H.A.T.E.U. is a song by Mariah Carey from her 12th studio album, "Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel." The song was written and produced by Mariah Carey along with with Terius "The-Dream" Nash and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart. The song's lyrics address the subject of a relationship that has ended and the other person has let go, however the protagonist finds it difficult to accept that it is the end of the relationship and move on.
It was serviced to mainstream, rhythmic, and urban radio in the United States on November 1, 2009 through Island Records. The song debuted at #76 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart on October 22, 2009, over a week and a half before it officially impacted radio.
Song Background[]
"H.A.T.E.U" was first unveilled at Island Def Jam's Spring Collection Event on May 20, 2009 and was revealled to be an abbreviation of "Having a Typical Emotional Upset." It was recorded by Carey for her twelfth studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel.
In a YouTube interview, Carey revealed that "H.A.T.E.U." was one of the first tracks she wrote for "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel", further commenting that its lyrical content "really hits people in their hearts because it's like... everybody has experienced when you love somebody, and they let you go, but you can't let them go. So 'I can't wait to hate you' is a strong statement."
"H.A.T.E.U." was announced to be the third single from Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel on October 8, 2009, through a press release on Carey's official website. The song was officially serviced to mainstream, rhythmic, and urban radio in the United States on November 1, 2009.
An official remix of the song featuring Atlanta-based rappers Big Boi, Gucci Mane and OJ Da Juiceman, and produced by Jermaine Dupri would have been featured on Carey's second remix collection, "Angels Advocate," but the album was cancelled, and further promotion for the song was scrapped. DJ Jason Nevins produced a remix called "H.A.T.E.U. (Jason Nevins Loves U Remix)" which appears on the Just Dance 3 compilation album.
Reception[]
The song received positive reviews. Michaelangelo Matos of The A.V. Club said that in the climax of "H.A.T.E.U", Carey is "still given to acrobatic vocal displays, [which are] alive and well, [such as] the seagull chirp of the 1991 hit 'Emotions'."
Meanwhile a reviewer from The New York Post said "'H.A.T.E.U.' has some of the ease of her recent successes. Peter Paphides was slightly confused by the record, saying: "'I can’t wait to hate you/Make you pain like I do,' [is what] she sings on 'H.A.T.E.U.', a song whose funereal vanilla soul segues into the Prozac-soft reminiscences of first love on "Candy Bling".... When she slows the pace and relies on little more than a crisp digital fingerclick in lieu of a beat it isn’t always easy to discern what Carey is aiming for."
Bill Lamb of About.com liked the song saying "In the sad, painfully slow 'H.A.T.E.U,' Mariah Carey delivers one of the key refrains in a lower range narcotized vocal haze that serves to emphasize the song's message of the emotional torment of lovers being torn apart."
Music Video[]
The music video for "H.A.T.E.U." was directed by Brett Ratner and shot on November 4, 2009 at Malibu Beach in California.The music video premiered on December 8, 2009, on Carey's official Vevo channel and was available for digital download on iTunes the same day.
The video starts with Carey walking down some steps onto the beach wearing a black bathing suit and Christian Louboutin shoes, which she takes off when she gets to the bottom and walks onto the sand. Carey is seen in different shots standing next to a cliff-face as well as in the middle of the beach for the majority of the video.
For the bridge, Carey is seen in multiple different shots as she walks along the shoreline, which changes as the last verse takes place, where her outfit changes from a black bathing suit to a different style white bathing suit whilst the sun sets in the background.
As the video comes to an end, the scenery has changed to nighttime, and Carey is wearing another black bathing suit with a black jacket standing against a rock-face. Carey then inscribes into the sand using her fingers "H.A.T.E.U.", which she underlines as the video fades to black. The video is also intercut throughout with shots of the scenery on the beach.
In addition, a 30 second clip of Carey singing "H.A.T.E.U." was also released for promotion for the High Definition music video website VEVO. The clip sees Carey walking through through corridor and walking up to a window overlooking Times Square in New York, whilst windows from various other buildings shatter are intercut as Carey sings notes in the whistle register which are frequent in the song.
According to Chris Ryan of MTV's Buzzworthy, "The video is a slow-mo, beachwear fashion show by Meemz. Equally depressed by the end of a relationship and inspired by the scenery, Mimi spends a few minutes suggestively touching herself and staring into the middle distance. What becomes of the broken-hearted."
A review by Entertainment Weekly said the music video was "one of those times when gets it wrong (those freaking swimsuits)." A review by "MOBO Online" stated that Carey looks "as beautiful as ever" in the video.
Live Performances[]
Carey first performed "H.A.T.E.U." on NBC's Today show on October 2, 2009, as a part of a setlist with "Obsessed", "I Want to Know What Love Is" and "Make It Happen." Carey also gave an interview about the album, as well as her marriage to Nick Cannon and her role in the film, "Precious."
Carey then performed "H.A.T.E.U." at two concerts out of four on October 9 and 10, 2009, as a part of a mini-residency at The Palms Resort & Casino in Las Vegas at the Pearl Concert Theatre. Carey also performed the song on October 13, 2009, whilst promoting the previous single from the album, "I Want to Know What Love Is" in South Korea on the television programme, "Yoo Hee-Yeol’s Sketchbook" where she also gave an interview about the album. On November 13, 2009, Carey appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman to give a performance of the song as well as an interview.
Carey also performed a mini-concert called "Stripped", where she performed "H.A.T.E.U.", "I Want to Know What Love Is", "Obsessed" and "Always Be My Baby." The song was included on the set list of the opening night of her seventh concert tour, "Angels Advocate Tour" as well as select dates throughout the remainder of the tour.
Charts[]
Although "H.A.T.E.U." failed to make an entry on the Billboard Hot 100, the song debuted at #76 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs through unsolicited airplay. With the debut of the song, Carey became one of only five women, including Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige, Diana Ross and Dionne Warwick, to reach fifty career entries in the history of the chart. Later, "H.A.T.E.U." peaked at #72 on the week of January 2, 2010. The song stayed on the chart for 10 weeks.