After nearly three decades, Mariah Carey is preparing to release her lost grunge album “Someone’s Ugly Daughter.” The alternative project that was banned by her producers in 1995 will finally see the light of day in 2026, revealing an unknown, dark side of the famous diva.
Η Mariah Carey is about to make one of the most unexpected musical comebacks of her career — not with a new ballad or a holiday song, but with a lost grunge album she recorded thirty years ago and remained hidden until today. The project, titled Someone's Ugly Daughter, will be officially released in the second half of 2026, according to the newspaper's report The Sun.
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The album was first revealed in 2020, when the singer spoke openly about the “lost” period of her career, a time when she felt trapped by her pop image. The album was recorded in 1995, the year Carey was at the height of her fame, following “Fantasy” and “Daydream.” However, her record producers never allowed her to release it, believing it would undermine her commercial image.
According to a source from her record label, "Since she revealed the existence of the album, fans have been clamoring for it to be released. Now, after years of discussions, everyone has agreed that the time is right. Listeners will hear Mariah like they've never heard her before."
The Someone's Ugly Daughter it's not just a "lost album"; it's a testament to the artistic freedom Carey sought in the '90s, when pop music was completely controlled by record contracts and corporate decisions. She has described that era as "a time when she just wanted to scream through the noise of guitars."
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She had mentioned the project again on the show. The Bodybuilders in 2024, saying she still hoped to release it. When host Matt Rogers asked her if she would “drop” the grunge album, she laughed and replied, “I know, don’t I? I’m mad I haven’t done it yet… but who am I going to release it with?” Rogers suggested she release it independently — and she replied, “I could do it that way.”
Mariah Carey had explained that she recorded the album with the band Chick, and that in the official credits she appeared under the pseudonym D. Sue, while her friend Clarissa Dane “starred” on vocals. This allowed the label to release the project without her name appearing. However, Mariah’s vocals are present throughout the album, giving the songs a characteristically ironic, almost self-deprecating tone.
In an interview with Zane Lowe in 2020, the singer revealed that she “had trouble” with her record label over this album, as “everything was tightly controlled by the big guys back then.” She said she had considered releasing it under a different name so “people could discover it for themselves.” However, the idea was rejected by the label.
In her autobiography The Meaning of Mariah Carey, the singer describes the creative process behind the album:
"I was playing with the style of the then-popular white women of the grunge scene, who seemed so carefree and free. I wanted to feel that way too — to leave the glossy image behind, to laugh, to scream, to express my sadness, without thinking about how I looked."
She described the project as “a way to break free from the shackles of perfection.” Although it was created as something experimental, the album is now considered a lost gem of the 90s, showcasing the multidimensional nature of one of the most recognizable pop voices of all time.
The announcement of the upcoming release has already excited her audience. On social media, fans are reporting that they are expecting “the most unexpected version of Mariah,” while music critics are commenting that the project could overturn her image as an exclusively “pop diva.”
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The record label is preparing the official reissue of Someone's Ugly Daughter with full remastering, unreleased photos and unreleased audiovisual material from the 1995 recordings. At the same time, a documentary will be released that will record the creative process behind the project, shedding light on Carey's relationship with the music industry at that time.
Mariah Carey, at 56, continues to defy expectations. From “All I Want for Christmas Is You” to her underground days Someone's Ugly Daughter, proves that her art knows no bounds. After years of internal struggle, the world is about to meet Mariah without filters — raw, real, and freer than ever.
