Mariah Carey's 11th Studio Album
E=MC² (abbreviation of Emancipation=Mariah Carey²) is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, first released in the United States on April 15, 2008 by Island Records. The singer began recording the album in 2007 in Anguilla, after writing and composing most of its material during and after her 2006 Adventures of Mimi Tour. Carey worked with several notable songwriters and producers during the course of the project, including Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, Stargate, The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, Scott Storch and Danja.
The album revealed a more personal and intimate side of the singer, illustrated in its declarative theme of emancipation from her previous marriage, and from her personal and professional setbacks. Although it shared similar vocal production as well as an inclination to her signature pop and R&B ballads, the album also encompassed a variety of dance-oriented and uptempo styles; it was meant to be a continuation, or second part of her tenth album, The Emancipation of Mimi. Carey collaborated with a number of artists on the album, including T-Pain, Damian Marley and Young Jeezy. Though considered by critics very similar to the formula its predecessor had been built on, E=MC² included other genres she had never explored, such as reggae, and her continued recording of gospel-influenced hymns.
E=MC² was generally well received by music critics, with many complimenting the record's broad genre influences, and musical and production styles. Some critics, however, felt that the album was too similar to The Emancipation of Mimi, and didn't offer anything new from the formula. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with opening week sales of 463,000 copies; the highest first-week sales of Carey's career. It opened inside the top-five on the albums chart in Australia, Canada, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, as well as the European chart. The album finished as the 26th best-selling album of 2008 throughout the globe, and as of July 2009, achieved worldwide sales of over 2.5 million copies worldwide.
Four singles were commission in promotion of the album. The album's lead single, "Touch My Body", became Carey's eighteenth chart topper on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the solo artist with the most number one singles in United States history, surpassing the record held by Elvis Presley. Additionally, it gave Carey her 79th week atop the chart, tying Presley for most weeks at number one. It achieved strong worldwide charting, peaking within the top five of the singles charts in Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. "Bye Bye" served as the album's second release. Although hailed by critics, and expected to have achieved large commercial success, the song stalled at number nineteen on the Hot 100, and managed to chart weakly internationally. Both the third and fourth singles, "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" and "I Stay in Love" failed to garner success in any prominent music market.
Read more about Mariah Carey's 11th Studio Album: Background and Recording, Critical Reception, Commercial Performance, Singles, Promotion, Track Listing, Personnel, Release History
Famous quotes containing the words carey, studio and/or album:
“One thing I am determined on is that by the time I die my brain shall weigh as much as a man’s if study and learning can make it so.”
—M. Carey Thomas (1857–1935)
“Again and again, I struggled though the storm. Once I fainted—and it wasn’t in the script. I was hauled to the studio on a sled, thawed out with hot tea, and then brought back to the blizzard, where the others were waiting. We filmed all day and all night, stopping only to eat standing near a bonfire. We never went inside.... The blizzard never slackened.”
—Lillian Gish (1896–1993)
“What a long strange trip it’s been.”
—Robert Hunter, U.S. rock lyricist. “Truckin’,” on the Grateful Dead album American Beauty (1971)