Posted by Emily Exton on 05/17/2011 at 3:14 PM News

The Popdust Files: mariah carey

Dem babies have arrived, and while we feel fairly confident that Monroe and Moroccan Canon will live a lavish life filled with bubble baths and butterflies, with a mother like Mariah Carey, it’s only fair they have their embryonic stages commemorated through song. (There are already plenty of photos for their scrapbooks.) In fact, Carey plans to release a new album—much of which was recorded while pregnant—later this year. “She’s been working away, and we have a studio in the crib, and the pregnancy has totally inspired her on so many different levels,” husband Nick Cannon told the New York Daily News. “You’re definitely gonna see some new phenomenal music from Mariah.”

Go ahead and laugh it up. With so much of her seemingly endless pregnancy chronicled by the media—belly art included—what’s left to cover? But as Mimi indulges in a few months of maternity leave, why don’t we take this statement from her doting husband a little more seriously. The nine months it took her to cook not one but two babies likely left her with plenty of thoughts and no shortage of hormones, meaning this whole “pregnancy album” thing might not be so laughable after all. Some of her most prominent recordings came at times of great personal change—Daydream, during the dissolution of her marriage to Tommy Mottola, produced hits like “Fantasy,” “Always Be My Baby” and “One Sweet Day”; Butterfly, following their subsequent divorce, reimagined Carey as a sex symbol with lead single “Honey”; The Emancipation of Mimi, 2005′s comeback album following her noted physical and emotional breakdown, crafted her best-selling single to date, “We Belong Together.” Instead of snickering at the idea of a mother over 40 recording any music of note (hey, J.Lo did it!), let’s be hopeful that an album created before the birth of her two children and following the disappointment of 2009′s Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel will announce Carey’s return with some newfound perspective and distinct sound. Unless, of course, she delivers far too graphic lyrics about morning sickness and dirty diapers. In that case, save it for the family talent shows.

But more importantly, do you think Mariah will sing “Always Be My Baby” or “Butterfly” to her kids on their birthdays and/or high school graduations? Maybe one to each?