If you're putting together a list of musical artists that you'd like to mess with, just to see what happens, there are some people you should definitely leave off of it. Case in point: Mariah Carey. The singer just dropped a track that seems to take aim at an ex, so you might be wondering who is Carey's "I Don't" about?
The answer is Australian billionaire James Packer, whom Carey was set to wed, getting as far as trying on wedding dresses on her docu-series before the pair ended their relationship in October 2016. And we have this information from Carey herself, so you know it's good.
The couple had been together for a while. They met at a premiere in Aspen in 2014, and began dating shortly afterward. They got engaged in January 2016, and seemed blissfully happy up until their breakup 10 months later. Carey still hasn't spoken much about the split, dancing around the topic during a November 2016 appearance on The Ellen Show. But now, it seems like the singer is ready to start processing some of those emotions through her work, if not in interviews.
She revealed on the final episode of Mariah's World that "I Don't" is about James Packer:
Ever since the tour wrapped I took some time just to process my feelings and I started writing a song to express what I’ve been going through. And if you're not getting the love that you need from someone that you're supposed to be in a real relationship with, then why remain in that situation?
What she describes is a heartbreaking situation, and that emotion is reflected in the lyrics as well, with lines like:
'Cause when you love someone
You just don't treat them bad
You messed up all we had
Probably think I'm coming back
But I don't, I don't
'Cause boy I was buggin'
Thinkin' somehow I could trust you
See, I used to love you
But I don't, I don't
The whole song is laced through with hurt and devastation. Carey is clearly still sorting through her feelings on the demise of this relationship, and it feels like she has a lot more to say.
I'm hopeful that "I Don't" is just the first of many songs that delve into this particular heartbreak. Not only because I think art is a great way for Carey to process these emotions, but because we the fans just got a really powerful first song about it.
