Brittany Spanos on Mariah Carey’s “The Emancipation of Mimi” (2005)

Episode notes

By 2005, Mariah Carey had been through the wringer. Her debut film Glitter bombed at the box office and  the accompanying soundtrack  performed poorly, at least in comparison to Mariah’s previous efforts. Her intended comeback album Charmbracelet received some praise but still failed to bring her back into the limelight. Mariah took a break from music for three years to focus on herself and came back with The Emancipation of Mimi. She worked with top producers in hip-hop like The Neptunes, Jermaine Dupri, and Kanye West, but still featured her signature ballads with that unmistakable whistle register. It was a much more personal album, but with enough jams to succeed in the clubs.

Music writer Brittany Spanos sits down with us remotely to discuss the tough road that led to this album, the timelessness of some of the singles, and where Mariah belongs in the current music landscape.

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More on Brittany

• Check out Brittany’s work with Rolling Stone
• 500 Greatest Albums podcast
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More on The Emancipation of Mimi

• ‘The Emancipation Of Mimi’: Mariah Carey’s Record-Shattering Comeback (uDiscover Music)
• Mariah Carey on Why 2005’s Iconic ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’ LP Was ‘More Than a Comeback Album’ (Billboard)
• 15 Times Mariah Carey’s Pen Game Shines on ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’ (Rated R&B)

Show Tracklisting (all songs from The Emancipation of Mimi unless otherwise indicated):

• I Wish You Knew
•  Mariah Carey: Vision of Love
• Mariah Carey: Dreamlover
• Mariah Carey: Fantasy (Remix)
• Joy Ride
• I Wish You Knew
• Circles
• Mine Again
• To The Floor
• Say Somethin’
• Shake It Off
•  We Belong Together
• It’s Like That
• Fly Like A Bird
• Shake it Off
• Get Your Number
• Mine Again
• Stay the Night
• Mariah Carey: Fourth of July
• Alicia Keys: Teenage Love Affair
• Mariah Carey: A No No

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there

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