The Emancipation of Mimi is Mariah Carey's 10th studio album that was released on April 12, 2005 by Island Def Jam.
Tracklisting
- It's Like That 3:23
- We Belong Together 3:21
- Shake It Off 3:52
- Mine Again 4:01
- Say Somethin' (featuring Snoop Dogg) 3:44
- Stay The Night 3:57
- Get Your Number 3:15
- One And Only (featuring Twista) 3:14
- Circles 3:30
- Your Girl 2:46
- I Wish You Knew 3:34
- To The Floor (featuring Jermaine Dupri) 3:27
- Joy Ride 4:03
- Fly Like A Bird 3:53
Album Background
Chart Performance
Critical Reception
"The Emancipation of Mimi" received a 64 out of 100 (indicating "generally positive reviews") on Metacritic, a website that averages professional reviews from critics into a numerical score.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called it a "highly crafted piece of dance-pop" and "relative comeback" for Carey, although it is not as "catchy" as he thought it should have been.
Erlewine voiced a common criticism of the album: that Carey's voice seemed "damaged" in comparison to her "glory years" in the 1990s. He commented that in the belted songs such as "Fly Like a Bird" and "I Wish You Knew", Carey's voice sounded "as airy, thin, and damaged as it did on Charmbracelet".
Michael Paoletta from Billboard was less critical of her vocals, writing that "while her voice has lost some of the power through the years, Mimi deftly showcases her still-considerable pipes with strong lyrics and slick production." Paoletta praised The Emancipation of Mimi as Carey's best album since "Butterfly."
Michael Dougall Bell from the Calgary Sun called Carey's voice "very impressive". He concluded: "While Emancipation may not send Carey's stock or star back up to where it once was and where that voice deserves to be, at least she's not plummeting – she's merely levelled off."
Entertainment Weekly editor Tom Sinclair noted that almost every song "showcases Carey's undeniable vocal strengths".
Reviewing "Fly Like a Bird", Sinclair concluded, "It's so moving that we'll resist the temptation to be crass and interpret the song as a plea for heightened record sales. Help from above is always welcome, but Emancipation sounds like it just might do fine all on its own."
Jennifer Vineyard of MTV News considered the album's title to be influenced by Janet Jackson's Damita Jo, which was also based on an alternate persona.
According to Jenson Macey from BBC News, The Emancipation of Mimi was Carey's strongest effort from the 2000s; he said that the album "took her straight back to the top of the A-List."
Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian gave the album four stars out of five, calling it "cool, focused and urban."
The New York Times's, Jon Pareles, complimented how Carey wrote all of the album's material. He felt the record's sound was fresh and innovative: "on The Emancipation of Mimi, she disciplines herself into coherence, using fewer tricks and sounding more believable. She also finds what lesser singers can take for granted: a certain lightness that eases her constant sense of control."
Cummings from PopMatters gave the album seven stars out of ten, claiming it to be Carey's redemption from the manacles of her previous two releases. He praised the album's singles, but called some of its music "corny" and "unnecessarily overproduced".
Todd Burns from Stylus Magazine gave the album a B−, admiring its assortment of beats and tempo. However, he called some of The Neptunes and Dupri's production "ill-advised".
He called some of Carey's vocals "strained, thin and airy." While considering it as an improvement over her previous releases of the decade, he concluded that it "suffers from the fact that her vocals have deteriorated – a simple fact of the ravages that her voice has undergone in the past fifteen years."
Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine gave "The Emancipation of Mimi" three and a half stars out of five, calling it "redemption". He complimented its array of beats and its production.
Andre Meyer of CBS News thought the material on the album was "stronger" than on Charmbracelet, and described it as a move in Carey's long-term plan for pop domination, while giving off the "jittery R&B vibe that made Destiny's Child so potent." He added that "Mariah has returned to singing – while still pushing the limits of good taste with her barely there outfits."