We Belong Together - Writing and Recording

Writing and Recording

By November 2004, Carey had already recorded several songs for her newly-titled tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi. Island Records head L.A. Reid suggested to Carey, however, that she compose a few more strong singles to ensure the project's commercial success. Noting that she had written some of her best work with Jermaine Dupri, Reid recommended that Carey meet with Dupri for a brief studio session. Carey took Reid's advice and headed to Atlanta to collaborate with Dupri. During this two-day trip, the duo wrote and produced "Shake It Off" and "Get Your Number", which were eventually 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 returned to Atlanta for a second meeting with Dupri; during this trip, Carey and Dupri penned the last two songs to be included on the album, "We Belong Together" and "It's Like That". In an interview with Billboard, Carey described her sentiments regarding the song 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. Carey later reminisced about her experience with Dupri: "I am so grateful I went to Atlanta," she said. "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 described the album: "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..."