Mariah Carey's 11th Studio Album - Background and Recording

Background and Recording

That fighting spirit is an ongoing cry for freedom that began on Butterfly (1998) and was almost fully realised on The Emancipation Of Mimi (2005)'. A new track, 'Side Effects', reveals Carey is still haunted by her failed marriage to former Sony Music boss, Tommy Mottola. Asked what was violent about those times, she answers, laughing: 'What wasn't violent about those times? I have to laugh sometimes because it's the easiest way for me to escape from how bad it was. I was never allowed to be myself, have a personality, or express who I was - even at home, in my personal life. That was not a stellar moment for me. I mean, if you are not allowed to be who you are in your private life, what does that say about who you are and the life you lead?' Carey and Mottola divorced in 1998. 'There was a concerted effort to keep me feeling disempowered. I went along with it. When you are young and around very powerful people, you don't think you have any power. But, in reality, you do'."

—Carey, in an interview with the Herald Sun on her new-found freedom with Island

Throughout the early part of Carey's career, she had been married to Tommy Mottola, head of her label, Columbia. During the recording of the singer's third album, Music Box (1993), the pair became romantically involved, and wed by August 1993, only one month short of the album's release. Throughout the marriage, Mottola, both Carey's husband and boss, carefully manipulated and controlled her career, crafting her into the adult contemporary/pop singer he sought her to be. With each passing album, Carey's genre influences and production styles evolved, leading her farther into R&B and hip-hop territory. During the recording sessions for Daydream (1995), the pair had already began "fighting at the drop of a feather", due to his controlling nature on her and her career. By 1997, the pair had already separated, and had divorced only the following year.

After a publicized emotional breakdown in 2001, and years of professional and personal struggles that followed, Carey signed a new record deal with Island Records and released The Emancipation of Mimi. The album became the best-selling album in the United States of 2005, and the second best-seller around the world, with over 12 million units sold. It earned a myriad of music industry awards, and brought Carey back to the top of pop music following her decline in 2001. After completing The Adventures of Mimi Tour, she began working on material for her eleventh studio effort, the yet untitled E=MC². E=MC² was hailed as one of the most anticipated albums of 2008, with many critics weighing their opinions on whether Carey would be able to deliver significant success, following her achievements with The Emancipation of Mimi. With following releases, she began writing and producing the music she saw fit, and not anything to please older record executives. Throughout 2007, Carey recorded the album in a studio built into her private villa in Anguilla, in the Caribbean. She describe E=MC² as one of her most expressive albums, and one that she felt free on, and able to express herself through her music. In an interview with The Bryan Times, Carey spoke of her sentiments on the album "It's hard for me to sit here and talk about it without sounding like if I'm bragging if I'm in love with it, but I am I love with this album. I think that having the success with the last record allowed me to have more freedom...and just make records that I like. Its kind of a really fun record. The album was supposed to be released in late 2007, Carey spoke about reason the album got delayed: "You can't really put records out in December if you want the whole world to have a chance to actually hear it, my fans all over the world are very important to me", adding that she also wants to put out a pair of singles before the album drops. In a separate interview, she elaborated further: "This happened to me with The Emancipation of Mimi, I started writing more songs, I was like OK let me get these done, then I wrote four more songs and you know how it goes, so now I'm like 22 songs in and clearly I have to cut some of those down". It was then reported that the album will be released in February 2008. However, the release was later pushed back yet again to April 2008.