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The Emancipation of Mimi



 
 
The Emancipation of Mimi is the tenth studio album
Studio album

A studio album is an original collection of new tracks by a recording artist.It usually does not contain live recordings and/or remixes, and if it does, those tracks do not make up majority of the album and are often "bonus tracks"....
 by American pop
Pop music

Pop music is a music genre that features a noticeable rhythmic element, melodies and hook , a mainstream style and a conventional structure.The term "pop music" was first used in 1926 in the sense of "having popular appeal" , but since the 1950s it has been used in the sense of a musical genre, originally characterized as a lighter alternat...
/R&B
Contemporary R&B

Contemporary R&B is a music genre of Western culture popular music. Although the acronym ?R&B? originates from its association with traditional rhythm and blues music, the term R&B is today most often used to define a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in the 1980s....
 singer Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey is an United States singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. She made her recording debut in 1990 under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, and became the first recording artist to have her first five singles top the U.S....
. It was released by Island Records
Island Records

Island Records was a record label that was founded by British record producers in Jamaica. It was based in England for many years, but is now owned by Universal Music Group and is operated in the United States through The Island Def Jam Music Group and in the UK through Island Records Group ....
 on April 4, 2005, and in North America on April 12, 2005 (see 2005 in music
2005 in music

Events*In the course of the year 2005, 12 rock albums reached the number 1 spot in America. This was the first time even ten albums have reached the top spot since 1996....
). The album focuses on several R&B-related genres, ranging from 1970s retro soul
Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the African American culture through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, Secularity testifying." The genre occasion...
 to quiet storm
Quiet storm

Quiet storm is a late-night radio format, featuring soulful slow jams, pioneered in the mid-1970s by then-station-intern Melvin Lindsey at WHUR, in Washington, D.C....
, gospel
Gospel music

Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
, and others. It received generally positive reviews and won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award

The Grammy Awards ?or Grammys?are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry....
 in 2006 for "Best Contemporary R&B Album
Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album

The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album has been awarded since 2003. This category was created and included for the 2003 Grammy Awards to nominate and award R&B albums with the more contemporary musical stylings of modern Hip-Hop to them....
". After debuting at number one with Carey's highest first-week sales during that time, it became the biggest selling album of 2005 in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan

Nielsen SoundScan is an information system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett that tracks sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada....
.






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Encyclopedia


The Emancipation of Mimi is the tenth studio album
Studio album

A studio album is an original collection of new tracks by a recording artist.It usually does not contain live recordings and/or remixes, and if it does, those tracks do not make up majority of the album and are often "bonus tracks"....
 by American pop
Pop music

Pop music is a music genre that features a noticeable rhythmic element, melodies and hook , a mainstream style and a conventional structure.The term "pop music" was first used in 1926 in the sense of "having popular appeal" , but since the 1950s it has been used in the sense of a musical genre, originally characterized as a lighter alternat...
/R&B
Contemporary R&B

Contemporary R&B is a music genre of Western culture popular music. Although the acronym ?R&B? originates from its association with traditional rhythm and blues music, the term R&B is today most often used to define a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in the 1980s....
 singer Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey is an United States singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. She made her recording debut in 1990 under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, and became the first recording artist to have her first five singles top the U.S....
. It was released by Island Records
Island Records

Island Records was a record label that was founded by British record producers in Jamaica. It was based in England for many years, but is now owned by Universal Music Group and is operated in the United States through The Island Def Jam Music Group and in the UK through Island Records Group ....
 on April 4, 2005, and in North America on April 12, 2005 (see 2005 in music
2005 in music

Events*In the course of the year 2005, 12 rock albums reached the number 1 spot in America. This was the first time even ten albums have reached the top spot since 1996....
). The album focuses on several R&B-related genres, ranging from 1970s retro soul
Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the African American culture through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, Secularity testifying." The genre occasion...
 to quiet storm
Quiet storm

Quiet storm is a late-night radio format, featuring soulful slow jams, pioneered in the mid-1970s by then-station-intern Melvin Lindsey at WHUR, in Washington, D.C....
, gospel
Gospel music

Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
, and others. It received generally positive reviews and won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award

The Grammy Awards ?or Grammys?are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry....
 in 2006 for "Best Contemporary R&B Album
Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album

The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album has been awarded since 2003. This category was created and included for the 2003 Grammy Awards to nominate and award R&B albums with the more contemporary musical stylings of modern Hip-Hop to them....
". After debuting at number one with Carey's highest first-week sales during that time, it became the biggest selling album of 2005 in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan

Nielsen SoundScan is an information system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett that tracks sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada....
. The Emancipation of Mimi has been certified six times platinum by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America

The Recording Industry Association of America is the trade group that represents the recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of a large number of private corporate entities such as record labels and distributors, which the RIAA claims "create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 90% of all legitimate sound recor...
, and it is Carey's best-selling album in the U.S. since Daydream (1995). In August 2006, Def Jam reported that the album had sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.

Writing and recording

During her Charmbracelet World Tour in early 2004, Carey began to write songs for her next album. Because her previous mentor, Lyor Cohen
Lyor Cohen

Lyor Cohen is the North American Chairman and chief executive officer of Recorded Music for Warner Music Group . He has been a pioneer in the development of hip hop music and influential in the development of hip hop music acts, including Beastie Boys, Foxy Brown , LL Cool J, Jason Mizell, Nas, Run-D.M.C....
, had left Island/Def Jam for Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an United States record label that operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group. It is also affectionately known as "Warners" and 'the Bunny', based on the Bugs Bunny cartoons released by Warner Bros....
, Antonio "L.A." Reid replaced him. Some critics predicted a comeback, because Reid was known as a successful mentor for Pink, Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne

Avril Lavigne Whibley , better known by her birth name Avril Lavigne , is a Canadian pop-punk singer-songwriter, fashion designer, and actress....
, and Usher
Usher (entertainer)

Usher Raymond IV , known simply as Usher, is an American contemporary R&B-pop music singer-songwriter and actor. He rose to fame in the 1990s, releasing the multi-platinum album My Way and 8701 ....
. Some skeptics pointed out that Reid's comeback attempt for Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston

Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an United States singer, songwriter,actress, record producer, film producer, and former model . Houston rose to international fame in the mid-1980s and her crossover success opened doors for many other African American women to find success in booty shaking & pop music and movies....
 with 2002's Just Whitney
Just Whitney

Just Whitney? is the fifth studio album by United States pop music/contemporary R&B singer Whitney Houston, released by Arista Records on December 10, 2002 in North America....
, Toni Braxton
Toni Braxton

Toni Michelle Braxton is an American contemporary R&B singer-songwriter and actor. Braxton has won six Grammy Awards and has sold over forty million records worldwide....
's More Than a Woman
More Than a Woman (album)

More Than a Woman is the fourth studio album by United States contemporary R&B singer Toni Braxton released on November 19, 2002 on Arista Records....
, and TLC's 3D had performed dismally on the charts.

Kanye West, The Neptunes and James "Big Jim" Wright

For the first song, Carey turned to Kanye West
Kanye West

Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, record producer and singer. He released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, and his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008....
, whom she had known for years but had never collaborated with. Her soundtrack album Glitter (2001) had featured 1980s music inappropriate for West's style, and time conflicts prevented them from working together on Charmbracelet (2002). Carey and West began to work melodic ideas for the song "Stay the Night" over an instrumental track by West that sampled Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Lewis

Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. is an United States jazz icon, composer, pianist and radio personality. He has been referred to as "the great performer", a title reflecting his performance style and musical selections which display his early gospel playing and classical training along with his love of jazz and other musical forms....
' version of The Stylistics
The Stylistics

The Stylistics were one of the best-known Philadelphia soul musical ensemble of the 1970s. They formed in 1968, and comprised lead Russell Thompkins, Jr., Herbie Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith, and James Dunn....
' hit single "Betcha by Golly Wow!
Betcha by Golly Wow!

"Betcha by Golly Wow!" is a song songwriter by Linda Creed and Thom Bell in 1970....
", and Carey discovered that the song they had written was in a complex key signature
Key signature

In musical notation, a key signature is a series of Sharp or Flat symbols placed on the staff , designating note s that are to be consistently played one semitone higher or lower than the equivalent natural sign notes unless otherwise altered with an Accidental ....
 and would need a lot of vocal belting. She decided to keep the key. Carey has described the song as very "much a vocal performance ... but it's organic to the song and to the nature of the feeling we were going for. It's kind of like giving you an old-schoolish, Jackson 5-type vibe, so I was happy with that".

For years Carey had known and wanted to work with The Neptunes
The Neptunes

The Neptunes is the name for the record production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo who created the sound for some very successful hip hop music, R&B and Pop music artists in the late-90s and 2000s....
 (Chad Hugo
Chad Hugo

Charles Hugo, also known as Chase Chad, is a Grammy Award-winning United States Record producer. He is best known as one half of the music production and writing duo The Neptunes and is a member of funk/rock band N*E*R*D....
 and Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams

Pharrell Williams , commonly known as Pharrell, is an American record producer, singer-songwriter, and rapper. He, along with Chad Hugo are the duo of The Neptunes where they produce pop music, hip hop music and rhythm and blues music....
), a production duo who allow artists to co-write with them but not to co-produce; they believe they have a unique balance of production that is disturbed by others. Carey reluctantly decided to give up her production rights for the first time in fourteen years, and one of the songs spawned from this partnership was "Say Somethin'". When at the recording studio, Carey discovered that rapper Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg

Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg , is a Grammy Award-nominated American rapper, record producer, and actor....
 (who had previously collaborated with Carey on her 2000 single "Crybaby
Crybaby (song)

"Crybaby" is a song written by American singer Mariah Carey, Trey Lorenz and rapper Snoop Dogg, and produced by Carey and Damizza for Carey's sixth studio album, Rainbow ....
") was working in the next room, and she invited him to rap/sing on the record. "Say Somethin'" was originally slated to be one of the first singles from the album, but Carey did not feel comfortable with its release, often describing the song as "very Pharrell". But she maintained that its composition was "just a really cool experience ... he took me to a different place that I wouldn't naturally go but I could go". Carey and The Neptunes also created "To the Floor", which features rapper Nelly
Nelly

Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr. , better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapping, singing, actor and entrepreneur. He has performed with the rap group St....
; according to Carey, he was in a recording studio next to her and came over to record vocals for it. The song leaked onto the internet under the name "Tonight".

Carey had worked regularly with writing partners Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis

James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American Contemporary R&B and pop music songwriting and record production team....
 (a.k.a. Flyte Time) since her seventh studio album, Rainbow
Rainbow (Mariah Carey album)

Rainbow is the ninth album and sixth studio album by American pop music/contemporary R&B singer Mariah Carey, released in the United States on November 2, 1999 by Columbia Records....
 (1999). Despite the fact that the sales of the Carey albums to which they had contributed had been lower than those of her previous albums, she wanted to work with them again. Because no time could be arranged for the three to meet, they sent their junior partner, Big Jim Wright, to work with Carey. Wright had co-produced and co-written a few songs on Carey's previous albums with Jam and Lewis, but this was the first time he was her main creative partner. Although Carey had previously worked with live instruments before, she had never explored their use. With Wright, she decided to create a song using no synthesizer
Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing a variety of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequency....
s, but instead with live instruments and background vocals that gave, in her words, "an old-school type vibe ... that organic kind of feel, like basically we were going for a somewhat retro, urban record that wasn't overly produced". As with that song (which was titled "Circles"), Carey recorded the track "I Wish You Knew" with live instruments, but sung off riff
RIFF

The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic meta-format for storing data in tagged chunks.It was introduced in 1991 by Microsoft and International Business Machines, and was presented by Microsoft as the default format for Windows 3.1x multimedia files....
s of live guitars and other instruments. A "live" audience and spoken section was added to the song because Carey, who felt that the track was very similar to "Circles", wanted to evoke "old-school kind of Diana Ross
Diana Ross

Diane Ernestine "Diana" Ross is a recording artist, actress, and entertainer. During the 1960s, she helped shape the Motown Sound as lead singer of The Supremes before leaving for a solo career in the beginning of 1970....
 moments, of like a live concert where she'll just break down a song and start talking".

Before Carey and Wright called it a night, Carey devised the main melody and lyrics of the chorus of the gospel
Gospel music

Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
-influenced "Fly like a Bird", and Wright laid down the song's chord structure. Carey, who asked her pastor
Pastor

The term pastor usually refers to an ordained person within a Christian church. In some countries the term is more usually used in traditional Protestant churches but is also used in reference to priests and bishops within the Anglican, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christianity churches....
, Clarence Keaton, to speak on the track, named the song as her favourite from the album. She believed that the song's spiritual message was "really important to include on the album", and chose it as the album's closing track because she felt "it kind of leaves you on a spiritual high moment".

Scram Jones, James Poyser, The Legendary Traxster and Swizz Beatz

With some tracks finished, Carey decided to visit rapper N.O.R.E.
N.O.R.E.

Victor Santiago Jr., better known by his stage names Noreaga and N.O.R.E., is an United States rapper, and one half of the hip hop music duo Capone-n-Noreaga....
 at a recording studio, where his relatively unknown producer Scram Jones was present. Jones, aware of Carey's pursuit of "hot beats", got together with her for " I Should Be Your Girl", which uses an excerpt of New Zealand's R&B duo Adeaze
Adeaze

Adeaze is a New Zealand R&B group comprising brothers Nainz and Viiz Tupa'i. The group's debut album, Always and for Real, was released in 2004 and topped the album chart in New Zealand....
's song "A Life with You" (providing the background ostinato
Ostinato

In music, an Ostinato is a motif or phrase which is persistently repetition in the same musical voice. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody....
 vocals). Because Jones is N.O.R.E's producer, the original version of "Your Girl" featured a rap by N.O.R.E. Carey characterised the song as "one of those happy, uptempo records but it's still giving you kind of, very thugged out moments cause that's kinda, Scram Jones' thing", adding that "most of my friends who are singers really love [it]".

As she had done with Wright, Carey wanted to explore music with R&B roots that were organic, yet soulful. She exchanged riffs with songwriter and producer James Poyser
James Poyser

James Poyser is a Grammy Award winning songwriter, record producer, and keyboardist from Philadelphia, known for his R&B, hip-hop music, gospel and pop productions....
 at the piano until "Mine Again" was created. Carey declared the song "the power ballad of this record ... it's a very big vocal moment, a big vocal performance ... one of those kind of like, break your heart songs, make you get together with your ex". When recording the song "One and Only" with The Legendary Traxster
The Legendary Traxster

The Legendary Traxster is a songwriter and a record producer. He is best known as the main producer of Twista, or even more so Do or Die, who he produced nearly 4 albums for, including their Platinum CD Picture This featuring well-known Chicago artist Twista for the first time to the mainstream on "Po Pimp" as well as other Traxster beat...
, Carey discovered that it was originally used as a "practice track" from rapper Twista
Twista

Carl Terrell Mitchell better known by his stage name Twista and the former Tung Twista, is an American rapper who once held the title of fastest emcee in the world, according to the Guinness World Records in 1992, being able to pronounce 11.2 syllables per second....
, and she invited Twista himself to rap/sing on the song. Carey said the song "happened to be in that kind of fast singing rhythmic style just naturally because that's kind of where the beat was taking me", and commented "I was so happy that [Twista]'s on it because I'm a really big fan of his. I think his style is amazing." Carey collaborated with producer Swizz Beatz
Swizz Beatz

Kasseem Dean , better known by his stage name Swizz Beatz, is an United States record producer and rapper. He is the founder of the label Full Surface Records....
, who had worked with her on rapper Jay-Z
Jay-Z

Shawn Corey Carter , better known as his stage name, Jay-Z, is an American hip hop artist and businessman. He is the former Chief executive officer of Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records....
's song "Things That U Do" (on which Carey had been a featured artist), on "Secret Love". The song did not make the original album cut, but has been released as a bonus track in Japan.

Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, Manuel Seal and LRoc

Carey flew down to Atlanta to work with Jermaine Dupri
Jermaine Dupri

Jermaine Dupri, also known as JD, , is an United States record producer, rapper and Grammy winning songwriter. He is also known as Bow Wow's mentor....
, her friend and creative partner of over ten years. To start off, Dupri produced an instrumental track that sounded similar to Usher's "Confessions Part II
Confessions Part II

"Confessions Part II" is a song by Contemporary R&B singer Usher , and co-produced by Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox for Usher's fourth album Confessions ....
" (2004), and Carey began singing melodies over the beat and writing lyrics to accompany it. Dupri then suggested for the song's hook "I gotta get away", but Carey thought the song would be better with the lyrics "I gotta shake it off". Carey said the song "Shake It Off
Shake It Off

"Shake It Off" is a song co-written by American singer Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, Johnta Austin, and recorded for Carey's fourteenth album, The Emancipation of Mimi ....
" is "definitely one of my favorite songs...when you're going through some drama, and you just wanna get through it, you put that song on and it just takes you out of whatever mood you're in." Carey heard an instrumental track Dupri had created for his forthcoming album that sampled "Just an Illusion" by Imagination
Imagination (band)

Imagination were a three piece United Kingdom soul music and dance music musical ensemble, who came to prominence in the early 1980s. They had record chart hit record in twenty eight countries, earning four music recording sales certification, nine music recording sales certification and over a dozen music recording sales certification aroun...
, and Dupri asked her to sing her version of the song. Carey was reluctant to create another song that used a sample, and it was felt that her vocals lacked something that Dupri's had. She then decided to make a duet with Dupri singing the chorus and her speaking/rapping the verse, thus creating "Get Your Number". Carey said, "a lot of people like it cause it's very, giving you kind of like a 'Fantasy
Fantasy (Mariah Carey song)

"Fantasy" is a song co-written and co-produced by American singer Mariah Carey and Dave Hall , and recorded for Carey's sixth album Daydream ....
' type-feeling."

With two songs co-written and co-produced with Dupri and her album nearly complete, Carey was satisfied with her output. Though "Say Somethin'" had been selected as the album's first single, Antonio Reid sent Carey back to Atlanta. The club scene of the city inspired "It's like That", and Carey said "I just wanted a record that was really fun, really like for the clubs and just for the people who were getting ready to go out at night; one of those really let-your-hair-down, just have a good time, this is my night type of thing". Carey was criticised for the song's references to alcohol and drugs, but she maintained that they were mere jokes. The song's hook, "it's like that y'all", is borrowed from a 1984 Run-D.M.C.
Run-D.M.C.

Run-D.M.C. was an influential Hip hop culture group from Hollis, Queens, in the Queens borough of New York City. Founded by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell, the group is arguably the most important and influential act in the history of hip hop....
 track, "It's like That" (from their debut album, Run-D.M.C.
Run-D.M.C. (album)

Run-D.M.C. is the eponymous debut album of the influential Hip hop music group Run-D.M.C..Produced in 1984, it was considered quite groundbreaking for its time, presenting a harder, more aggressive form of Hip hop music....
), showing the influence of old school hip hop
Old school hip hop

Old school hip hop describes the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music , and often by extension the music in the period preceding it . The image, styles and sounds of the old school were exemplified by figures like the Fat Boys, Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, The Treacherous Three, Funky Four Plus One, Fab 5 Freddy and Grandmaster Flash...
 on Carey's 2005 sound. Two songs were written on Carey's second journey back to Atlanta, the second being "We Belong Together". Carey, who has described the song as "'One Sweet Day
One Sweet Day

"One Sweet Day" is a song recorded by American singer Mariah Carey and quartet Boyz II Men and co-written by Carey, Walter Afanasieff and Boyz II Men members Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Nathan Morris, and Michael McCary....
' meets 'Breakdown'", felt it was "a really heartfelt ballad that I think people can really relate to, even though it's like a very specific story, I think that everybody can probably apply it to their own lives." They also worked on the second single "We Belong Together", which has been named the most difficult song to perform live and Mariah said that it is probably her favourite song she has ever recorded.

Mahogany, Young Genius, and R. Kelly

Carey worked with the experienced, but relatively low profile, producer and writer Mahogany on two tracks. The first, "Sprung", uses robotic voices and "chipmunk" vocals and was left off the U.S. version of the album, but is a bonus track elsewhere. "Sprung" was later included on a separate disc in a Target Stores
Target Corporation

Target Corporation is an United States retailing company that was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1902 under the name of Dayton Dry Goods Company....
 exclusive version of the album's re-release. "When I Feel It", the second song, was originally announced as track thirteen on the album, but Carey and her record company were denied clearance for a sample used in the song. With only weeks before the album was to be released, Carey did not have time to re-record the song properly without the sample, and she had no choice but to exclude it. In July 2007, the entire track under the name "I Feel It" leaked onto the Internet.

Carey had recorded several songs that would not make the album, but because "Sprung" and "Secret Love" were already earmarked for bonus tracks, she chose to replace the now-illegal "When I Feel It" with "Joy Ride". The song was co-written and co-produced with fifteen year-old Young Genius, to whom Carey could relate because she started writing and producing at around his age. Because it was not originally meant to be used on the album, part of the track had been misplaced, and the song could only be mixed down to two tracks. Because each layer of a song should be mixed individually, technical issues arose, but Carey said "it really didn't matter because he had such a great sound and everything. It was so well done in the first place that I was happy just to mix the vocals and call it a day". She categorised the song as "a ballad... they call it the baby-making song of the record. I don't use that terminology, but they can call it the baby-making song if they want!"

Carey has great respect for other singer/songwriter/producers such as R. Kelly
R. Kelly

Robert Sylvester Kelly better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter, occasional rapper, and record producer....
, and she contacted Kelly to co-write and co-produce songs with her. The two of them bounced around some ideas, but after a while they realized that they were incompatible, and no work came of their sessions together.

Overall, the album has fewer songs with rappers
Rapping

Rapping is the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes, wordplay, and poetry. Rapping is a primary ingredient in Hip Hop music, but the phenomenon predates Hip Hop culture by centuries....
 than some of Carey's previous albums: it only features four, of whom three sing (not rap) most of their parts. Many of the songs had rap sections cut; for example, N.O.R.E was supposed to be featured on "Your Girl", and Ludacris
Ludacris

Christopher Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, Grammy Award-winning American rapping. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings....
 on "Stay the Night". Carey uses non-synthesized instruments more than before; although she had previously experimented with them on songs such as "Subtle Invitation", the single version of "Bringin' on the Heartbreak
Bringin' on the Heartbreak

"Bringin' On the Heartbreak" is a song originally recorded by British hard rock music band Def Leppard. It was the second single from their 1981 album High 'n' Dry....
" and the international bonus track "There Goes My Heart" (all from Charmbracelet), this is the first time they are so prominent on a studio album.

Album packaging and design

The packaging and design of some of Carey's previous albums such as Rainbow
Rainbow (Mariah Carey album)

Rainbow is the ninth album and sixth studio album by American pop music/contemporary R&B singer Mariah Carey, released in the United States on November 2, 1999 by Columbia Records....
, in which she can be seen jumping in her underwear and lying in a bed in an erotic fashion, had led some critics to label her a promiscuous woman. In contrast, the design for the Charmbracelet
Charmbracelet

Charmbracelet is the twelfth album and ninth studio album by United States singer Mariah Carey, released in the United States on December 3 2002 by Island Records....
 album did not show Carey's figure at all. For The Emancipation of Mimi, Carey contacted the studio of Markus Klinko and Indrani, intending the album's artwork to retain her sex appeal but present a more mature image. Fashion stylist GK Reid styled her album covers and artwork. Her dress for both editions was made by As Four, a well-known group of fashion designers located in New York City.

At a fan meet-and-greet before the album's release, one fan commented that Carey, whose skin appeared darker than normal on its cover, looked like fellow R&B singer Beyoncι Knowles on the cover. Carey did not want the public to think that she was trying to copy Knowles, and a limited edition digipak
Digipak

Digipak is a patented style of compact disc or DVD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI Media, a MeadWestvaco resource, which acquired the original trademark holder, IMPAC Group, Inc., in 2000....
 of the album was ordered. For its cover, an image of Carey from the original album photoshoot was used, but more close up than the previous cover, and with her natural skin color. The digipak also used a new style of pressing to give the physical case a unique glare. Unlike the original album (with a booklet insert), the digipak's insert is a poster showing the original album cover.

Ultra Platinum Edition

Although the re-release of the album was originally supposed to be a DualDisc
DualDisc

DualDisc is a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including EMI, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and 5.1 Entertainment Group and now under the aegis of the Recording Industry Association of America ....
, that was cancelled and it was re-released in the United States on November 15, 2005 in two non DualDisc formats: one with four bonus tracks not on the original release, and the other with these and also a bonus DVD. The latter is a limited edition release. The formal name of the re-release is The Emancipation of Mimi: Ultra Platinum Edition.

The re-release includes three new songs: "Don't Forget About Us", produced by Jermaine Dupri
Jermaine Dupri

Jermaine Dupri, also known as JD, , is an United States record producer, rapper and Grammy winning songwriter. He is also known as Bow Wow's mentor....
; "Makin' It Last All Night (What It Do)" also produced and featuring Dupri; and "So Lonely (One & Only Part II)", a duet with Twista
Twista

Carl Terrell Mitchell better known by his stage name Twista and the former Tung Twista, is an American rapper who once held the title of fastest emcee in the world, according to the Guinness World Records in 1992, being able to pronounce 11.2 syllables per second....
 produced by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. Although "So Lonely" was first released on Twista's 2005 album, The Day After
The Day After (album)

The Day After is an album by American rapper Twista, released in October 2005 via Atlantic Records. There is a version chopped and screwed by Paul Wall....
, the version of the song on The Emancipation of Mimi features an additional verse written by Carey. The re-release contains the DJ Clue
DJ Clue

Ernesto Shaw , better known as DJ Clue?, is a Mixtape Disc Jockey known for his involvement in the Mixtape circuit and for being one of the first DJ's not to mix songs in his mixtapes....
-produced remix of "We Belong Together" that features Styles P. and Jadakiss
Jadakiss

Jason Phillips, also known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapping. He is a member of the group D-Block. Jadakiss is one of three owners of the imprint known as D-Block....
. Although the remix was released on iTunes
ITunes

iTunes is a Proprietary software digital media media player application, used for playing and organizing digital music and video files. The program is also an interface to manage the contents on Apple's popular iPod digital media players as well as the iPhone....
 (and later removed), it had never been retailed in the U.S. as a CD.

Jermaine Dupri had announced that a charity single he had been producing to help victims of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest Atlantic hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest, in the history of the United States....
 would be included on the re-release. The remix of "Shake It Off" featuring Jay-Z
Jay-Z

Shawn Corey Carter , better known as his stage name, Jay-Z, is an American hip hop artist and businessman. He is the former Chief executive officer of Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records....
, Young Jeezy
Young Jeezy

Jay Jenkins better known by his stage name Young Jeezy, is an United States rapper....
, and Juelz Santana
Juelz Santana

LaRon Louis James better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapping, producer and occasional actor. He came to fame following his appearances on Cam'ron's 2002 singles, "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma"....
, which is only available on iTunes and Rhapsody
Rhapsody (online music service)

Rhapsody is an online music store run by RealNetworks. Launched in December 2001, Rhapsody was the first music service to offer streaming on-demand access to nearly its entire library of digital music....
, was also initially reported to be on the album. The official reasons for the exclusion of the two songs were not made public. Reportedly, Carey wanted to include more than three new tracks on the album, but Billboard magazine's rules limit the number of new songs on re-releases to three (the re-release would chart as a separate entry on the Billboard 200 if more were included).

The re-release also includes the music videos for the album's then-released singles: "It's like That", "We Belong Together", "Shake It Off", and "Get Your Number". The "Get Your Number" video was previously unreleased in North America. Although Carey wanted to include the "Don't Forget About Us" video on the DVD as well, time constraints in production and mastering of the DVD prevented this. However, a link was included on the DVD-ROM portion of the DVD to access the music video. An exclusive interview entitled "Mariah in Her Own Words" can also be accessed through a link on the DVD.

Promotion

The failure of Carey's previous two albums, Glitter
Glitter (Mariah Carey album)

Glitter is a soundtrack album by American singer Mariah Carey, the album's theme is for the film Glitter , in which she stars. It was released by Virgin Records on September 11, 2001 ....
 (2001) and Charmbracelet
Charmbracelet

Charmbracelet is the twelfth album and ninth studio album by United States singer Mariah Carey, released in the United States on December 3 2002 by Island Records....
 (2002), had been partly attributed to inadequate promotional tours. With this in mind, Carey changed her personal manager to Benny Medina
Benny Medina

Benny Medina is a Television producer, talent manager and record executive who has been involved in the careers of a variety of recording artists and performers....
 and hired Marvet Britto as her new publicist. Whereas the campaign for her previous studio album concentrated on her alleged nervous breakdown
Nervous Breakdown

Nervous Breakdown was the first Extended play#The 7" EP in punk rock by the American hardcore punk band Black Flag . It was released in 1978 and was the inaugural release on SST Records....
, the marketing for The Emancipation of Mimi attempted to arouse curiosity about the album's title. Carey said that the word Emancipation referred to the freedom from her ex-husband, Tommy Mottola
Tommy Mottola

Thomas Daniel 'Tommy' Mottola is an United States music executive of Italian origins, co-owner of Casablanca Records in a joint venture with the Universal Music Group....
; this contrasted with the promotion for her three previous studio albums since her divorce, because she had never previously spoken in great detail about it (a gag order
Gag order

A gag order is an order, sometimes a legal order by a court or government, other times a private order by an employer or other institution, restricting information or comment from being made public....
 had prevented her from talking about the marriage for a few years). Carey explained that "Mimi" is a nickname previously used only by close friends and relatives, adding that she wanted the title of the album to be "representative of where I'm at as an artist.... This is the fun side, the real me, and not the image and the baggage that comes with the whole 'Mariah Carey' thing". On the radio show The Wendy Williams Experience
The Wendy Williams Experience

The Wendy Williams Experience was a gossip show on Vh1. Wendy Williams was mainly shown hosting her radio station . Charlamagne was the co-host....
, her former best friend Brenda K. Starr
Brenda K. Starr

Brenda K. Starr is an United States singer originally in Pop music , but now mostly in Salsa music-based music. She is also well known for her 1980s work with Freestyle music....
 said that "Mimi" was a fake nickname and that Carey was surrounded by "phonies".

Promotion for the album began outside North America, during which she performed "It's like That" on several European television programmes, including the UK's Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops

Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a long-running United Kingdom UK Singles Chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006....
. Then, she started promotion in Japan, including performances on Music Station
Music Station

is a long-running Japanese music television program. It began broadcasting on October 24, 1986 and continues to be broadcasted weekly in High-definition from 8PM-9PM on TV Asahi....
 and MTV
MTV

MTV is an United States cable television network based in Media of New York City. Launched on August 1, 1981, the original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJ ....
, and another performance at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan
MTV Video Music Awards Japan

The MTV Video Music Awards Japan started in 2002....
. Later, she made guest appearances on U.S. radio and television shows such as The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show

The Oprah Winfrey Show is a United States Television syndication talk show, hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey, and is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
 and The Wendy Williams Experience. U.S. promotion of the album intensified in the run-up to its release, and included a performance on VH1
VH1

VH1 is an United States cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in television, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slighter older demographic than its sister channel, focusing on the lighter, softer side of popular music....
's Save the Music Concert, as well as a high-profile mini-concert on the daytime television show Good Morning America
Good Morning America

Good Morning America is an Daytime Emmy Awards breakfast television talk show that is broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company television network, debuting on November 3, 1975....
, for which part of Times Square
Times Square

Times Square is a major intersection in Manhattan, a borough of New York City at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd Street to West 47th Street s....
 in New York City was closed off. On The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show

The Ellen DeGeneres Show is an Emmy Award-winning television syndication television talk show hosted by comedienne Ellen DeGeneres and distributed by Warner Bros....
, Carey gained additional publicity because of the lesbian
Lesbian

File:Lesbian Couple from back holding hands.jpgLesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females....
 undertones expressed by host Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen Lee DeGeneres is an eleven-time Emmy Award-winning United States Stand-up comedy, television hostess and actress. She hosts the award winning Television syndication talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show....
. She surprised viewers when she appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an United States late night television talk show currently hosted by Jay Leno, on NBC. It made its debut on May 25, 1992, following Johnny Carson retirement as host of The Tonight Show....
, having once vowed never again to go on the show after Leno joked about her personal and professional struggles. Carey performed in the UK at Live 8
Live 8

Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and 31st G8 summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6-8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid....
 on July 2, 2005, after which sales of "We Belong Together" and the album increased. A wardrobe malfunction
Wardrobe malfunction

A wardrobe malfunction is an instance of accidental indecent exposure of intimate parts. It is different from Exhibitionism, which implies a deliberate exposure....
 during a concert in Germany generated further publicity for Carey and the album.

Reception

At the time of its release, The Emancipation of Mimi became one of Carey's best-received album in years. Critics had tended to agree that her albums Glitter and Charmbracelet were generally uninspired, and hailed The Emancipation of Mimi as a return to form. The Guardian
The Guardian

Sorry, no overview for this topic
s writer Caroline Sullivan said that songs on this album were "the first Mariah Carey tunes in years I wouldn't have to be paid to listen to again" and praised it as "mostly — cool, focused and urban".

The album was ranked number nine on
Billboard magazine's 2005 "Critics' & Artists' Choice" list. On Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. is an American electronic commerce company in Seattle, Washington. It is America's largest online retailer, with nearly three times the internet sales revenue of runner up Staples, Inc....
's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005 it was placed at number sixty-one, and Tammy La Gorce, an editor for the website, wrote that the "[...] Emancipation works the kind of pure-pop magic that sets us all free."
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J....
magazine ranked it forty-third on its 2005 year-end list of the best albums. Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly is a magazine published by Time Inc. in the United States which covers movies, television, music, Broadway stage productions, books, and popular culture....
 ranked it twenty-one on their "Top 100 Best Albums of the past 25 years" list.

On Metacritic
Metacritic

Metacritic is a website that collates reviews of music albums, console game, film, television program, DVDs, and books. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged....
,
The Emancipation of Mimi received a combined score of 64/100, indicating generally positive reviews.

Grammy Awards

The album and its tracks received ten Grammy Award
Grammy Award

The Grammy Awards ?or Grammys?are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry....
 nominations, a record for a Carey album. Eight of those were at the 2006 awards
Grammy Awards of 2006

The 48th Annual Grammy Awards was a ceremony honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning September 15, 2004 and ending September 14, 2005....
 (for her work in 2005), the most nominations that Carey had ever received in one year:
  • "Album of the Year
    Grammy Award for Album of the Year

    The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer....
    " — awarded to
    How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
    How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb

    How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb is the eleventh studio album by Republic of Ireland rock music band U2, released in November 2004. Much like their previous album, All That You Can't Leave Behind, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb was commercially successful and critically acclaimed and maintains a more traditional rock sound after t...
    by U2
    U2

    U2 are a rock music band from Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. .The band formed in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency....
    .
  • "Best Contemporary R&B Album
    Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album

    The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album has been awarded since 2003. This category was created and included for the 2003 Grammy Awards to nominate and award R&B albums with the more contemporary musical stylings of modern Hip-Hop to them....
    " —
    won.
  • "Record of the Year
    Grammy Award for Record of the Year

    The Record of the Year is one of the four most prestigious Grammy Awards presented annually. It has been awarded since 1959. The honorees through its history have been:...
    " ("We Belong Together") — awarded to "Boulevard of Broken Dreams
    Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day song)

    "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day, from their seventh studio album, American Idiot. The song was written by Green Day, with lyrics by lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong; it was co-produced by the band and Rob Cavallo....
    " by Green Day
    Green Day

    Green Day is an American Rock music trio formed in 1987. The band has consisted of Billie Joe Armstrong , Mike Dirnt , and Tr? Cool for the majority of its existence....
    .
  • "Song of the Year
    Grammy Award for Song of the Year

    The Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Award, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 to the composer of the song in question....
    " ("We Belong Together") — awarded to "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own
    Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own

    "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" is the second single from U2's 2004 album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Originally titled "Tough", the song is about Bono's relationship with his dying father....
    " by U2.
  • "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
    Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance

    The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance is the latest in a series of awards recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959....
    " ("It's like That") — awarded to "Since U Been Gone
    Since U Been Gone

    "Since U Been Gone" is a song written and produced by Max Martin and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald and recorded for American singer Kelly Clarkson's second album, Breakaway ....
    " by Kelly Clarkson
    Kelly Clarkson

    Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer, songwriter, and occasional actor. Clarkson made her debut under RCA Records after she won the highly-publicized American Idol of the television series American Idol in 2002....
    .
  • "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
    Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance

    The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance has been awarded since 1968. The award has had several minor name changes:* In 1968 it was awarded as Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Female...
    " ("We Belong Together") —
    won.
  • "Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance
    Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance

    The Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance has been awarded since 1999. From 1999 to 2002 the award was known as The Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Album....
    " ("Mine Again") — awarded to "A House Is Not A Home
    A House Is Not a Home (song)

    "A House Is Not a Home" is a 1964 song recorded by United States singer Dionne Warwick. Written by the team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, the song was a modest hit in the US for Warwick, peaking at #71 on the pop singles chart as the B-side of the top 40 single, "You'll Never Get to Heaven "....
    " by Aretha Franklin
    Aretha Franklin

    Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter and pianist commonly referred to as "The Queen of Soul". Although renowned for her soul recordings, Franklin is also adept at jazz, rock and roll, blues, Pop music, Rhythm and Blues and Gospel music....
    .
  • "Best R&B Song
    Grammy Award for Best R&B Song

    The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000 it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Song....
    " ("We Belong Together") —
    won.


The nominations for the 2007 Grammy Awards were announced in December 2006, and "Don't Forget About Us" received two:

  • "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" — awarded to "Be Without You
    Be Without You

    "Be Without You" is an contemporary R&B song written by American singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige, Johnta Austin, Bryan Michael Cox, and Jason Perry for Blige's seventh studio album The Breakthrough....
    " by Mary J. Blige
    Mary J. Blige

    Mary Jane Blige is a nine-time Grammy Award-winning and Golden Globe-nominated American R&B music singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor who has sold more than forty eight million albums worldwide....
    .
  • "Best R&B Song" — awarded to "Be Without You" by Mary J. Blige.


Chart performance

In its first week of release
The Emancipation of Mimi sold 404,000 copies in the U.S., the second highest first-week sales of Carey's career, behind E=MC²
E=MC² (Mariah Carey album)

E=MC? is the eleventh studio album by American pop music/contemporary R&B singer Mariah Carey. The album was released on April 15, 2008 in the United States....
 in 2008. It debuted at number-one on the U.S.
Billboard 200
Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling Albums and extended play in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine....
 albums chart, becoming Carey's fifth number-one album and her third album to debut at number one. Week-to-week decreases in sales of the album were, for the most part, small. It remained inside the top five for twenty-two consecutive weeks including another week at number one achieved after seven weeks off the top spot. The album remained inside the top twenty during thirty-one consecutive weeks, before it returned to the top five after the release of the
Ultra Platinum Edition, which helped the album reaching number four with weekly sales of 185,000. It was at number one on Billboard magazine's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for five weeks.

In 2005 Carey's album was the best-selling album in the U.S. with nearly five million units sold. In the last full week of the year the album outsold 50 Cent
50 Cent

Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin' and The Massacre ....
's
The Massacre
The Massacre

The Massacre is the second studio album by rapper 50 Cent, released on March 3 2005 ? five days ahead of the original release date due to Internet leakage....
, which was released six weeks before The Emancipation of Mimi. It was the first album by a solo female artist to become the year's best-selling album since Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette

Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canada singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She has won eleven Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, and has sold over 60 million albums worldwide....
's
Jagged Little Pill
Jagged Little Pill

Jagged Little Pill is the third studio album by Canada singer Alanis Morissette. The album made a sharp turn in genre and style for Morissette from her previous dance pop sound....
in 1996. It is Carey's most successful album in the U.S. since Daydream (1995), which shipped ten million copies (receiving an RIAA diamond certification), and is the fourth best-selling album by Carey in the U.S. after Daydream
Daydream (album)

Daydream is the 6th album and fifth studio album by American singer Mariah Carey, released in the United States on October 3, 1995 . Musically, Daydream was slightly different from Carey's previous albums, as it leaned increasingly toward contemporary R&B and hip hop music....
(1995), Music Box
Music Box (album)

Music Box is the fourth album and third studio album by pop music and contemporary R&B singer Mariah Carey. It was released by Columbia Records on August 31, 1993 in North America....
(1993) and Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (album)

Mariah Carey is the self-titled debut album by American singer Mariah Carey, released in the United States on June 12, 1990 by Columbia Records....
(1990). The album was certified six times platinum by the RIAA and according to Billboard, 5.8 million copies had been sold by May 2007.

The Emancipation of Mimi reached number two in Canada, where it was certified three times platinum for sales in excess of 300,000. She received two times platinum certifications in UK, where it charted on number seven, and in Hong Kong. Additionally the album was certified Platinum in Japan, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea, Philippines, Thailand and in New Zealand, peaking on number twelve there, and Gold in Brazil, Germany, France and in Italy. Eight months after its release, the album reached the one million mark in Europe and was certified with an IFPI
IFPI

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organization that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide....
 Platinum Europe Award. At the end of 2005, the IFPI reported that Carey's album had sold more than 7.7 million copies globally and was the second best-selling album of the year after Coldplay
Coldplay

Coldplay are a United Kingdom alternative rock Musical ensemble formed in London, England in 1998. The group comprises vocalist/pianist/guitarist Chris Martin, lead guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Will Champion....
's
X&Y
X&Y

X&Y is the third studio album by English alternative rock band Coldplay, released 6 June 2005 in the United Kingdom via the record label Parlophone....
and the best-selling album worldwide by a female artist. The album has shipped 10 million copies worldwide by the end of 2006, according to Island Records.

Singles

"It's Like That
It's like That (Mariah Carey song)

"It's like That" is a song written by Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Manuel Seal, and Johnta Austin, and produced by Carey, Dupri, and Seal for Carey's tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi ....
" was the first single from the album, and reached number sixteen on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard Single popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday....
 and the top twenty in several other countries. It was far more successful than the singles from Carey's previous two albums and set the pace for Carey's comeback.

"We Belong Together
We Belong Together

"We Belong Together" is a song recorded by Mariah Carey for her tenth studio album The Emancipation of Mimi and released as the album's second single 2005 in music....
", the album's second single, became one of the biggest hits of Carey's career and the biggest song of 2005 in the U.S., staying at number one for fourteen weeks. It reached the top five elsewhere.

"Shake It Off
Shake It Off

"Shake It Off" is a song co-written by American singer Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, Johnta Austin, and recorded for Carey's fourteenth album, The Emancipation of Mimi ....
" was the third single, and reached number two in the U.S. In August 2005, "We Belong Together" and "Shake It Off" occupied the top two positions at the same time and made Carey the first and only female artist to do so. It was a double A-side release with "Get Your Number
Get Your Number

"Get Your Number" is a song co-written by American singer Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Johnta Austin and Bryan-Michael Cox, and recorded by Carey for her fourteenth album The Emancipation of Mimi ....
" in the UK and Australia, where it reached the top ten. "Don't Forget About Us
Don't Forget About Us

"Don't Forget About Us" is a song co-written by Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Johnta Austin and Bryan-Michael Cox, and recorded by Carey for the re-release of her tenth studio album The Emancipation of Mimi ....
", the album's fourth single, became Carey's seventeenth number-one hit in the U.S., tying her with Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was an United Statesn singer, actor, and musician. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as "Elvis", and is also sometimes referred to as "List of honorific titles in popular music" or "The King"....
 for the most U.S. number-one singles by a solo artist according to
Billboard magazine's revised methodology.

"Say Somethin'
Say Somethin'

"Say Somethin" is a song written by Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, Chad Hugo, and Pharrell for Carey's tenth studio album The Emancipation of Mimi ....
" and "Fly Like A Bird
Fly like a Bird

"Fly Like a Bird" is a song written and produced by American singer Mariah Carey and James "Big Jim" Wright for Carey's tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi ....
" were released as the album's fifth and sixth U.S. singles in April 2006: the former was solicited to top 40/rhythmic radio formats and was considerably less successful than the album's previous singles, peaking at number seventy-nine in the U.S. The latter went to urban formats and failed to chart on the Hot 100, but it reached number nineteen on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in Urban area, or primarily African-American, venues....
 chart.

"Mine Again" was not released as a single in the U.S. in 2005, but it appeared at number seventy-three on
Billboard
s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, and "Stay the Night" and "Say Somethin'" received limited airplay in Japan without being promoted there. Another track, "So Lonely" was never officially released, but reached number sixty-five on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Track listing

  1. "It's Like That
    It's like That (Mariah Carey song)

    "It's like That" is a song written by Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Manuel Seal, and Johnta Austin, and produced by Carey, Dupri, and Seal for Carey's tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi ....
    " (Carey, Jermaine Dupri
    Jermaine Dupri

    Jermaine Dupri, also known as JD, , is an United States record producer, rapper and Grammy winning songwriter. He is also known as Bow Wow's mentor....
    , Manuel Seal
    Manuel Seal

    Manuel Seal, Jr. is a Grammy Award-winning United States Hip-hop music/R&B record producer and songwriter.Currently a staff songwriter and record producer at Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings, Manuel Seal, Jr....
    , Johnta Austin
    Johnta Austin

    Johnt? Austin is a two-time Grammy Award-winning United States upcoming artist on Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings.Austin grew up in Atlanta, Georgia....
    )
     – 3:23
  2. "We Belong Together
    We Belong Together

    "We Belong Together" is a song recorded by Mariah Carey for her tenth studio album The Emancipation of Mimi and released as the album's second single 2005 in music....
    " (Carey, Dupri, Seal, Austin, Darnell Bristol
    Darnell Bristol

    Darnell Bristol was a member of The Deele and a songwriter who co-wrote The Deele's "Two Occasions." Years later, he would be credited as a co-writer of Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together", when Carey would resing portions of "Two Occasions."...
    , Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Sidney DeWayne
    Sidney DeWayne

    Sidney DeWayne , is a songwriter and Record producer.He co-wrote Midnight Star's early eighties ballad "Slow Jam", and The Deele's "Two Occasions" with Babyface....
    , Bobby Womack
    Bobby Womack

    Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40 years and has spanned a repertoire in the style...
    , Patrick Moten
    Patrick Moten

    Patrick Moten is a songwriter who co-wrote Bobby Womack's "If You Think You're Lonely Now". Years later, he would be credited as a co-writer of Mariah Carey's We Belong Together, when Mariah would resing portions of "If You're Think You're Lonely Now" in "We Belong Together"....
    , Sandra Sully
    Sandra Sully (musician)

    Sandra Sully is a songwriter who co-wrote Bobby Womack's "If You Think You're Lonely Now". Years later, she was credited as a co-writer of Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together", with Mariah re-singing portions of "If You're Think You're Lonely Now" that song....
    )
     – 3:21
  3. "Shake It Off
    Shake It Off

    "Shake It Off" is a song co-written by American singer Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, Johnta Austin, and recorded for Carey's fourteenth album, The Emancipation of Mimi ....
    " (Carey, Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, Austin) – 3:52
  4. "Mine Again" (Carey, James Poyser
    James Poyser

    James Poyser is a Grammy Award winning songwriter, record producer, and keyboardist from Philadelphia, known for his R&B, hip-hop music, gospel and pop productions....
    )
     – 4:01
  5. "Say Somethin'
    Say Somethin'

    "Say Somethin" is a song written by Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, Chad Hugo, and Pharrell for Carey's tenth studio album The Emancipation of Mimi ....
    " (featuring Snoop Dogg
    Snoop Dogg

    Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg , is a Grammy Award-nominated American rapper, record producer, and actor....
    ) (Carey, Pharrell Williams
    Pharrell Williams

    Pharrell Williams , commonly known as Pharrell, is an American record producer, singer-songwriter, and rapper. He, along with Chad Hugo are the duo of The Neptunes where they produce pop music, hip hop music and rhythm and blues music....
    , Chad Hugo
    Chad Hugo

    Charles Hugo, also known as Chase Chad, is a Grammy Award-winning United States Record producer. He is best known as one half of the music production and writing duo The Neptunes and is a member of funk/rock band N*E*R*D....
    , Calvin "Snoop Dogg" Broadus)
     – 3:44
  6. "Stay the Night" (Carey, Kanye West
    Kanye West

    Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, record producer and singer. He released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, and his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008....
    , Thom Bell
    Thom Bell

    Thom Bell was the record producer behind much of the Philadelphia soul subgenre of soul music in the 1970s. Born in Jamaica he moved to Philadelphia as a child....
    , Linda Creed
    Linda Creed

    Linda Creed also known by her married name Linda Epstein, was an American songwriter who teamed up with Thom Bell to produce some of the most successful Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s....
    )
     – 3:57
  7. "Get Your Number
    Get Your Number

    "Get Your Number" is a song co-written by American singer Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Johnta Austin and Bryan-Michael Cox, and recorded by Carey for her fourteenth album The Emancipation of Mimi ....
    " (featuring Jermaine Dupri
    Jermaine Dupri

    Jermaine Dupri, also known as JD, , is an United States record producer, rapper and Grammy winning songwriter. He is also known as Bow Wow's mentor....
    ) (Carey, Dupri, John Phillips
    John Phillips (musician)

    John Edmund Andrew Phillips , was an United States singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Known as Papa John, Phillips was a member and leader of the singing group The Mamas & the Papas....
    , Cox, Austin, Leslie John
    Leee John

    Leee John of Saint Lucia descent, is a United Kingdom musician and actor. He was educated in New York City, later studying drama at the Anna Scher Theatre....
    , Ashley Ingram, Steve Jolley
    Jolley & Swain

    Steve Jolley and Tony Swain were a successful pop music musician, songwriter and record producer duo in the United Kingdom in the early to mid-1980s, producing some of the top artists and songs of the era....
    , Tony Swain
    Jolley & Swain

    Steve Jolley and Tony Swain were a successful pop music musician, songwriter and record producer duo in the United Kingdom in the early to mid-1980s, producing some of the top artists and songs of the era....
    )
     – 3:15
  8. "One and Only" (featuring Twista
    Twista

    Carl Terrell Mitchell better known by his stage name Twista and the former Tung Twista, is an American rapper who once held the title of fastest emcee in the world, according to the Guinness World Records in 1992, being able to pronounce 11.2 syllables per second....
    ) (Carey, Samuel Lindey
    The Legendary Traxster

    The Legendary Traxster is a songwriter and a record producer. He is best known as the main producer of Twista, or even more so Do or Die, who he produced nearly 4 albums for, including their Platinum CD Picture This featuring well-known Chicago artist Twista for the first time to the mainstream on "Po Pimp" as well as other Traxster beat...
    , Carl "Twista" Mitchell)
     – 3:14
  9. "Circles" (Carey, James Wright
    James Wright

    James or Jim Wright may refer to:*James Wright , British colonial governor of the U.S. state of Georgia*James Homer Wright , American pathologist...
    )
     – 3:30
  10. "Your Girl" (Carey, Marc Shemer) – 2:46
  11. "I Wish You Knew" (Carey, Wright) – 3:34
  12. "To the Floor" (featuring Nelly
    Nelly

    Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr. , better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapping, singing, actor and entrepreneur. He has performed with the rap group St....
    ) (Carey, Williams, Hugo, Cornell "Nelly" Haynes) – 3:27
  13. "Joy Ride" (Carey, Jeffery Grier, Eric Cire) – 4:03
  14. "Fly Like a Bird
    Fly like a Bird

    "Fly Like a Bird" is a song written and produced by American singer Mariah Carey and James "Big Jim" Wright for Carey's tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi ....
    " (Carey, Wright) – 3:53
  15. "Sprung" (Carey, Imsomie Leeper, Gloria Jones
    Gloria Jones

    Gloria Jones is an United States singer and songwriter. She sound recording and reproduction the 1964 northern soul song, "Tainted Love", later a hit record for the United Kingdom synth-pop duet , Soft Cell....
    , Pamela Sawyer)
    1 – 3:26 (UK and Japan
    Japan

    Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
     Bonus track)
  16. "Secret Love" (Carey, Swizz Beatz) 1 – 3:09 (Japan
    Japan

    Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
     Bonus Track)


1 Tracks also appear on Japan version of "Ultra Platinum Deluxe Edition".

Ultra Platinum Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks

15. "Don't Forget About Us
Don't Forget About Us

"Don't Forget About Us" is a song co-written by Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Johnta Austin and Bryan-Michael Cox, and recorded by Carey for the re-release of her tenth studio album The Emancipation of Mimi ....
" (Carey, Austin, Cox, Dupri) – 3:53
16. "Makin' It Last All Night (What It Do)" featuring Jermaine Dupri (Carey, Jarod Alston, Austin, Cox, D. DeGrate, Dupri) – 3:51
17. "So Lonely (One & Only, Pt. 2)" with Twista (Carey, L. Daniels, Rodney Jerkins
Rodney Jerkins

Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins is a Grammy Award-winning songwriter, record producer, and musician. Working largely with his brother Fred Jerkins III & writer LaShawn Daniels, Jerkins has been an extremely in-demand producer for over a decade, being requested by such artists as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Lionel Richie....
, Makeba Riddick, Adonis Shopshire, Carl "Twista" Mitchell)
 – 3:53
18. "We Belong Together (Remix)" featuring Jadakiss
Jadakiss

Jason Phillips, also known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapping. He is a member of the group D-Block. Jadakiss is one of three owners of the imprint known as D-Block....
 and Styles P. – 4:28


  • DVD
1. "It's Like That" (video)
2. "We Belong Together" (video)
3. "Shake It Off" (video)
4. "Get Your Number" (video)
5. "Don't Forget About Us" (video) (Japan Bonus Video)


Chart positions

CountryPeak
position
U.S. Billboard 2001
Canadian Albums Chart2
Danish Albums Chart2
Japanese Albums Chart2
European Albums Chart4
French Albums Chart4
Australian Albums Chart6
UK Albums Chart7
Dutch Albums Chart8
CountryPeak
position
Swiss Albums Chart9
New Zealand Albums Chart12
German Albums Chart14
Italian Albums Chart15
Irish Albums Chart18
Austrian Albums Chart19
Portuguese Albums Chart25
Belgian Albums Chart31
Swedish Albums Chart32


Release Dates

Country Release Date (TEOM) Release Date (Ultra Platinum)
US April 12, 2005 November 15, 2005
UK April 4, 2005 November 14, 2005
Japan March 30, 2005 November 15, 2005