| "The Art of Letting Go" | ||||
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| Single by Mariah Carey | ||||
| from the album Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse | ||||
| Released | November 11, 2013 | |||
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| Length | 3:44 | |||
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| Mariah Carey singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio | ||||
| "Mariah Carey - The Art Of Letting Go (Official Audio)" on YouTube | ||||
"The Art of Letting Go" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey for the deluxe version of her fourteenth studio album, Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse (2014). It was written and produced by Carey and Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, and premiered via Facebook on November 11, 2013, as the second single from the album, following a digital release the same day worldwide. Jermaine Dupri, Carey's longtime collaborator and her then-manager, had the idea to premiere the song via Facebook to attract her die hard fans, however, Carey faced problems when an unmastered version of the song was uploaded in place of its final mix, leading the singer to premiere the intended version hours later with an apology and explanation.
"The Art of Letting Go" is an orchestral old-school R&B song, with influences of gospel music, having piano, strings and guitar as its main instrumentation. Lyrically, the song talks about the art and the power of letting go of people and things that are not good in our lives, which can be hurtful and difficult, but extremely necessary. The song received largely positive reviews from music critics, who compared the song to her debut single, "Vision of Love" (1990), while also praising its minimalistic production and her vocals towards the end of the song. It failed to impact the charts, reaching the low regions of the countries it charted.