'Obsessed': Mariah Carey vs. Eminem

"Never, ever mess with a diva who wears stilettos and diamonds," said Lisa Gutierrez in The Kansas City Star. On her new single, "Obsessed," Maria Carey "throws some mean musical punches at—everyone assumes—Eminem," in retaliation for his jabs at her in one of his latest songs. It could also be "shrapnel from a long-standing battle between the two, who disagree on whether they got romantic a few years back—Eminem says they did, she says they didn't."

"Could this be the first time a diva trumps a rapper in a hip-hop beef?" said Glenn Gamboa in Newsday.com. Carey goes for the jugular on "Obsession," referring to Eminem's "Napoleon complex" and delivering lines like, "You're a mom-and-pop, I'm a corporation." And even while she "throws some elbows," she still "coos confidently." Eminem has been "torn down by Mariah"—this round goes to her.

This is certainly "a feistier Mimi than we're used to," said Todd Martens in the Los Angeles Times. "Obsessed" features "put-down after put-down," but "the high road would have been" for Mariah to "ignore" Eminem's attacks against her. "But the sophisticated route doesn't always generate hype," which is clearly all she's trying to do here—and it seems kind of desperate.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up