UB Celebrates: 20th Anniversary of Mariah Carey’s ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’

Today, marks the 20th Anniversary of Mariah Carey‘s “The Emancipation of Mimi.”

With her unique talent and signature vocal abilities, Mariah Carey commanded the world’s attention when she made her musical debut in the early nineties.

In less than a decade, Mariah Carey emerged as one of the most popular and widely acclaimed talents in music.

As a singer and songwriter, Mariah Carey has been recognized with the most prestigious accolades in the industry including five Grammy Awards, ten American Music Awards, Billboard’s “Artist of the Decade” Award and the World Music Award for “World’s Best Selling Female Artist of the Millennium” to name a few.

As the best-selling female performer of all time, Mariah Carey has continuously raised the bar and set the standard of excellence within the music industry worldwide.

With a mother who shared both talent and a love of music, Mariah Carey was destined for a life of song having been named after “They Call the Wind Mariah” a melody from a popular Lerner and Loewe musical. From an early age, Mariah demonstrated extraordinary musical abilities.

She started singing at the tender age of four and her innate talent quickly progressed. While attending middle school, Mariah Carey began honing her songwriting skills and upon high school graduation she immediately left for New York City to pursue a lifetime ambition – her dream of a musical career.

From the beginning, Carey’s luminous talent quickly distinguished her in New York and her vocals were in demand by a variety of artists.

Her major break came while singing backup for Brenda K. Starr, who gave Mariah’s demo tape to then Sony Music Entertainment Chief Tommy Mottola. Soon afterwards, Mottola signed Mariah to her first recording contract with Columbia Records.

With a fresh-face and angelic allure Mariah exploded on the scene with a signature style that displayed a vocal intensity that had never been seen before. Released in 1990, Mariah Carey’s self-titled debut was an immense hit, firmly establishing her as one of the most talented artists in the industry.

The album which spawned an extraordinary four #1 singles: “Vision of Love,” “Love Takes Time,” “Someday,” and “I Don’t Wanna Cry,” led to two Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Vocalist.

Mariah Carey continued her success with a series of singles from Emotions and MTV Unplugged albums that consistently placed her at the top of the charts.

With the 1993 release of Music Box, which included the chart-topping hit singles “Dreamlover” and “Hero,” Carey produced her most commercially successful album to date going an astounding ten-times platinum.

Mariah Carey soon hit yet another career milestone with the release of her first holiday album Merry Christmas, which contained the instant and now historic classic “All I Want for Christmas is You.”

Over the next two years, Mariah Carey continued her relentless chart domination with the album “Daydream” in 1995. “Daydream’s” “Fantasy” single debuted at #1, making Mariah the second artist in history and the first female performer to accomplish that feat.

The album’s other single, “One Sweet Day” (recorded with Boyz II Men), stayed at the top of the charts for a mind-blowing 16 weeks.

Mariah Carey followed with the Hip-Hop and R&B infused “Butterfly” which introduced a new chapter in Mariah’s career teaming her with the hottest names in the music business.

A true testament to her longevity, Mariah Carey released #1’s, a compilation of her chart-topping hits in 1998. The album also included a new song, “When You Believe” (from the film “The Prince of Egypt”), a duet with Whitney Houston, pairing two of the most successful female recording artists in Pop history.

“Rainbow,” with its chart-topping hit “Heartbreaker,” followed in 1999 with startling success.

Always at the top of her game, the ever-thriving Carey sparked the interest of the Universal Music Group’s Island Def Jam Records who in May 2002 signed her to an exclusive recording contract. Later that year, Carey made her Island Def Jam debut with the release of the multi-platinum “Charmbracelet.”

After that release Mariah Carey released her most revealing album to date, “The Emancipation of Mimi.”

Celebrating it’s 20th Anniversary today, originally released April 12th, 2005.

Entirely written and co-produced by the gifted Carey, her tenth studio album is an intimate portrayal of both the challenges and successes that she experienced during her rise to unparalleled fame.

Mariah Carey explained the inspiration behind the album;“With this album, I am embracing my independence and celebrating the person that I have become. Over the years, I have evolved into a better person and an even better artist. For the first time in my life, I am proud and unafraid to be who I really am, and that’s what the music of this album and its title reflect. By naming my album The Emancipation of Mimi and referencing ‘Mimi’ a nickname only used by those closest to me, I am inviting my fans into my life.”

The three previous years were a roller coaster ride for Mariah, marked by the disappointing sales of the soundtrack to “Glitter“, EMI‘s buyout of her contract and the subpar performance of “Charmbracelet,” her first album under her new deal.

“The voice has been here all along. Even if you listen to the oh-so-dissed `Glitter’ [soundtrack], there is a song called `Lead the Way,’ which is one of my best vocal performances ever.” Mariah stated to Billboard. “People who only heard certain singles would be like, `Why is she singing so breathy?’ Some people are of the opinion that if you have a big voice you should use it all the time.”

Though she admitted she’s a fan of big-voiced singers, “I don’t want to hear someone scream at me all the time.” When she sings, she says, it’s not about “showing off so everybody can hear me singing at the top of my lungs. But truth be told, I feel that my voice is in a better place than it has been in years.” She credited it to her “Charmbracelet” tour in 2003; “It was my longest tour ever, and it got me in great shape vocally.”

“The Emancipation of Mimi” offers more than a glimpse into Mariah’s world featuring tunes like the heartfelt “Circles” and “Fly Like a Bird,” with their positive messages of affirmation and hope.

While being honest and vulnerable in expressing her emotions through songs like “I Wish You Knew” and “Joyride,” Mariah leaves no doubt that she is a woman who speaks her mind. The infectious, edgy “It’s Like That,” co-produced by Jermaine Dupri was the album’s first hit single and a definitive statement of where Mariah stood at that point in her life, and was her fastest climbing single in five years.

Mariah and executive producer, Antonio “L.A.” Reid (Island Def Jam Music Group Chairman), approached the creation of The Emancipation of Mimi in a very specific way delivering ballads like “We Belong Together” (which pays homage to the Bobby Womack classic “If You Think You’re Lonely Now”) that her fans have come to expect while evoking a new sound that will surely broaden her appeal and capture an entirely new audience.

The Emancipation of Mimi marked “the return of the voice.” As an artist who has paved the way for a host of emerging talent throughout the years, Mariah once again redefined the heights of musical success with her incomparable talent and timeless appeal.

With a refined and sophisticated new look indicative of her artistic evolution, she was poised to conquer new territory. Consistently evolving musically, personally, and creatively Mariah re-asserted her claim as the best-selling female performer of all time with “The Emancipation of Mimi.”

“The Emancipation Of Mimi,” is Mariah’s worldwide 15 million selling #1 album, generated three Grammy awards (including Best Contemporary R&B Album), two #1 singles, and countless more honors during its 18-month stay on the charts.

Mariah collaborated with the most sought-after talent; Jermaine Dupri, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Twista, Nelly, James “Big Jim” Wright, Pharrell Williams and The Neptunes.

Soaring to #1 with more than 404,000 copies sold in its first week of release, “The Emancipation of Mimi” was Mariah Carey’s first album since 1997’s “Butterfly” to debut at the top of the Billboard 200 chart, ultimately becoming the best-selling album of 2005 in the U.S with nearly five million units sold.

The single “We Belong Together,” secured Mariah’s place as the #1 most successful female artist of all time, when it became her 16th song to top the Hot 100, where it stayed for 14 weeks.

Followed by “Shake It Off,” #1 for 3 weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100 Airplay chart.

In September of 2005, Mariah had the distinction of being the first female lead artist in the 47 years of the Billboard Hot 100 ever to occupy the #1 and #2 spots in the same week, with “We Belong Together” and “Shake It Off,” respectively.

The biggest single in the history of both Mariah and the Island Def Jam Music Group, “We Belong Together” hit an astonishing 14 weeks at #1. That positioned Mariah as the only active artist with the potential to match or surpass the Beatles (with 20 #1’s) and Elvis Presley (18 #1’s) in the modern era.

Regarding breaking those records, Mariah told Billboard; “I’m so not about that, because I don’t even think people want anybody to beat the Beatles’ record. How can I even put myself in a category with these people? So I don’t. Hearing [my records] on the radio so much and feeling the love from the fans, that seems real to me and that’s what I look toward.”

The album was an industry phenomenon for the mega-platinum award-winning superstar. Soundscan’s biggest-selling album of the year, it brought total sales of Mariah’s albums, singles and videos to over 160 million worldwide, making her the top-selling female recording artist in history.

Apart from her musical achievements, Mariah Carey’s depth of person stems from her love and support of children in need; evident through her continuous involvement in a host of charities dedicated to ensuring their happiness and well being.

As an artist revered worldwide, Mariah‘s boundless talent and success is unmatched across the globe.

For the 20th Anniversary, Mariah has released the 20th Anniversary Edition of “The Emancipation of Mimi.”

“I’m really happy to celebrate ‘Mimi’s Emancipation’ with this special anniversary re-release,” stated Mariah Carey. “While working on this edition, I got to relive all the memories from this pivotal moment in my personal and professional life. This album has some of my biggest hits to date, as well as some personal favorites that are very special to me. Forgotten gems, unreleased bonus tracks and different remixes with incredible collaborators – all of these and more are now available in one place for the first time ever!”

Take A Trip Down Memoray Lane with “The Emancipation of Mimi!”