E=MC² (Mariah Carey album)

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Untitled

E=MC² is the eleventh studio album by American pop/R&B singer Mariah Carey. The album was released on April 15, 2008 in the United States.[4] It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 with 463,000 copies sold, making it the biggest opening week sales of her career. The first single from the album, "Touch My Body", reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Other singles include "Bye Bye", "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time", and "I Stay in Love".

Production history

Carey reportedly said she had been writing new songs while traveling on her latest tour.[citation needed] It was reported that Carey was recording her new album and booked a whole month in Anguilla's biggest villa and had a studio built in it.[5][6] R&B producer Bryan Michael Cox visited Anguilla and contributed four songs to the album.[citation needed] On February 1, 2008, a video of Carey and Jermaine Dupri during one of their late night studio recording sessions in Carey's TriBeCa triplex was posted on Carey's official website.[7] Carey stated in late 2007 that she was trying to choose from 22 tracks to put in the final album.[8]

Album title

Before the confirmation of the official title, the album was planned to be named That Chick, a reference to one of the album tracks.[9] The album name means "(E) Emancipation (=) equals (MC) Mariah Carey (²) to the second power". It is a play on Einstein's famous mass–energy equivalence formula and is the sequel to her 2005 album, The Emancipation of Mimi.[10]

Musical and lyrical content

The album's music appeals to a lot of genres such as pop, R&B, and hip hop, but some of her songs also include gospel and reggae beats.[11] She experiments for the first time with reggae tones on "Cruise Control"[9] and also uses a Jamaican patois during the second verse.[12] On "Side Effects" she speaks about her marriage to Tommy Mottola describing it as a "private hell", the "emotional abuse" she saw during this time and the side effects from which she still suffers. MTV's author Jennifer Vineyard said it's "like a rock power ballad" and compared the music style to that of Bonnie Tyler and Pat Benatar.[12] Two songs from the album sample melodies of other songs: one of them is the Seventies-soul-recalling[13] "I'm That Chick" which samples Michael Jackson's "Off the Wall". The other song is "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time", which samples DeBarge's "Stay with Me" and recalls the melodic riff of the "Hill Street Blues" theme music.[14][12] Her second single "Bye Bye" is about the loss of her father, Alfred Roy, who died of cancer in 2002, and his absence during her childhood. Although the lyrics of the song mostly seems to be personal, she tries to keep the topic universal, so that everybody "who just lost somebody" can refer to it.[12] The closing track "I Wish You Well" is a piano ballad kept simple with gospel influences. In the song she quotes some parts from the Bible.[12]

Critical reception

One of the major challenges of this album was a need for it to be of a consistent quality with her previous release[10], a record lauded by many critics.[15] So far the response towards the album has been relatively positive with a general body of opinion finding it to be a worthy successor to her previous album; The Emancipation of Mimi.[16]

Billboard stated "She's proclaimed emancipation before, but Mariah Carey's never sounded as free as she does on her 10th album." and described E=MC² as "a pop album with equal parts levity and gravity".[17] The Observer said that "each track is precision-tooled to sound as if it were born to be banging out of a Hummer in Miami on a sunny Saturday".[18] Plenty of critics agreed that her voice is still in a good condition, Fox News and RWD stating "Her infamous eight-octave range has suffered a little wear and tear over the years, but Carey still can flutter from great highs to mellow lows like no one else"[14] and "Vocally and sonically, this is yet another outstanding release from the world's biggest selling superstar",[19] respectively.

Some critics were not as enthusiastic and mainly criticized this album for trying to copy the songs from The Emancipation Of Mimi, while noting that Carey was not using the full range of her voice. Caryn Ganz, a Rolling Stone critic, found that "nearly every song confines Carey to four-note verses, offering little room for her glorious range" [13] and the LA Times said it's the "most striking" thing about the album, but they also characterized the album as "nearly a clone of The Emancipation of Mimi".[20] Bleu Magazine's critic, Adam Benjamin Irby, agreed and said that the ballads "are all trying desperately to recapture the magic that was 'We Belong Together' [...] Overall, these facsimiles aren't terrible, they're just boring and forgettable at this point".[10] In contrast to the Rolling Stone and the LA Times, MTV praised her voice on this album and said that Carey can "really sing [when she's] not focused on vocal gymnastics".[12] Jody Rosen shared the opinion, saying that she "has definitively been emancipated — from her need to decorate every damn song with more octaves than Maria Callas".[21]

Sales and impact

E=MC² debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 463,000 copies sold, making it the biggest opening week sales of her career. With six number one albums, Carey is now tied with Janet Jackson in the U.S. for the third most number one albums for a female artist, behind Madonna with seven and Barbra Streisand's eight chart toppers.[22] In its second week, the album topped the chart again with 182,000 copies sold.[23] E=MC² is Carey's first album to spend two straight weeks at #1 since 1995's Daydream.[24] The album has sold 1,200,000 million copies in the United States[25] and was certified platinum by the RIAA on July 8, 2008.[26].It is the sixth biggest selling albums of the year in America so far.[27]

In Canada, the album has been certified platinum[28], and also debuted at number one, becoming her third number one album.[29] On the UK Album Chart, it debuted at number three, selling 34,800 copies.[30] This was her highest peak position in the UK since Butterfly, which peaked at number two.[31] The album surpassed the 100,000 units sold and has been certified Gold. [32] In the Philippines, the album reached Gold status selling over 15,000 copies in just eight days.[33] It also received a Gold certification in Australia, where the album peaked at #2.[34]. In European Top Albums, E=MC² debuted and peaked at number three recording the highest debut of the week. That's one place higher than the start made by The Emancipation Of Mimi in April 2005. The album peaked at number six in France, at number seven in Germany and at number nine in Italy.[35]

On April 15, 2008, the same day the album was released, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa proclaimed April 15 officially as "Mariah Carey day" in Los Angeles. It was in part of celebrating Carey's eighteenth number-one single, "Touch My Body".[36] Also, from April 25 through April 27, 2008 the Empire State Building was lit up in Carey's motif colors—lavender, pink, and white — in celebration of her achievements in the world of music.[37]

The success spread up to Japan, where the album peaked at number 7, selling 150,000 physical units to date. In International Oricon Albums Chart, E=MC² remained for 2 weeks in first place. The album received Gold certification.[38]

The album has sold about 2.5 million units around the world.

Singles

  • "Touch My Body" was chosen as the lead single of the album. The song received positive reviews by music critics[39]— for example, Blender's critic called it a "pop genius making genius pop".[40] It was a moderate success internationally, peaking in the top twenty in most countries,[41] but was more successful in the U.S., where it entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number fifty-seven;[42] the song subsequently climbed to the top of the chart, becoming Carey's eighteenth number-one single on the chart, pushing her to second place among artists with the most number-one singles in the rock era and first place as a solo artist in the same category, surpassing Elvis Presley. The achievement was attributed to a record-breaking digital sales debut, as 286,000 copies were sold in its first week of availability.[43]
  • On Carey's official website, "Bye Bye" was announced as the second single from the album. The song premiered on radio on April 7, 2008[44] and peaked at number nineteen on the Billboard Hot 100.[45]
  • During her promotion in Japan, "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" was announced as her next single there and started charting on the Japan Hot 100.[46][47] The single was sent to U.S. radio stations on July 1, 2008 as the third single from the album. It only peaked at number fifty eight on the Billboard Hot 100.[45]

Track listing

All songs were written or co-written by Mariah Carey. Additional writers in brackets.

  1. "Migrate" (featuring T-Pain) (Nathaniel "Danja" Hills, Belawa Muhammad, Faheem "T-Pain" Najm) –4:17
  2. "Touch My Body" (Crystal "Cri$tyle" Johnson, Terius "The-Dream" Nash, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart) -  – 3:24
  3. "Cruise Control" (featuring Damian Marley) (Jermaine Dupri, Johnson, Damian Marley, Manuel Seal) –3:32
  4. "I Stay in Love" (Bryan Michael Cox, Kendrick "WyldCard" Dean, Adonis Shropshire) –3:32
  5. "Side Effects" (featuring Young Jeezy) (J. Jenkins, Johnson, Scott Storch) –4:22
  6. "I'm That Chick" (Johnta Austin, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Rodney Temperton) –3:31
  7. "Love Story" (Austin, Dupri, Seal) –3:56
  8. "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" (Aldrin "DJ Toomp" Davis, Mark DeBarge, Johnson, Etterlene Jordan) –3:01
  9. "Last Kiss" (Austin, Dupri, Seal) –3:36
  10. "Thanx 4 Nothin'" (Dupri, Seal) –3:05
  11. "O.O.C." (Dean, Sheldon Harris) –3:26
  12. "For the Record" (Cox, Shropshire) –3:26
  13. "Bye Bye" (Eriksen, Hermansen, Austin) –4:26
  14. "I Wish You Well" (James Poyser, Mary Ann Tatum)  –4:35

Bonus tracks

  2. "Heat"1 (William "will.i.am" Adams, Jon Fletcher, Keith Harris, Jalil Hutchins, Johnson, Larry Smith, R.Muller) – 3:34
  3. "4real4real"2 (featuring Da Brat) (Cox, Shropshire) – 4:13

1 British, Japanese and Australian bonus track.
2 iTunes pre-order and Japanese bonus track.

Formats

  • Standard Edition CD — containing the regular 14-track album in standard jewel case.
  • Deluxe Edition CD — 14-track album in special fold-out packaging, plus limited edition iPod skin.
  • 2-LP Vinyl Set — regular 14-track album in sealed & stickered gatefold sleeve with double-sided poster/lyric sheet.[51]
  • iTunes Regular Edition — Digital download 14-track edition, all tracks are separate and can be purchased individually, but Digital Booklet comes with a complete album purchase only.
  • iTunes Pre-Order Edition — similar to the iTunes Regular Edition, plus a bonus track, "4real4real".
  • UK/Australian Edition CD — regular album, plus one bonus track "Heat".
  • Japanese Edition CD — regular album, plus two bonus tracks, "Heat" and "4real4real".
  • Philippine Deluxe Limited Edition CD — 14-track album in special paper packaging, plus limited edition iPod skin, a fold-out poster with CD inlay, a special discount card issued by MCA Universal (Carey's Philippine label), and a larger, limited-edition poster issued by the Philippine Mariah Carey Fan Club.
  • Special Philippines Edition CD — regular 14-track album in standard jewel case with a "Special Philippines Edition" logo, and comes without a lyric sheet.
  • Special China Edition CD — special sanitized 11-track album version, excluding "Touch My Body", "I'm That Chick" and "Side Effects".
  • E=MC² Adventure Box — 4-disc special edition which will be released on December 1, 2008[52] containing the following:

Charts

Credits

Release history

The album was released in multiple countries during April, 2008.

Region Date Label
Russia[1] April 8, 2008 Island Records
Poland[64] April 9, 2008
Germany[65] April 11, 2008
Netherlands[66]
France[67] April 14, 2008
The Philippines (Deluxe edition)[68]
United Kingdom[69]
Canada[70] April 15, 2008
Hong Kong[71]
South Korea[72]
Spain[73]
Taiwan[74]
United States[75]
Brazil[76] April 16, 2008
Finland[77]
Japan[78]
Sweden[79]
Australia[80] April 19, 2008
Mexico[81] April 22, 2008
Thailand[82]
U.A.E.[83] April 28, 2008
Spain ("E=MC² Adventure Box") December 2, 2008
Japan ("E=MC² Adventure Box") December 3, 2008 [84]

Notes

  1. ^ a b "E=MC² - Mariah Carey" start date of release
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ [2]
  4. ^ "Upcoming Releases". metacritic.com. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
  5. ^ "YES ON DUBYA APOLOGY: FROST". New York Post. April 25, 2007. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
  6. ^ "Billboard Bits: Mariah Carey, Chris Brown, Mobile". Billboard. May 09, 2007. Retrieved May 09, 2007.
  7. ^ "Mariah and Jermaine Dupri in the Studio" Mariahcarey.com. February 01, 2008. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
  8. ^ "Mariah is back on fire" mirror.co.uk. November 22, 2007. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  9. ^ a b Sutherland, Mark. "Mariah Rolls With T-Pain, Dupri On New Album" Billboard. January 18, 2008. Retrieved January 18, 2008.
  10. ^ a b c Irby, Adam Benjamin. "Bleu Magazine review of E=MC²". TheBleuMag.com. April 5, 2008. Retrieved April 9, 2008.
  11. ^ "Mariah Carey's "E=MC2" offers genre-crossing equation" Reuters. March 28, 2008. Retrieved March 29, 2008.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Vineyard, Jennifer. "Mariah Carey Album Preview: E=MC2 Is Focused On Fun, But Mimi Is At Her Best When She's Keeping It Real" MTV. April 02, 2008. Retrieved April 08, 2008.
  13. ^ a b Ganz, Caryn. "Albums Review: E=MC²-Mariah Carey" Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 08, 2008.
  14. ^ a b Friedman, Roger. "Diva Alert: Mariah, Janet CDs Previewed". Fox News. February 15, 2008. Retrieved February 15, 2008.
  15. ^ "The Emancipation Of Mimi Reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved April 10, 2008.
  16. ^ "E=MC² Reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  17. ^ Album Review. Billboard. April 11, 2008. Retrieved April 11, 2008
  18. ^ Flynn, Paul. "Mariah Carey, e=MC² (Universal) ". The Observer. February 17, 2008. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
  19. ^ "Mariah And Janet: The Return". RWD. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
  20. ^ Cromelin, Richard. CD:Mariah Carey's 'E=MC2'.LA Times.April 12, 2008. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
  21. ^ Rosen, Jody. "Mariah Carey-E=MC²". Blender. April 15, 2008. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
  22. ^ a b Hasty, Katie. "Mariah Debuts At No. 1 After Monster First Week". Billboard. April 23, 2008. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  23. ^ Hasty, Katie. "Mariah Carey Remains Atop Billboard 200". Billboard. April 30, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
  24. ^ Grein, Paul. "Week Ending April 27, 2008: What's So Funny About A #3 Debut?". Yahoo! Music'. May 01, 2008. Retrieved May 01, 2008.
  25. ^ Grein, Paul. "Week Ending June 29, 2008: Viva La Download Or Death And All His CDs". Yahoo! Music'. July 02, 2008. Retrieved July 03, 2008.
  26. ^ Music Business News Reports and RIAA Ratings from Billboard.com - Find Ringtone Download Ratings too
  27. ^ [3]
  28. ^ [4]
  29. ^ "HMV Canada: 'E=MC²' by Mariah Carey tops CD sales list". Canadian Press. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
  30. ^ Wilkes, Neil. "Kooks storm to top of albums chart". Digitalspy.co.uk. April 20, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
  31. ^ Mariah Carey - Album peak positions. EveryHit.com. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  32. ^ http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=33223
  33. ^ Dayrit, Joseph. "Mariah Carey’s "E=MC2" reaches gold status in only eight days". Philippine Entertainment Portal. April 28, 2008. Retrieved May 02, 2008.
  34. ^ Australian Record Industry Association
  35. ^ Sexton, Paul. "Duffy's 'Rockferry' Solid At No. 1 In Europe". Billboard. April 24, 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
  36. ^ "Mariah Honored by the City of Los Angeles". Mariahcarey.com. April 21, 2008. Retrieved May 03, 2008.
  37. ^ Mariahcarey.com news.news
  38. ^ http://www.mariahdaily.com/infozone/charts/albums/japan/index.shtml
  39. ^ "Touch My Body Reviews" Mariah Daily Journal. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
  40. ^ "Listen: Mariah's New Sex Tape-Themed Smash" Blender. Retrieved April 08, 2008.
  41. ^ "Touch My Body- Peak positions" αCharts. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
  42. ^ Cohen, Jonathan. Flo Rida Makes It Nine Straight Atop Hot 100. Billboard. February 21, 2008. Retrieved February 09, 2008.
  43. ^ Pietroluongo, Silvio. Mariah, Madonna Make Billboard Chart History. Billboard. April 02, 2008. Retrieved April 02, 2008.
  44. ^ "Listen to Mariah's New Single 'Bye Bye'!" Mariahcarey.com. April 07, 2008. Retrieved April 08, 2008.
  45. ^ a b Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Mariah Carey
  46. ^ Mariahcarey.com news.news
  47. ^ Billboard- Updated Album Charts from the most Trusted Music Magazine
  48. ^ [5]
  49. ^ [6]
  50. ^ [7]
  51. ^ [8]
  52. ^ [9]
  53. ^ a b "E=MC² Peak positions". Swisscharts.com. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
  54. ^ "HMV Canada: 'E=MC²' by Mariah Carey tops CD sales list". Canadian Press. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
  55. ^ [10]
  56. ^ Sexton, Paul. "Duffy's 'Rockferry' Solid At No. 1 In Europe". Billboard. April 24, 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
  57. ^ Madonna räumt ab - media control
  58. ^ Ελληνικό Chart
  59. ^ >> IRMA << Irish Charts - Singles, Albums & Compilations >>
  60. ^ アルバム 週間ランキング-ORICON STYLE ランキング
  61. ^ Mexican Albums Chart - 15th April 2008
  62. ^ Poland OLIS Albums Chart - 19th May 2008
  63. ^ BBC - Radio 1 - Chart Show - The UK Top 40 Albums
  64. ^ Mariah Carey - E=Mc2 @ FaN Sklep z Muzyką
  65. ^ Amazon.de: E=MC²: Mariah Carey: Musik
  66. ^ bol.com | Muziek | E=Mc2 , Mariah Carey
  67. ^ E=MC2: Mariah Carey: Musique: Amazon.fr
  68. ^ Be The First To Solve Mariah's Equation @ ClickTheCity.com Music
  69. ^ Amazon.co.uk: E=MC2: Mariah Carey: Music
  70. ^ Amazon.ca: E=mc2: Mariah Carey: Music
  71. ^ MARIAH CAREY / E=MC2 - HMV Hong Kong
  72. ^ 뮤직 인터페이스 - MelOn
  73. ^ Comprar disco 'E=MC2, Mariah Carey ' | Tienda FNAC.ES | Música
  74. ^ Five Music - 五大唱片(5大唱片)-音樂博物館-華語專輯
  75. ^ Amazon.com: E=MC2: Mariah Carey: Music
  76. ^ Saraiva.com.br - Detalhe do Produto
  77. ^ http://www.cdon.com/product.phtml?prod=898678
  78. ^ Mariah Carey / E=MC2 [Limited Edition]
  79. ^ CDON.COM - Nordens största butik på nätet
  80. ^ E=MC2 (CAREY, MARIAH): Music: BIGWentertainment.com.au
  81. ^ Mixup Music Store
  82. ^ :: Umusic thailand ::
  83. ^ Crane, Kelly. "Musical divas to hit Dubai". Gulfnews.com. April 30, 2008. Retrieved May 02, 2008.
  84. ^ [11]

References

Preceded by Billboard 200 number-one album
April 27, 2008 - May 10, 2008 		Succeeded by
United World Chart number-one albums
May 3, 2008 - May 17, 2008

{{s-ttl | title = Canada CRIA number-one albums

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