Nick Cannon Explains Why He Released Song About Ex-Wife Mariah Carey

Nick Cannon has provided a bit more context for his new song “Alone,” where he sings about his ex-wife, Mariah Carey.

“I dropped a song on Valentine’s Day for all of the people out there who are alone on Valentine’s Day,” he said on his talk show on Wednesday. “I did a song called ‘Alone’ and it sampled one of my favorite Mariah Carey songs, ‘Love Takes Time.’ So, I think people put the two and two together. They tried to say—everybody saying that this was my song to try to get Mariah back.”

However, the 40-year-old said that it wasn’t really about trying to get her back but about taking accountability for how he treated her. “I had probably the greatest situation with my dream girl and I messed it up,” he continued. “To be honest and vulnerable… the song was not really about trying to get her back. It was taking ownership of what I did as a man and owning my flaws and expressing it through song.”

Cannon said that he knows getting back together with Carey is “impossible” but that he sees songwriting as a form of therapy. He also jokingly said he was employing “Kanye West energy” to win his ex-wife back, though it hasn’t worked.

“Alone” is the first single from his forthcoming R&B mixtape Raw N B the Explicit Tape. In a statement regarding the project, Cannon said, “This is as raw as it gets.”