Mariah Carey disappeared from public eye after the Charmbracelet World Tour, which inspired her to write new songs and conceptualize a brand-new album. The tour had also given her confidence to expose her full vocal range once again, leaving behind the vocal gymnastics that caused her negative critics. The new album’s vibe evokes an “uplifting” feeling of freedom and ecstasy, which emerge from Carey’s powerful vocals and lyrics. Mariah Carey focuses on Hip Hop and R&B-related genres, ranging from 1970’s retro soul, gospel, and contemporary soul.

During the album’s recording process, Lyor Cohen left Island Def Jam for Warner Bros Records; Cohen was replaced by Antonio “L.A.” Reid, who was thrilled about Carey’s new project. Reid became Carey’s new mentor and advised her to refine the new material and postpone the release.

For the project, Mariah Carey participated actively as producer. She also recruited some of the top urban producers. Mariah had known Kanye West for years and had been seeking an opportunity to collaborate with the musician. The team began to work melodic ideas for the song “Stay The Night” over an instrumental track by West that sampled The Stylistics’ “Betcha by Golly Wow!” Mariah discovered that the song was in a complex key signature and would need a lot of vocal belting. Mariah describes 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-schooling, Jackson-5-type vibe.”

Mariah had also sought an opportunity to work with The Neptunes, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo. The producers allowed artists to co-write but refused to co-produce with others. For the first time since her debut album, Mariah gave up her production rights with ‘Say Somethin’.” During the recording session, Mariah noticed rapper Snoop Dogg was working in the next room and invited him to collaborate on the new song. The team also collaborated on “To the Floor,” initially referred to as “Tonight.” Nelly happened to be in a recording studio next to hers and came over to record vocals for Carey’s song.

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis had become regular partners since 1999’s Rainbow. Because of time issues, the producers could not collaborate with Carey. Instead, Mariah met with their junior partner Big Jim Wright, with whom Carey instantly connected creatively. The team left synthesizers aside and relied on the strength and organic feeling of live instruments that provided “an old-school type vibe.” The team sought a “somewhat retro, urban record that wasn’t overly produced”; “Circles” and “I Wish You Knew” draw a distinction from Hip-hop sounds that characterize many of the tracks on Emancipation of Mimi. In “I Wish You Knew,” a “live” audience and a spoken section evoke old-school feeling.

Mariah started writing the lyrics and developing the main melody to a new gospel-influenced song that served as a cry for freedom and strength. Mariah asked her pastor Clarence Keaton to speak on the track to cite verses from the Bible. She later referred to “Fly like a Bird” as her favorite song on the album, pointing out the importance of closing Emancipation of Mimi with a spiritual message: “[Fly like a Bird] leaves you on a spiritual high moment.”

Carey’s desire to explore old-school R&B led her to record “Mine Again” with producer James Poyser with whom she exchanged riffs until the song was created. Mariah claims “Mine Again” is “the power ballad of this records.” She added, “[Mine Again] is a very vocal moment, a big vocal performance…one of those kind of like, break-your-heart songs.

The uplifting feeling Carey was looking for required up-tempo songs. Carey teamed up with Scram Jones on “Your Girl,” which uses an excerpt of New Zealand’s song “A Life with You.” Mariah defined the song as a “happy, up-tempo records.” With The Legendary Traxter, Mariah recorded “One and Only.” Mariah discovered that the beat was a “practice track” from rapper Twista, whom was invited by Carey to rap on the song. “I was so happy that [Twista’s] on the record because I’m a really big fan of his. I think his style is amazing,” Carey added. Mariah had collaborated with producer Swizz Beatz on Jay-Z’s “Things That U Do,” on which Carey appeared as a featured artist. Now, she teamed up with Swizz Beatz on “Secret Love,” a song that only made it to the Japanese version of the album.

Carey had worked with Jermaine Dupri on previous records. She recruited Dupri again for the new record because of the creative chemistry that they share. During one of the initial meetings, Dupri produced a mid-tempo instrumental track. Carey, fascinated with the beat, started writing the lyrics to the song that she eventually called “Shake it off.” She describes the song as “one of [her] favorite songs…when you’re going through some drama, and you just wanna get through it.” She added, “You put that song on and it just takes you out of whatever mood you’re in.”

Carey was also impressed by another instrumental track that Dupri had created for his forthcoming album. The song sampled “Just an Illusion” by Imagination. Initially, Carey was reluctant to include another song that used a sample, but Jermaine asked her to sing on this new track. She liked Dupri’s hook and decided to make a duet with him in which he sings the main verse. Mariah claimed that “a lot of people like it ‘cause it [gives] you kind of like a “Fantasy” type-feeling.” “Get Your Number,” Carey responds to a guy who flirts in a club.

Carey was satisfied with the tracks she had for the new record; however, Antonio “L.A.” Reid advised her to go back to Atlanta and work on some new songs. Once she met with Dupri, she wrote “It’s Like That,” a song that portrays the overall feeling of Emancipation of Mimi –freedom and happiness. Mariah “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 [and] just-have-a-good-time.” The song’s hook, “it’s like that y’all” is borrowed from a Run-D.M.C. track.

During this fortunate trip, Carey wrote two songs, the first being “It’s Like That” and the second being a heartbreaking ballad called “We Belong Together.” Carey described the song as “One Sweet Day” meets “Breakdown.” She claimed that the song was a “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 theirs own lives.”

Although “Say Somethin’” was originally picked as the first single from the new album; however, Carey wasn’t comfortable with its release. Although she claimed the composition of the song had been a pleasant experience, she described the song as “very Pharell” and refused to release it as the first single. Mariah had a feeling about “It’s Like That”; the song became one of her major hits in years worldwide. In the U.S., the song’s positive critics and commercial success generated anticipation for the new album.

To help her promote the new album, Carey’s management suffered major changes; she hired Benny Medina as her personal manager and Mervet Britto as her new publicist. The new album’s concept focused on Mariah’s real persona coming through, which is symbolized on the word ‘emancipation.” The nickname “Mimi” had been used by friends close to Mariah; when L.A. Reid heard the word, he suggested Mariah used it on the album’s title. The title differed from the one-word titles used on her previous albums. Mariah claimed that this album showcases her “fun side, the real me, and not the image and the baggage that comes with the whole ‘Mariah Carey’ thing.”

An unprecedented promotional tour followed the project. Mariah reconciled with Jay Leno, who had previously mocked Carey’s personal issues. She also visited The Oprah Winfrey Show and the Wendy Williams Experience. She also performed live at New York City’s Times Square for the daytime television show Good Morning America on the album’s release date. Internationally, Carey visited the UK’s legendary show Top of the Pops and the MTV Video Music Awards Japan. During the summer, Carey performed in London as part of the series of concerts Live 8. The success of the singles/albums generated positive press across the globe, which fueled the album’s chart journey even further.

The Emancipation of Mimi was released internationally on April 11th, 2005 and in the U.S. on April 12th. In its first week of release, The Emancipation of Mimi debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, selling 404,000 copies in the U.S., the highest first-week sales of Carey’s career at this point. The album’s sales remain solid during the following months, managing to remain at the top five for twenty-two consecutive weeks, including another week at #1. At the top twenty, the album remained during thirty-one consecutive weeks. On November 15th, Universal Music released the Ultra Platinum Edition, which boosted the album’s sales, making it reach #3. The Emancipation of Mimi remained at the top position on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for five weeks.

Internationally, The Emancipation of Mimi debuted at #1, becoming a smash hit in most markets. In Canada, the album debuted at #2, receiving 3x platinum certifications for selling over 300,000 units. In the U.K., Emancipation of Mimi earned a 2x-platinum certification, also boosting the sales of Carey’s Greatest Hits album. Mariah became the year’s best-selling artist in the U.K. in 2005. Additionally the album was certified Platinum in Japan, Australia[20], 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. The Emancipation of Mimi became 2005’s second best-selling album worldwide.

The Emancipation of Mimi earned Mariah two #1 singles, “We Belong Together,” which remained atop for 14 weeks -becoming Carey’s biggest solo hit ever, and “Don’t Forget about us,” which became 2006’s song with the highest airplay in the United States. “Shake it Off” peaked at #2 on the Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and “Get Your Number” became a top-ten hit in the U.K.

The Emancipation of Mimi became 2005’s best-selling album in the United States with nearly five million units sold, outselling 50 Cent’s The Massacre which was released six weeks before Mariah’s album. This was the first album by a solo female artist to become the year’s best-selling album since 1996’s Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morrissette. The album became Mariah Carey’s most successful album in the United States since Daydream and her most successful album internationally since Rainbow. The Recording Industry Association of American has certified the album 6x platinum, selling over 6 million copies. The Emancipation of Mimi is also Carey’s fourth best-selling album after Daydream, Music Box, and Mariah Carey.