The Emancipation of Mimi

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Biography

The Emancipation of Mimi is the tenth studio album by American Singing|singer and songwriter Mariah Carey , released in the United States on April 12, 2005, through Island Records . Following the relatively poor critical and commercial reception to her albums Glitter (soundtrack)|Glitter (2001) and Charmbracelet (2002), The Emancipation of Mimi became her highest-selling release in almost a decade, and was considered Carey's "comeback album" by music critics. In composing the album, the singer collaborated with several songwriters and producers throughout 2004, including Jermaine Dupri , Snoop Dogg , Twista , Nelly , Pharrell Williams and James "Big Jim" Wright, many of whom also appeared as featured guests on some of the album's songs.

The album revealed a more intimate side of the singer, as seen in its declarative theme of emancipation from her personal and commercial setbacks. Although it shared similar vocal production with her previous works and an inclination towards her signature ballads, the album encompassed a variety of dance-oriented and uptempo styles that were in keeping with its celebratory aesthetics. Critics noted the album's pervading theme of independence and lack of restraint, dubbing it a "party" record. In contrast to the Pop music|pop and adult contemporary music styles that framed her previous releases, the album showcased a wider range of genres, exploring Hip hop|hip-hop and a variety of Contemporary R& B|R& B -related styles, such as 1970s retro gospel music|gospel and soul music|soul .

The Emancipation of Mimi received generally positive reviews, as critics called it Carey's best vocal performance in years and an improvement from Charmbracelet . The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200| Billboard 200 with 404,000 copies sold; the highest first-week sales of Carey's career at the time. It opened in the top five on the albums chart in Argentina, Canada, Denmark, France, and Japan, as well as on the European chart. The Emancipation of Mimi was the best-selling album of 2005 in the United States, and the second-best seller worldwide. As of April 2008, it had sold over 12 million copies worldwide.

Carey achieved international success with the first two singles from the album. " It's Like That (Mariah Carey song)|It's Like That " became one of her highest-charting songs in years, reaching the top twenty in several countries. "We Belong Together", the second single, accumulated 14 total weeks at number one in the United States, and was later named "song of the decade" by Billboard (magazine)|Billboard . It reached number one in Australia and New Zealand, and achieved top-five places in several European countries. To promote the album, Carey performed at the 48th Grammy Awards|48th annual Grammy Award s and at the American Music Awards of 2005|33rd American Music Award s. In 2006, Carey embarked on her sixth concert tour, The Adventures of Mimi Tour|The Adventures of Mimi .

Background

Context

Before the release of her ninth studio album Charmbracelet , Carey had experienced a year of critical, commercial, and personal troubles, following the poor reception of her debut film Glitter (film)|Glitter (2001) and her subsequent hospitalization. Glitter was panned by critics and earned less than eight million dollars at the box office. The soundtrack for the film fared slightly better, spawning a top-two single in the United States, and yielding global sales over two million units. Carey made a controversial appearance on Total Request Live , in which she gave out ice cream to fans and demonstrated "erratic" behavior. After posting a troubling letter on her official site, Carey checked into a hospital in Connecticut, citing an "emotional and physical breakdown". Following the film and soundtrack's poor performance, Virgin Records bought out Carey's unprecedented $100-million recording contract. They paid her $50& nbsp;million to part ways. Carey flew to Capri , Italy, after her two-week hospitalization. During her five-month stay, she began writing and producing material for a new studio album , using some of the experiences she had gone through in recent months as themes for the album's material. After being signed by Island Records and starting her own imprint, MonarC Entertainment , Carey geared up for her intended "comeback" release, Charmbracelet . Critics deemed the album a strong improvement over Glitter , but not something that would re-establish her popularity as in the early stages of her career. Many took notice of Carey's airier and lighter vocals, and claimed she now lacked the vocal prowess she had exhibited in the early 1990s. The Emancipation of Mimi saw the resurgence of her critical and commercial popularity; critics called it her true comeback, as well as an emancipation from her two previous albums.

Titling and development

After enduring three years of "carping" from critics, Carey planned out her return to music. In a letter she posted on her official site on November 18,& nbsp;2004, she revealed that the name of the album would be The Emancipation of Mimi , which is derived from her nickname, "Mimi". She commented that although the album was intended to have a March& nbsp;2005 release date, she wanted to explain the title because it had leaked out to the media earlier than she had anticipated. While Carey was recording the album, Island Records executive L.A. Reid learned that close friends referred to the singer as "Mimi". He told Carey, "I feel your spirit on this record. You should use that name in the title, because that's the fun side of you that people don't get to see – the side that can laugh at the diva jokes, laugh at the breakdown jokes, laugh at whatever they want to say about you and just live life and enjoy it." Carey explained that Mimi is a "very personal nickname" only used by those in her inner circle, and thus the title meant she was letting her guard down and inviting her fans to be that much closer to her. It was "just one of those little things that I've kept for myself in an attempt to have some delineation between a public persona and a private life." She later revealed how she thought it would be "obnoxious" to title her album The Emancipation of Mariah Carey .

Jennifer Vineyard of MTV noted that The Emancipation of Mimi was intended to do what Charmbracelet did not: it would be her "post-breakdown, post- Glitter , comeback." After initial reports that " Say Somethin' ", featuring rapper Snoop Dogg , would be the album's lead single, television personality and radio host DJ Envy commented, "I think she's gonna do the same thing she did last year and go more hip-hop and less mainstream. She should keep it mainstream and just do a remix or something or this won't work." According to Envy, while Carey has a solid core audience, "her relevance to the general public hinges on whether she makes music that has to be heard."

Writing and recording

Throughout 2004, Carey began writing and producing material for the album. The singer collaborated with Kanye West on "Stay the Night", and revealed that she had intended to work with him several times in the past. During one of her routine visits to the recording studio, Carey produced a Beat (music)|beat with The Legendary Traxster . On a later date, she met the Twista backstage at one of his shows. After the subject of the her collaboration with Traxter came up, Twista revealed that he had already written down lyrics, and expressed interest in what later became "One and Only". In an interview with AllHipHop , Carey described working with Pharrell Williams|Pharrell : "I feel like he had me in a different arena from what I am used to chord-wise – he is very creative yet has a young sensibility. It was really different experience for me". By November, Carey felt that she had composed enough material for The Emancipation of Mimi . After Reid listened to the album, he suggested that the singer compose a few more strong singles to ensure the project's commercial success. On Reid's recommendation, Carey met with Jermaine Dupri in Atlanta for a brief studio session, as she had written some of her best work with him. During this two-day trip, the duo wrote and produced " Shake It Off " and " Get Your Number ", which were released as the album's third and fourth singles. (Following this recording session, "Shake It Off" was briefly selected as the album's lead single, replacing the originally-planned "Say Somethin'".) Carey later returned to Atlanta for a second meeting with Dupri; during this trip, the pair penned the last two songs to be included on the album, " We Belong Together " and " It's Like That (Mariah Carey song)|It's Like That ". In an interview with Billboard (magazine)|Billboard , Carey described her sentiments regarding "It's Like That" during the production stage:

I had the chills. I had a great feeling about it when we finished writing the song, and I was flying back from Atlanta at some crazy hour of the morning ... But we were listening to it on the plane ride on the way home, and even from the demo version, I really felt something very special.

Carey and her management then decided to release "It's Like That", which Carey called "the right fire-starter", as the album's lead single. "I am so grateful I went to Atlanta," Carey later reminisced about her experience with Dupri. "And I have to say, we wrote some of my favorite songs on the album. I'm so proud of Jermaine – he's so focused, and he knew what had to be done." In an interview with MTV, Carey said, "The album is not about making the older executives happy by making a bring-down-the-house, tearjerker ballad, or steeped in the media dramas of my life. What I tried to do was keep the sessions very sparse, underproduced, like in '70s soul music ... " According to Reid, Carey intended for the album to feature a more unpolished sound than some of her previous releases. The singer described her frustration with the overproduction on several of her older albums, due to the inclusion of what she considered unnecessary "bells and whistles". Carey opted to record the majority of the album live: "the idea was that it's better to keep it more raw. Most of the ballads were done completely live, with me singing at the same time the musicians were in the room." Following its recording, Reid felt that the album's live vocals made the record sound more authentic, whereas on several of Carey's older records, he heard the singer's voice, but not necessarily her spirit. Though usually opting to lay down her vocals in privacy, she described how she bumped into and was eventually joined by Snoop Dogg and Nelly at the recording studio: "It ended up being this party, where Nelly was in one room and Snoop in the other, and we made a couple of records together."

Composition

Structure and style

Carey described The Emancipation of Mimi as her most most expressive album to that point; in her words, it signified her creative freedom, as she was oppressed by the expectations of record executives in the past. The album's motif of professional and cultural emancipation is demonstrated throughout various songs. Many feature Carey's "lack of restraint", while incorporating several examples of musical diversity not featured on Charmbracelet . The latter harbored on reviving Carey's popularity among the adult contemporary audience, following her decline with Glitter , which found the singer experimenting with Sampling (music)|sampled 1980s melodies. While featuring a selection of ballads similar to those on Charmbracelet , they drew influence from R& B and hip-hop, and were composed at an elevated tempo. According to Dimitri Ehrlich, an editor from Vibe (magazine)|Vibe , the album includes multiple musical facets:

Mimi pulls Carey in two opposite directions. Most of the tracks find her paired with the hottest hip-hop producers of the day; there, she exercises restraint and settles into a groove. But on the rest, she does what comes most naturally to her-belting to her heart's desire, perhaps to mollify those who don't care much for her detours into raunchier rap territory.

The Emancipation of Mimi explored a variety of genres; Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune felt the album effectively combined "elements of hip-hop and rhythm and blues into pop songs that appeal to a broad cross-section of listeners." The Houston Chronicle s Joey Guerra noted the album's pervading formula; a mixture of "flirty club jams and sing-along ballads. A dash of kitsch. A sprinkling of guest rappers." Aside from the album's ballads and uptempo numbers, The Emancipation of Mimi incorporated elements of Soul music|soul and 1970s inspired genres, evident on the Gospel music|gospel -tinged closing track, " Fly Like a Bird ". While most tracks derive their instrumentation from live bands and musical instruments, some of the uptempo songs feature computerized arrangements and synthesizers. Stylistically, critics considered the album Carey's most diverse record in years, one that highlighted a range of different production choices and techniques.

Songs and lyrics

The Emancipation of Mimi s first song, "It's Like That", was written and Record producer|produced by Carey and Jermaine Dupri. The song features Clapping|hand claps and whistle s, while incorporating Ad libitum|ad-libs and verses from Dupri and Fat Man Scoop . he song's strong bassline and chord progression are aligned with piano and string notes. Its lyrics chronicle Carey celebrating her emancipation: "I came to have a party / Open off that Bacardi ... Purple taking me higher / I'm lifted and I like it." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine praised the its lyrics and beat, and felt the song prepares listeners for the album's "party theme". "We Belong Together", the album's second track and single, was also composed by Carey and Dupri. The "broken-hearted lament for love", features Snap (fingers)|finger-snaps , Bass drum|kick drums , and a strong piano-driven melody.
Carey composed the gospel-influenced ballad "Fly Like a Bird" with James Wright. The lyrics are in the form of a prayer that conveys a message of unconditional love from God. The song features a verbal recording of Carey's now deceased pastor, Clarence Keaton, reading two Bible verses, along with a full range of gospel background vocalists during the song's climax. Throughout the song's full-voiced climax, Carey performs several notes within the whistle register . Carey also wrote the song "Say Somethin'", which features rap verses from Snoop Dogg and production by The Neptunes . Ehrlich described the song as "a musical oddity" featuring "strange instrumentation, weird melodic shifts, hectic drum patterns and a bed of synths." Lyrically, the protagonist makes sexual advances onto a love interest with the line "If it's worth your while, do something good to me." In Snoop Dogg's verse, the man invites his love interest to "get buckwild" in a restroom. According to Jozen Cummings of PopMatters , the song's lyrics describe "a shy woman who doesn't need to say anything at all to get a man's attention."

Carey wrote "Mine Again" alongside producer James Poyser . The ballad incorporates electronic keyboard notes and a rhythmic vinyl sound while incorporating melodies from gospel and R& B genres. "Stay the Night" features production from Carey and Kanye West , and samples a piano loop from Ramsey Lewis 's " Betcha by Golly, Wow " (1971). Lyrically, the protagonist faces the dilemma of spending the night with an ex-flame who now is involved with another lover. "Get Your Number" was written and produced by Carey and Dupri, and features the latter as a musical guest on the track. The song samples the hook from British band Imagination (band)|Imagination 's " Just an Illusion " (1982), and derives its production from "'80s-esque synthesizers" and several computerized musical instruments. Lawrence Ferber from the Windy City Times described "Shake It Off" as a "playful approach to bitterness—and, more specifically, a cheatin' bad apple", with lyrics like "I gotta shake you off / Just like a Calgon commercial". In an interview with Ferber, Carey described the song as her favorite from The Emancipation of Mimi : "'Shake It Off' can apply to anything. Whatever personal dramas we go through, put that song on and you lose the anxiety or intensity of the moment. I'll listen to that song when I've just come out of an annoying meeting. I gotta shake this off." Editor Jon Pareles from The New York Times felt that the album followed a formula that was most apparent on "Shake It Off": "On this album, the verses stay in a narrow range, the choruses glide higher, and at the ends of some songs, Ms. Carey gives herself a few of her old sky-high notes as a background flourish."

Release

The Emancipation of Mimi was released in Mexico on March 30, 2005. Available in Music download|digital download and physical CD format, it was shipped through The Island Def Jam Motown Music Group|The Island Def Jam Music Group . On April 4, 2005, the album was released to the public in Australia and New Zealand and throughout most European countries. In the United Kingdom, The Emancipation of Mimi was released through Mercury Records . The following day, the album was transported to record vendors in Canada through the Universal Music Group . On April 12, 2005, it became available in France, Japan and the United States, and was released on May 11, 2005 in China. On British and Japanese versions of the album, "Sprung" and "Secretlove" were included as "bonus tracks", not available in any other country.

Ultra Platinum Edition

A new edition of The Emancipation of Mimi , called the Ultra Platinum Edition, was released on November& nbsp;15,& nbsp;2005, to accompany the premiere of Carey's single at the time, " Don't Forget About Us ". The album was released in two versions. The first was a CD with four bonus tracks: "Don't Forget About Us" (co-written and co-produced by Carey with Jermaine Dupri), the album's only single; "Makin' It Last All Night (What It Do)", featuring Dupri; the "We Belong Together" remix, featuring American rappers Styles P and Jadakiss ; and a new version of the 2006 single " So Lonely (Twista & Mariah Carey song)|So Lonely " by American rapper Twista (which originally featured Carey), in which she sings an additional verse. The second version of the album was a limited-edition set of the CD plus a DVD of music videos. The DVD included the videos from The Emancipation of Mimi that had so far been released ("It's Like That", "We Belong Together", "Shake It Off", and "Get Your Number"), along with the then-recently shot video for "Don't Forget About Us". The album marked the first domestic release of the video for "Get Your Number", which had previously been released only in Europe.

Singles

" It's Like That (Mariah Carey song)|It's Like That " was released as the album's lead single on January& nbsp;7,& nbsp;2005. The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics; Ehrlich described it as "catchy and infectious"—a song that would re-ignite Carey's popularity among MTV viewers. It became her highest-charting song in years, peaking at number sixteen on the US Billboard Hot 100| Billboard Hot 100 . "It's Like That" debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart , and reached the top ten in Australia, Italy, and Switzerland, and the top twenty in France, the Netherlands, Norway, and Denmark. "We Belong Together", the album's second single, became one of the biggest hits of Carey's career. Critics acclaimed the song's vocal climax; Cinquemani wrote "The Voice has indeed returned." It became Carey's sixteenth chart topper in the United States, spending fourteen weeks atop the Hot 100, the longest stay of the 2000s and her second longest after " One Sweet Day " (1996), which spent a record sixteen weeks atop the chart. Aside from breaking several Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems|Nielsen BDS records, the song was name the "most successful song of the 2000s decade" by Billboard . "We Belong Together" topped the singles chart in Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands, and attained a top five peak in Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

"Shake It Off" was the third single released from The Emancipation of Mimi . The song peaked at number two on the Hot 100, being barred from the top spot by Carey's previous single, "We Belong Together". It became the first time and only time in Billboard history that a female artist occupied the top two spots on the Hot 100. It was released as a A-side and B-side|double A-side with "Get Your Number" in the UK and Australia, where it reached the top ten. "Don't Forget About Us" was the album's fourth official release, the first from the album's re-release, the Ultra Platinum Edition. The song became Carey's seventeenth chart topper in the United States, tying her with Elvis Presley for the most number one singles by a solo artist (a record she surpassed in 2008 with " Touch My Body "). "Say Somethin'" was released as the album's fifth single in the US, at the same time as "Fly Like a Bird" was released as a promotional single. It peaked outside the top forty on the Hot 100 and reached the top forty in Australia and the United Kingdom. Following its limited release, "Fly Like a Bird" served as the album's sixth and final single. It was released to US urban and urban adult contemporary radio stations, while "Say Somethin'" was released to pop and rhythmic radio stations. "Fly Like a Bird" did not chart on the main Billboard chart, but reached number four on Billboard s Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, which represents the twenty-five songs above the Hot 100's number 100 position. It peaked at number nineteen on the Hot R& B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and topped the Hot Adult R& B Airplay .

Other charting songs

"Mine Again" was not released as a single in the US in 2005, but peaked at number 73 on Billboard s Hot R& B/Hip-Hop Songs chart due to high sales and sufficient airplay. Similarly, " So Lonely (Twista song)|So Lonely " was never officially released, but reached number 65 on the Hot R& B/Hip-Hop Songs chart due to limited airplay on certain R& B stations.

Promotion

Following the release of "It's Like That", Carey embarked on several stateside, European, and Asian promotional tours in support of The Emancipation of Mimi and its accompanying singles. Promotion for the song began at the 2005 Echo (music award)|Echo Awards , where Carey opened the ceremony with a live rendition of the song. Two days later, she performed "It's Like That" on the German game show Wetten, dass..? . In the United Kingdom, Carey filmed a two-part appearance on the British music program Top of the Pops , performing "It's Like That", "We Belong Together", and "Shake It Off". Additional European and Asia appearances included an interview on the French talk show Le Grand Journal (Canal+)|Le Grand Journal , and a performance of "We Belong Together" on Music Station in Japan. Carey launched the stateside release of the album on Good Morning America with an interview and a five-piece outdoor concert. Taking place in Times Square and attracting the largest crowd to the plaza since the 2004 New Year's Eve celebration, the concert featured the first three singles from the album in addition to "Fly Like a Bird" and " Make It Happen (Mariah Carey song)|Make It Happen " (1991). The following week, she performed "We Belong Together" at the 2005 BET Awards , with an additional appearance at the annual VH1 Save the Music special, filmed live on April& nbsp;17 at the Beacon Theatre (New York City)|Beacon Theatre . In front of a live audience of over 3,000, she began a three-piece set with a performance of "It's Like That", featuring special guests Jermaine Dupri and Fat Man Scoop. Next, Carey and R& B singer John Legend sang the 1979 duet " With You I'm Born Again ", before she closed the live broadcast with a cover of The Jackson 5 classic, " I'll Be There (Jackson 5 song)|I'll Be There " with Trey Lorenz . Throughout the month of May, Carey performed "We Belong Together" on the Late Show with David Letterman (May& nbsp;5), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (May& nbsp;11), and The Ellen DeGeneres Show (May& nbsp;13), which also included a performance of "It's Like That". Carey made an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show (May& nbsp;24) which featured a live rendition of "We Belong Together". On June& nbsp;4 she performed at the annual Macy's|Macy's Fourth of July Parade , singing " America the Beautiful " and the albums first two singles. The following week, Carey made a live appearance at the 2005 annual MTV Movie Awards . The recital aired on television in black and white format, with Carey—appearing in color—as she performed "We Belong Together" on a white Runway (fashion)|runway -styled stage.

On July& nbsp;2,& nbsp;2005, Carey took part of the Live 8 benefit concert held in Hyde Park, London . The televised event was watched by over 9.6& nbsp;million British citizens, and held a live audience of over 200,000. Carey performed a three song set-list, opening with "We Belong Together" and "Make It Happen", and followed by " Hero (Mariah Carey song)|Hero ", which featured a choir of African children. On August& nbsp;3, USA Today announced that Carey would be added to the roster of performers at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards . The ceremony was held at the American Airlines Arena on August& nbsp;28 in downtown Miami Beach , Florida, with Carey's performance taking place at the National Hotel in South Beach . Carey, accompanied by Dupri, performed "Shake It Off" and the official remix version of "We Belong Together". Carey was featured as a headlining performer at the 2005 Fashion Rocks , held in Monaco . Following her introduction by Donatella Versace , Carey performed the Peter Rauhofer Remix for "We Belong Together". On November& nbsp;15,& nbsp;2005, Carey performed "Shake It Off", as well as her newly-released single from the album's re-release, "Don't Forget About Us" during half-time of the Thanksgiving game between the Detroit Lions and the Atlanta Falcons . On November 22, 2005, Carey opened the American Music Awards of 2005|33rd annual American Music Award s, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, with a performance of "Don't Forget About Us". Dave West from Digital Spy described it as a "blistering performance", and claimed Carey "wowed" the crowd with her live rendition of the song. Two months later, she celebrated the new year on television, placing as the featured performer at the Times Square Ball|Times Square Ball drop on New Year's Eve in New York. The special, titled Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest , aired on American Broadcasting Company|ABC at 10& nbsp;pm on December& nbsp;31; Carey performed a selection of the album's singles. The singer was nominated for eight Grammys in 2006—the most nominations she had ever received in one year. At the 48th Grammy Awards , held on February& nbsp;8,& nbsp;2006, Carey returned to the Grammy stage for the first time since 1996. Her performance opened with a pre-taped video in which she discussed the importance of God and religion in her life. She then came to the stage, and sang a shortened version of "We Belong Together". Next, Carey's pastor, Clarence Keaton, read a passage from the Bible to open her performance of "Fly Like a Bird", as he did in the studio recording of the song. Midway through the song, a large choir joined Carey for the song's gospel climax. The performance earned the night's only standing ovation, and earned praise from critics.

Tour

In support of the album, Carey embarked on her first headlining tour in three years, named The Adventures of Mimi|The Adventures of Mimi: The Voice, The Hits, The Tour after a "Carey-centric fan's" music diary. The tour spanned forty stops, with thirty-two in the United States and Canada, two in Africa, and six in Japan. Tickets for the tour went on sale on June& nbsp;2,& nbsp;2006, with prices ranging from $95 to $150 United States dollar|USD . The tour featured the singer's long-time friend Randy Jackson as musical director. Carey's performances consisted of songs from her catalog and her newest singles. In an interview with the Associated Press , Carey described the tour's direction, as well as the music she would perform:

With this tour, I'm going to be working on some different arrangements for some of the older songs, to ... give it a little more life to them. That's not to say they're going to sound totally different and to freak anybody out ... I love re-singing songs to different music. I genuinely want to tour with these new songs, as well as older hits. These new songs mean so much to me, this time of my life has been so wonderful for me, and I want to experience that with my fans.

The tour received a warm critical reaction from music critics and concert goers, many of whom praised the quality of Carey's live vocals, as well as the production as a whole. However, critics felt the show's excesses, such as Carey's frequent costume changes and pre-filmed clips, were unnecessary distractions. The tours largest audiences were in Tunis, where Carey played to over 80,000 fans during the span of two shows.

Midway through the tour, Carey booked a two-night concert engagement in Hong Kong, which was scheduled to take place following her Japanese shows. The shows were cancelled, however, after tickets went on sale. According to Carey's then-manager Benny Medina , the cancellation was due to the concert promoter's refusal to pay the singer her agreed-upon compensation. The promoter blamed poor ticket sales (allegedly, only 4,000 tickets had sold) and "Carey's outrageous demands". Medina later disputed the promoter's ticket sales figure, saying that 8,000 tickets had been sold. He said Carey would have performed as long as she was compensated, regardless of attendance. Carey ultimately sued the promoter, claiming $1& nbsp;million in damages for the concert's abrupt cancellation.

Critical reception

Reviews

The Emancipation of Mimi was Carey's best-received album in years. It received a 64/100 (indicating "generally positive reviews") on the website Metacritic , which averages professional reviews into a numerical score. Stephen Thomas Erlewine , senior editor of Allmusic , called the album a "highly crafted piece of dance-pop" and a "relative comeback" for Carey, despite its not being as smooth as it should be. Aside from the praise, Erlewine voiced a common criticism of the album: Carey's voice seemed "damaged" in comparison with her "glory years" in the 1990s. He commented that in the belted songs such as "Fly Like a Bird" and "I Wish You Knew", Carey's voice sounded "as airy, thin, and damaged as it did on Charmbracelet ". Michael Paoletta from Billboard was less critical of her vocals, writing "while her voice has lost some of the power through the years, Mimi deftly showcases her still-considerable pipes with strong lyrics and slick production." Paoletta praised The Emancipation of Mimi as Carey's best album since Butterfly (Mariah Carey album)|Butterfly (1997). Michael Dougall Bell from the Calgary Sun complimented Carey's voice, calling it "very impressive". Bell concluded the review, writing "While Emancipation may not send Carey's stock or star back up to where it once was and where that voice deserves to be, at least she's not plummeting – she's merely levelled off." Tom Sinclair, editor of Entertainment Weekly , praised her vocals, pointing out how nearly every song "showcases Carey's undeniable vocal strengths". After reviewing "Fly Like a Bird", Sinclair concluded the review with "It's so moving that we'll resist the temptation to be crass and interpret the song as a plea for heightened record sales. Help from above is always welcome, but Emancipation sounds like it just might do fine all on its own."

According to Jenson Macey from BBC News , The Emancipation of Mimi was Carey's strongest effort from the 2000s; he maintained that the album "took her straight back to the top of the A-List." Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian gave the album four out of five stars, calling it "cool, focused and urban." Editor of The New York Times , Jon Pareles , gave The Emancipation of Mimi a favorable review, complimenting the fact that Carey wrote all of the album's material. He felt the record's new sound was fresh and innovative: "on The Emancipation of Mimi , she disciplines herself into coherence, using fewer tricks and sounding more believable. She also finds what lesser singers can take for granted: a certain lightness that eases her constant sense of control." Jozen Cummings from PopMatters gave the album seven out of ten stars, claiming it to be Carey's redemption from the manacles of her previous two releases. He praised the album's singles, but called some of its production "corny" and "unnecessarily overproduced". Todd Burns from Stylus Magazine gave the album a B-, admiring its assortment of beats and tempos. Burns, however, was very critical of some of The Neptunes and Dupri's production, calling it "ill-advised". He also criticized some of Carey's vocals, calling them "strained, thin and airy". While claiming it an obvious improvement over her previous releases of the decade, he finished with "It’s easily the strongest album that she’s made in this millennium, but suffers from the fact that her vocals have deteriorated—a simple fact of the ravages that her voice has undergone in the past fifteen years." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine gave The Emancipation of Mimi three and a half out of five stars, calling it "redemption". He complimented its array of beats and its production. While giving the album a positive review, Cinquemani was critical of Carey's voice, calling it scratchy. "Where once Mariah's trademark high notes used to serve some purpose, they now seem random, existing just to convince us that The Voice is still there—and it is ... kind of. As gratifying as that is on the surface, there's still the nagging feeling that Mariah has damaged her voice beyond repair." Critic Andre Meyer of CBS|CBS News thought the material on the album was "stronger" than on Charmbracelet , and described it as a move in Carey's long-term plan for pop domination, while giving off the "jittery R& B vibe that made Destiny’s Child so potent." He went on to say that "Mariah has returned to singing – while still pushing the limits of good taste with her barely there outfits."

Awards and nominations

Apart from its critical and commercial success, The Emancipation of Mimi received a number of awards and award nominations. The album earned ten Grammy Award nominations in 2006–07: eight in 2006 for the original release (the most received by Carey in a single year), and two in 2007 for the Ultra Platinum Edition. In 2006 Carey won Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R& B Album|"Best Contemporary R& B Album" for The Emancipation of Mimi , as well as Grammy Award for Best Female R& B Vocal Performance|"Best Female R& B Vocal Performance" and Grammy Award for Best R& B Song|"Best R& B Song" for "We Belong Together". Carey was nominated for, but did not win, Grammy Award for Album of the Year|"Album of the Year" ( The Emancipation of Mimi ), Grammy Award for Record of the Year|"Record of the Year" ("We Belong Together"), Grammy Award for Song of the Year|"Song of the Year" ("We Belong Together"), Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance|"Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" ("It's Like That"), and Grammy Award for Best Traditional R& B Vocal Performance|Best Traditional R& B Vocal Performance ("Mine Again"). In 2007 "Don't Forget About Us" was nominated for "Best Female R& B Vocal Performance" and "Best R& B Song", winning neither.

The Emancipation of Mimi won the 2005 Soul Train Awards for "Best R& B/Soul Album" and "Best Female R& B/Soul Album", and the 2005 Vibe Award for "Album of the Year". Rolling Stone ranked the album number 43 on its 2005 list of the year's best albums, and Entertainment Weekly ranked it 21 on their list of the "Top 100 Best Albums of the past 25 years". "We Belong Together" won a Teen Choice Award , a World Music Award , five Billboard Music Awards| Billboard Music Awards , four Radio Music Awards , and three Bambi (prize)|Bambi Awards . "Shake It Off" and "Don't Forget About Us" won two additional Bambis. After Carey received the Bambi in recognition of over 100,000 units of The Emancipation of Mimi in Germany, there was heavy media attention when the award was stolen from the singer's dressing room.

Commercial performance

The Emancipation of Mimi became Carey's most commercially successful album of the 2000s. In its first week of release in the United States, it debuted atop the Billboard 200 with over 404,000 copies sold, the highest first-week sales in Carey's career, until E=MC2 (Mariah Carey album)|E=MC² , which opened with 463,000 in 2008. It became her fifth number-one album in the country and her third album to debut at number one. It remained inside the top ten for for several months before dropping to number eleven on September 28, 2005. The album remained in the top twenty for thirty-one consecutive weeks. It returned to the top five after the release of the Ultra Platinum Edition, which helped the album rebound to number four, with sales of 185,000 units. The Emancipation of Mimi was the best-selling album in the United States in 2005, with nearly five million units sold. In the last full week of the year, the album outsold 50 Cent 's The Massacre , which had been released over six weeks earlier. It was the first album by a solo female artist to become the year's best-selling album since Alanis Morissette 's Jagged Little Pill in 1996. It became Carey's highest-selling album in the United States since Daydream (Mariah Carey album)|Daydream (1995), which shipped ten million copies and received a diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Ten months after its release, the album was certified six-times platinum by the RIAA, denoting shipments of over six million copies. As of August& nbsp;2010, stateside sales of the album are estimated at over 5,941,000.

The Emancipation of Mimi entered the ARIA Charts|Australian Albums Chart on April& nbsp;17,& nbsp;2005, at number thirteen. The following week, it peaked at number six, where it spent one week. The album spent a total of forty-six weeks on the chart. It was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), and finished number twenty-seven on the End of Year Chart. In Canada The Emancipation of Mimi debuted and peaked at number two on the Canadian Albums Chart , with first-week sales of 11,000 units. The album was certified triple platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), denoting shipments of over 300,000 units. The Emancipation of Mimi debuted at number seven on the UK Albums Chart dated April& nbsp;6,& nbsp;2005. On July 23, fourteen weeks after its debut, the album once again reached its peak position of number seven. After one re-entry, the album spent a combined forty-three weeks in the albums chart, being certified double-platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). As of early 2008, the album's British sales stand at over 621,352 units. In France the album debuted at its peak position of number four on April& nbsp;9,& nbsp;2005. The record spent a total of fifty-one weeks in the chart, and was certified gold by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP). Eight months after its release in Europe, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) certified The Emancipation of Mimi platinum, denoting shipments of over one million units throughout the continent. In Hong Kong it was awarded a Gold Disc Award, which is issued to the top ten best-selling foreign albums each year. It debuted at number two on the Oricon|Japanese Albums Chart , and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). At the end of 2005, the IFPI reported that The Emancipation of Mimi had sold more than 7.7& nbsp;million copies globally, and was the second best-selling album of the year, after Coldplay 's X& Y . It was the best-selling album worldwide by a solo and female artist. As of April 2008, The Emancipation of Mimi has sold over 12 million copies worldwide.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits for The Emancipation of Mimi are adapted from the album's liner notes.

Mariah Carey – songwriter , Record producer|producer , executive producer , Singing|vocals , Backing vocalist|background vocals

Thom Bell – songwriter

Courtney Bradley – background vocals

Darnell Bristol – songwriter

Calvin Broadus – songwriter, vocals

Rick Brunermer – flute , tenor saxophone

Jason Carson – assistant engineer

Dana Jon Chappelle – engineer

Andrew Coleman – Audio engineering|engineer

Bryan-Michael Cox – songwriter, producer

Linda Creed – songwriter

DeVante Swing|Donald DeGrate – songwriter

Sidney DeWayne – songwriter

Jeff Dieterie – trombone

Darryl Dixon – alto saxophone

Charlie Drayton – Drum kit|drums

Jermaine Dupri – songwriter, producer, Audio mixing (recorded music)|audio mixing , vocals

Babyface (musician)|Kenneth Edmonds – songwriter

Manuel Farolfi – assistant engineer

Jason Finkel – assistant engineer

Fatman Scoop|Isaac Freeman – vocals

Brian Frye – engineer

Brian Garten – engineer, mixing

Nelly|Cornell Haynes – songwriter, vocals

Loris Holland – Keyboard instrument|keyboard

John Horesco – engineer, mixing

Chops Horns – Horn (instrument)|horn

Chad Hugo – songwriter

Ken Duro Ifill – mixing

Ashley Ingram – songwriter

Randy Jackson – Bass drum|bass

Rodney Jerkins – songwriter

Leee John – songwriter

Jeffrey Lee Johnson – guitar

Jolley & Swain|Steve Jolley – songwriter

Rev. Dr. Clarence Keaton – background vocals

Michael Leedy – assistant engineer

Samuel Lindley – songwriter, producer

Trey Lorenz – vocals, background vocals

Manny Marroquin – mixing

Twista|Carl Mitchell – songwriter, vocals

Patrick Moten – songwriter

Mike Pierce – engineer

LRoc|James Phillips – songwriter

Jadakiss|Jason Phillips – vocals

Herb Power – Audio mastering|mastering

James Poyser – songwriter, producer, keyboard

L.A. Reid – executive producer

Joe Romano – flugelhorn , trumpet

Manuel Seal, Jr.|Manuel Seal – songwriter

DJ Clue? |Ernesto Shaw – mixing

Scram Jones|Marc Shemer – songwriter

Dexter Simmons – mixing

Styles P|David Styles – vocals

Sandra Sully (songwriter)|Sandra Sully – songwriter

Jolley & Swain|Tony Swain – songwriter

Phil Tan – mixing

Maryann Tatum – background vocals

Sherry Tatum – background vocals

Pat Viala – mixing

Jeff Villanueva – engineer

Kanye West – songwriter, producer

Pharrell Williams – songwriter, vocals

Bobby Womack – songwriter

James Wright – songwriter, producer, keyboard

Charts and certifications

;Album charts (main entry)

Chart	Peak position
ARIA Charts	6
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry	19
Ultratop	31
Ultratop	26
Canadian Albums Chart cite web	2
Tracklisten	2
MegaCharts	8
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry	4
Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique	4
Media Control Charts	14
IFPI Greece	2
Irish Recorded Music Association	18
Federation of the Italian Music Industry	15
Oricon	2
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand	12
Polish Music Charts	22
Ultratop 50	25
Productores de Música de España	15
Sverigetopplistan	32
Swiss Music Charts	9
UK Albums Chart	7
Billboard 200	1
US Billboard Top R& B/ Hip-Hop Albums	1

;Album charts (end of year)

End of year chart (2005)	Position
	27
	94
	47
	48
	77
	61
New Zealand Albums Chart	42
	78
	31
	4
Worldwide Charts	2

;Album charts (end-of-decade)

End of decade chart (2000–2009)	Position
	27

;Album certifications

Country (Provider)	Certifications
( Australian Recording Industry Association>ARIA )	Platinum
Brazil ( Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos>ABPD )	Goldcite web
( Canadian Recording Industry Association>CRIA )	3× Platinum
( International Federation of the Phonographic Industry>IFPI )	Platinum
( Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique>SNEP )	Gold
( International Federation of the Phonographic Industry>IFPI )	Gold
( Recording Industry Association of Japan>RIAJ )	Platinumcite web
Netherlands ( Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers>NVPI )	Goldcite web
New Zealand ( Recording Industry Association of New Zealand>RIANZ )	Platinumharvnb
( British Phonographic Industry>BPI )	2× Platinum
( Recording Industry Association of America>RIAA )	6× Platinum

;Singles charts

Year	Single	Peak chart positions										Certifications
Year	Single	US Cite web	US R& B Cite web	AUS Cite web	CAN Cite web	FRA Cite web	GER Cite web	NL Cite web	NZ Cite web	SWI Cite web	UK cite web	Certifications
2005	" It's Like That (Mariah Carey song)	16	17	9	—	16	14	26	21	10	4	style="text-align:left;" Recording Industry Association of America\|RIAA : Gold Australian Recording Industry Association\|ARIA : Gold
	" We Belong Together "	1	1	1	—	12	11	2	1	4	2	style="text-align:left;" RIAA: Platinum ARIA: Platinum Recording Industry Association of New Zealand\|RIANZ : Gold
	" Shake It Off "	2	2	6	—	—	—	—	5	—	9	style="text-align:left;" RIAA: Gold ARIA: Gold
	" Get Your Number " (featuring Jermaine Dupri)	—	—	19	—	—	7	10	34	14	9
	" Don't Forget About Us "	1	1	12	—	—	41	32	12	19	11	style="text-align:left;" RIAA: Gold
2006	" Say Somethin' " (featuring Snoop Dogg)	79	—	26	—	—	63	—	—	55	27
"—" denotes a title that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Copyright Citations

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1. Charmbracelet 2. Céline Dion

Undetermined Music Artists