E=MC² (Mariah Carey album)

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E=MC²
E=MC² cover
Studio album by Mariah Carey
Released April 8, 2008 (2008-04-08)[1]
(see release history)
Genre Pop, R&B
Length 52:14 [2]
Label Island
Producer Mariah Carey (executive)
L.A. Reid (executive)
William "will.i.am" Adams, Bryan-Michael Cox, Danja, DJ Toomp, Jermaine Dupri, James Poyser, Swizz Beatz, The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, Scott Storch, Stargate
Professional reviews
Mariah Carey chronology
The Emancipation of Mimi
(2005)		 E=MC²
(2008)
Singles from E=MC²
  1. "Touch My Body"
    Released: February 19, 2008
  2. "Bye Bye"
    Released: April 14, 2008
  3. "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time"
    Released: July 1, 2008

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.[3] It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 463,000 copies sold, making it the biggest opening week sales of her career. The album stayed at number one for two consecutive weeks. The first single from the album, "Touch My Body", reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and "Bye Bye" has reached within the Top 20 so far.

Contents

[edit] 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.[4] 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.[5]

[edit] Production history

Carey reportedly said she had been writing new songs while traveling on her latest tour.[6] 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. R&B producer Bryan Michael Cox visited Anguilla and contributed songs to the album.[7] 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.[8]

In an interview with VIBE, T.I. mentioned that he would be one of the producers for Carey's album.[9] Other announced producers include Polow Da Don[10] and will.i.am.[11] Carey stated in late 2007 that she was trying to choose from 22 tracks to put in the final album.[12]

[edit] 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.[13] She experiments for the first time with reggae tones on "Cruise Control"[4] and also uses a Jamaican patois during the second verse.[14] 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.[14] Two songs from the album sample melodies of other songs: one of them is the Seventies-soul-recalling[15] "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.[16][14] 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.[14] 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.[14]

[edit] Critical reception

The biggest challenge for this album was keeping up with the quality of her previous album[5] which was acclaimed by most critics.[17] E=MC² received even better reviews than her previous album,[18] with many of them saying it was a worthy successor to her last album.

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".[19] 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".[20] 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"[16] and "Vocally and sonically, this is yet another outstanding release from the world's biggest selling superstar",[21] 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" [15] 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".[22] 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".[5] 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".[14] 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".[23]

[edit] Sales and chart performance

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.[24] In its second week, the album topped the chart again with 182,000 copies sold.[25] E=MC² is Carey's first album to spend two straight weeks at #1 since 1995's Daydream.[26] The album has sold 968,000 copies to date.[24][25][27]

On the UK Album Chart, it debuted at number three, selling 34,800 copies.[28] This was her highest peak position in the UK since Butterfly, which peaked at number two.[29] In the Philippines, the album reached Gold status selling over 15,000 copies in just eight days.[30] It also received a gold certification in Australia, where the album peaked at #2.[31] It debuted at the top on the United World Chart with 617,000 copies sold and held the top position for two consecutive weeks, selling 1,468,000 units to date.[32]

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". [33] Also, from April 25, 2008 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.[34]

[edit] Singles

"Touch My Body" was chosen as the lead single of the album. The song received positive reviews by music critics[35] e.g. Blender's critic calling it a "pop genius making genius pop".[36] It was a moderate success internationally, peaking in the top 20 in most countries,[37] but was more successful in the U.S. Entering the Billboard Hot 100 at number fifty-seven[38] the song climbed to the top of the chart, becoming Carey's 18th 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.[39]

On Carey's official website, "Bye Bye" was announced as the second single from the album. The song premiered on radio April 7, 2008 [40] and has so far peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100.

On June 2nd Mariah held a press conference for her album at The Peninsula Tokyo. At the conference Carey announced I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time as the 3rd single off E=MC².[41] The Video was shot in Hawaii on June 8.[42]. The single will be sent to radio stations in July.[43]

Several of the album's non-single tracks have made an impact on several charts upon the release of the album due to high digital sales, such as "Migrate" and "I'm That Chick" (the former debuted at #92 on the Billboard Hot 100).[44]

[edit] Track listing

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

  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, Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" 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

[edit] Bonus tracks

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

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

[edit] Charts

Charts (2008)[45] Peak
position
Australian ARIA Albums Chart 2
Austrian Albums Chart 8
Belgium (Wallonia) Albums Chart 25
Belgium (Flanders) Albums Chart 17
Canadian Albums Chart[46] 1
Dutch Albums Chart 11
European Albums Chart[47] 3
French Albums Chart 6
German Albums Chart[48] 7
Greek Albums Chart[49] 6
Irish Albums Chart[50] 7
Italian Albums Chart 9
Charts (2008)[45] Peak
position
Japanese Albums Chart[51] 7
Mexican Albums Chart[52] 43
New Zealand Albums Chart 10
Norwegian Albums Chart 20
Polish Albums Chart[53] 33
Portuguese Albums Chart 15
Spanish Albums Chart 16
Swedish Albums Chart 22
Swiss Albums Chart 5
UK Albums Chart[54] 3
United World Chart [55] 1
U.S. Billboard 200[24] 1

[edit] Credits

  • Mixing: Marcella Araica, Miguel Bustamante (assistant), Dylan Dresdow, Dupri, Supa Engineer Duro, Josh Houghkirk (assistant), Jaycen Joshua, Fabian Marasciullo, David Pensado, Phil Tan
  • Mastering: Bernie Grundman
  • Management: Benny Medina, Gina Rainville, Michael Richardson, Melissa Ruderman, Sudack
  • Package Production: Carol Corless, Doug Joswick
  • Instrumentation: B.M.C., Stargate

[edit] Release history

The album was released in a number of countries during April, 2008.

Region Date Label
Russia[1] April 8, 2008 Island Records
Poland[56] April 9, 2008
Germany,[57] Netherlands[58] April 11, 2008
France,[59] United Kingdom,[60] The Philippines (Deluxe edition),[61] April 14, 2008
United States,[62] Canada,[63] South Korea,[64] Spain,[65] Taiwan,[66] Hong Kong[67] April 15, 2008
Finland,[68] Japan,[69] Sweden,[70] Brazil[71] April 16, 2008
Australia[72] April 19, 2008
Mexico,[73] Thailand[74] April 22, 2008
U.A.E.[75] April 28, 2008

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b "E=MC² - Mariah Carey" start date of release
  2. ^ "E=MC² - Mariah Carey" album Length Amazon.com
  3. ^ "Upcoming Releases". metacritic.com. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
  4. ^ a b Sutherland, Mark. "Mariah Rolls With T-Pain, Dupri On New Album" Billboard. January 18, 2008. Retrieved January 18, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c Irby, Adam Benjamin. "Bleu Magazine review of E=MC2". TheBleuMag.com. April 5, 2008. Retrieved April 9, 2008.
  6. ^ "One on One with Mariah!". Entertainment Tonight. August 31, 2006. Retrieved May 15, 2007.
  7. ^ "Billboard Bits: Mariah Carey, Chris Brown, Mobile". Billboard. May 09, 2007. Retrieved May 09, 2007.
  8. ^ "Mariah and Jermaine Dupri in the Studio" Mariahcarey.com. February 01, 2008. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
  9. ^ Shepherd, Julianne. "T.I. Versus Himself". VIBE. April 10, 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2007.
  10. ^ "Rihanna Makes Entertainment Weekly’s Love List: Get’s Blog Advice From Jay-Z". Whudat.com. June 22, 2007. Retrieved November 02, 2007.
  11. ^ "Mariah's Upcoming Release Is Oh So Sweet!" Mariahcarey.com. September 19, 2007. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
  12. ^ "Mariah is back on fire" mirror.co.uk. November 22, 2007. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  13. ^ "Mariah Carey's "E=MC2" offers genre-crossing equation" Reuters. March 28, 2008. Retrieved March 29, 2008.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ a b Ganz, Caryn. "Albums Review: E=MC²-Mariah Carey" Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 08, 2008.
  16. ^ a b Friedman, Roger. "Diva Alert: Mariah, Janet CDs Previewed". Fox News. February 15, 2008. Retrieved February 15, 2008.
  17. ^ "The Emancipation Of Mimi Reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved April 10, 2008.
  18. ^ "E=MC² Reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  19. ^ Album Review. Billboard. April 11, 2008. Retrieved April 11, 2008
  20. ^ Flynn, Paul. "Mariah Carey, e=MC² (Universal) ". The Observer. February 17, 2008. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
  21. ^ "Mariah And Janet: The Return". RWD. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
  22. ^ Cromelin, Richard. CD:Mariah Carey's 'E=MC2'.LA Times.April 12, 2008. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
  23. ^ Rosen, Jody. "Mariah Carey-E=MC²". Blender. April 15, 2008. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
  24. ^ a b c Hasty, Katie. "Mariah Debuts At No. 1 After Monster First Week". Billboard. April 23, 2008. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  25. ^ a b Hasty, Katie. "Mariah Carey Remains Atop Billboard 200". Billboard. April 30, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
  26. ^ Grein, Paul. "Week Ending April 27, 2008: What's So Funny About A #3 Debut?". Yahoo! Music'. May 01, 2008. Retrieved May 01, 2008.
  27. ^
  28. ^ Wilkes, Neil. "Kooks storm to top of albums chart". Digitalspy.co.uk. April 20, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
  29. ^ Mariah Carey - Album peak positions. EveryHit.com. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  30. ^ Dayrit, Joseph. "Mariah Carey’s "E=MC2" reaches gold status in only eight days". Philippine Entertainment Portal. April 28, 2008. Retrieved May 02, 2008.
  31. ^ http://www.ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display.asp?chart=1G50
  32. ^
  33. ^ "Mariah Honored by the City of Los Angeles". Mariahcarey.com. April 21, 2008. Retrieved May 03, 2008.
  34. ^ Mariahcarey.com news.news
  35. ^ "Touch My Body Reviews" Mariah Daily Journal. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
  36. ^ "Listen: Mariah's New Sex Tape-Themed Smash" Blender. Retrieved April 08, 2008.
  37. ^ "Touch My Body- Peak positions" αCharts. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
  38. ^ Cohen, Jonathan. Flo Rida Makes It Nine Straight Atop Hot 100. Billboard. February 21, 2008. Retrieved February 09, 2008.
  39. ^ Pietroluongo, Silvio. Mariah, Madonna Make Billboard Chart History. Billboard. April 02, 2008. Retrieved April 02, 2008.
  40. ^ "Listen to Mariah's New Single 'Bye Bye'!" Mariahcarey.com. April 07, 2008. Retrieved April 08, 2008.
  41. ^ http://www.mariahdaily.com/news.shtml#newsitemEkEkVEZEVEoioxbugI
  42. ^ http://www.mariahdaily.com/news.shtml#newsitemEkEFpFkyVFgOiZDxqD
  43. ^ http://www.mariahdaily.com/news.shtml#newsitemEkEFpVpEFyxePOkNth
  44. ^ [1]
  45. ^ a b "E=MC² Peak positions". Swisscharts.com. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
  46. ^ "HMV Canada: 'E=MC²' by Mariah Carey tops CD sales list". Canadian Press. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
  47. ^ Sexton, Paul. "Duffy's 'Rockferry' Solid At No. 1 In Europe". Billboard. April 24, 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
  48. ^ Madonna räumt ab - media control
  49. ^ Ελληνικό Chart
  50. ^ >> IRMA << Irish Charts - Singles, Albums & Compilations >>
  51. ^ アルバム 週間ランキング-ORICON STYLE ランキング
  52. ^ Mexican Albums Chart - 15th April 2008
  53. ^ Poland OLIS Albums Chart - 19th May 2008
  54. ^ BBC - Radio 1 - Chart Show - The UK Top 40 Albums
  55. ^ Global Track Chart
  56. ^ Mariah Carey - E=Mc2 @ FaN Sklep z Muzyką
  57. ^ Amazon.de: E=MC²: Mariah Carey: Musik
  58. ^ bol.com | Muziek | E=Mc2 , Mariah Carey
  59. ^ E=MC2: Mariah Carey: Musique: Amazon.fr
  60. ^ Amazon.co.uk: E=MC2: Mariah Carey: Music
  61. ^ Be The First To Solve Mariah's Equation @ ClickTheCity.com Music
  62. ^ Amazon.com: E=MC2: Mariah Carey: Music
  63. ^ Amazon.ca: E=mc2: Mariah Carey: Music
  64. ^ 뮤직 인터페이스 - MelOn
  65. ^ Comprar disco 'E=MC2, Mariah Carey ' | Tienda FNAC.ES | Música
  66. ^ Five Music - 五大唱片(5大唱片)-音樂博物館-華語專輯
  67. ^ MARIAH CAREY / E=MC2 - HMV Hong Kong
  68. ^ http://www.cdon.com/product.phtml?prod=898678
  69. ^ Mariah Carey / E=MC2 [Limited Edition]
  70. ^ CDON.COM - Nordens största butik på nätet
  71. ^ Saraiva.com.br - Detalhe do Produto
  72. ^ E=MC2 (CAREY, MARIAH): Music: BIGWentertainment.com.au
  73. ^ Mixup Music Store
  74. ^ :: Umusic thailand ::
  75. ^ Crane, Kelly. "Musical divas to hit Dubai". Gulfnews.com. April 30, 2008. Retrieved May 02, 2008.

[edit] References

Preceded by
Spirit by Leona Lewis		 Billboard 200 number-one album
May 3, 2008 - May 17, 2008		 Succeeded by
Hard Candy by Madonna
United World Chart number-one albums
May 3, 2008 - May 17, 2008
v • d • e
Mariah Carey
Studio albums
Compilations
Live
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