For the modern era, commercial comebacks don’t come any bigger than Mariah Carey‘s powerful return to prominence with ‘The Emancipation of Mimi.’
As widely documented, the songbird’s career was in precarious position prior to the April 2005 release.
Mimi’s music had not been flying off the shelves for years. Indeed, the bombastic bombing of 2001’s ‘Glitter’ effectively tombstoned her huge Virgin Records deal and 2002 follow-up ‘Charmbracelet’ (her first release for Island Def Jam), while embraced by critics, did not deliver commercially.
The latter would prove to be the calm before the storm, though. Because, following the one-two punch thrown by ‘Emancipation’s preceding singles ‘It’s Like That’ and ‘We Belong Together,’ Mariah would go on to enjoy one of the hottest streaks of her illustrious career.
She earned her 16th and 17th #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, was certified 6x Platinum in the US (sales not streams), and sold 12 million copies of the LP worldwide. Very much a Tina Turner ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’ moment for the 00s.
Beyond the music, the era was especially memorable for Mariah’s promotional omnipresence and the performances that brought along with it. Join us below as we count down our top live showings from the ‘Emancipation of Mimi’ era…
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