Well, not only is the track "I Want To Know What Love Is" off Mariah Carey's upcoming album indeed a cover of the #1 Foreigner snoozefest hit, it's also apparently going to be her next single, says the Los Angeles Times' Pop & Hiss blog.
The Foreigner ballad was first released in late 1984 and hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1985. It was also #1 in Sweden and the U.K. Meanwhile, did anyone at the time realize that both Jennifer Holliday and the F-ing Thompson Twins sing backup on it? Maybe Mimi can get Jennifer Hudson and La Roux to do background vocals on her version!
Anyway, here's what the L.A. Times has to say:
"If anything, tackling a well-known power ballad seems like a safe choice. It's a comfortable fall-back plan after 'Obsessed' performed well, but did far from blockbuster numbers. It will undoubtedly be a hit, but it's giving me more reason to fear Imperfect Angel. The sort-of-real/sort-of-not feud with Eminem seemed largely a ploy to keep Carey in the headlines, and covering Foreigner seems just as calculated to steer Carey back onto familiar ground."
And here's Foreigner's original version of "I Want To Know What Love Is":
