was still on the "Loverboy" single, Carey lost her chance. Carey also expressed resentment as she felt the success of "I'm Real (Murda Remix)" should have been the success of "If We".

To get back at López, but not to attack her publicly, Carey's best friend, Da Brat wrote an insult to López on the remix of "Loverboy", "Loverboy (Remix)". In it, Da Brat sings, "Hate on me, much as you want to, you can't do what the fuck I do, bitches be emulating me daily". This part is seen primarily as a diss to López, as that part is actually sung in the direct melody of the disputed sample, "Firecracker". It is also viewed as a diss to López, as most of the lyrics of "Loverboy (Remix)" deal with sex, while that part is the only part of the song to not talk about it, and to attack someone whom Da Brat labels a bitch who seems to be emulating Carey. While the diss seemed to prove some temporary relief to Carey, the "theft" of these two samples had greatly stressed out Carey helping to lead to her infamous 2001 nervous breakdown. Although she has never directly mentioned it, Carey has implied at times, López's role in her breakdown.

Since the 2000/2001 incidents, the feud between the two seems to have died down a bit. Carey has expressed resentment at times as López's career escalated from 2001 to 2004, whereas Carey's went downhill in that time period. For the sake of public relations, time and again, Carey and López have never directly addressed the issue, although at times, they often leave subtle hints of their true feelings of each other in interviews, which can be seen in two events.

In a recent fan meet and greet event, a fan of Carey's handed her a photoshopped picture of her shooting López in the head. As the media and various gossip reporters were around her at the time, Carey struggled to maintain compsure as to not comment on the picture, but she was reported to have had her eyes jump when she viewed the picture. She quickly hid the picture, and stated "We love everyone". However, under her breath, she muttered, "But we love that." (This event is often seen as probably the most direct comment Carey has ever made of López).

Although Carey was viewed as a washed-up has-been after her breakdown, she has made a comeback in 2005 with her album, The Emancipation of Mimi. sublime00

Britney and Christina

In 1999, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, who performed teen pop music debuted onto the music scene. As is often the case, the media (as they did when Brandy and Monica came out) immediately labeled them as bitter enemies, who couldn't stand each other. The situation was not helped when fans of Spears and Aguilera battled, adding only fuel to the rumors. Spears and Aguilera for their own part denied any friction, and instead released a bombshell that they had known each other before they came out musically, and had in fact been best friends when they both had been on The Mickey Mouse Club.

However, fans of both artists and the media continued to cook up rumors anyway. To clear up any friction of a dischord between the two, Aguilera and Spears made a very high profile appearance at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards in which they appeared together, showing that they could get along in public. The fans of both artists and the media finally seemed to get the message, and rumors of friction between the two seemingly died down.

However, in 2003, new friction would arise. Aguilera and Spears had been contacted by Madonna to perform "Like A Virgin/Hollywood" with her on the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. In a shocking movement, Madonna kissed both girls on the lips. Not suprisingly, the incident soon became cover page news. However, in the broadcast of the show, MTV only focused on Spears's kiss to Madonna. When it was time for Aguilera's kiss, the camera pulled away to focus on the reaction of Spears' ex, Justin Timberlake. As a result, many people do not even realize that Aguilera also kissed Madonna too, and media coverage of the event focused almost solely on the kiss between Spears and Madonna.

As the incident helped give Spears much publicity, Aguilera was not pleased and called out the incident in an interview. She also criticized Spears publicly for the first time, and thought Spears was being hypocritical by trying to act "innocent and virginal" to the public, yet at the same time, trying to display a relatively sexual image. Aguilera commented that she on the other hand was not being hypocritcal, as she fully admitted to being "dirrty", and commented on how she didn't have to act innocent. Aguilera went onto state that she thought Spears was "lost", and needed a friend. Not suprisingly Spears was not happy with the comment, and retorted with a crituqe of Aguilera's behavior and her "dirrty" image.

After that incident though, the two were reported to have reconciled (and Aguilera's comments about Spears being "lost" seems to have had some merit as Spears has admitted that she was not in a good place mentally at the time). However, rumors of drama arose again, in 2004 when Spears married Kevin Federline, and Aguilera was not invited to the wedding. Although Aguilera was reported to be upset and to declare that Spears would not be invited to her upcoming wedding, it should be noted that the wedding of Spears and Federline was a very intimate event, with only invitations to family and very few friends. Apparently these were only rumors as Aguilera has apparently denied rumors of conflict over not being invited.