Maps of Music

E=MC² (2008)

Where the lyrics of E=MC² take you, and where it was really made.

Its title puns on Einstein's mass–energy formula, and the album was recorded in a studio built into Carey's private villa in Anguilla.

Key places

Recorded at Roc the Mic Studios (2008)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — The source lists Roc the Mic Studios in New York among the studios where the album was recorded. The point uses city-centre coordinates, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Honeysouth Studios (2008)

Recording site Honeysouth Studios — The source lists Honeysouth Studios in North Miami among the studios where the album was recorded. The point uses city-centre coordinates, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Triangle Sound Studios (2008)

Recording site DARP Studios (Atlanta) — The source lists Triangle Sound Studios in Atlanta among the studios where the album was recorded. The point uses city-centre coordinates, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Stone Groove Studios (2008)

Recording site Stone Groove Studios — The source lists Stone Groove Studios in Lake County, Illinois among the studios where the album was recorded. The point uses county-level coordinates, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at the villa studio in Anguilla (2008)

Recording site Anguilla — Carey recorded most of the album in a studio built into her private villa in Anguilla during 2007. The point marks the island, not the villa itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• E=MC²: eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey
• Released April 11, 2008 by Island Records, Def Jam Recordings and the Island Def Jam Music Group
• Meant as a continuation, or second part, of her tenth studio album The Emancipation of Mimi (2005)
• Theme of emancipation from her previous marriage and from personal and professional setbacks, showing a more personal side of the singer
• Keeps the ballad and pop/R&B style of Mimi but adds many dance-oriented and uptempo styles
• Collaborators include T-Pain, Damian Marley and Young Jeezy

Background

• The Emancipation of Mimi was the best-selling album of 2005 in the United States and the second best-seller worldwide, with over 12 million units sold
• Carey signed a new record deal with Island Records in 2002
• Most of the material was written and composed during and after her 2006 Adventures of Mimi Tour
• E=MC² was counted among the most anticipated albums of 2008
• The album was first planned for late 2007, then pushed to February 2008 and later to April 2008
• Carey said she wanted the whole world to have a chance to hear it, and that she wanted to release a pair of singles first
• Working title was That Chick, the same as an earlier song that became 'I'm That Chick'

Recording

• Throughout 2007, Carey recorded the album in a studio built into her private villa in Anguilla, in the Caribbean
• Songwriters and producers include Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, Stargate, The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, Scott Storch and Danja
• Carey described the album as one of her most expressive, one on which she felt free

Cover

• Black backdrop with Carey nearly naked, covered only by a large feathered shawl
• Only her first name in large pink letters; 'E=MC²' in small white letters at the top
• Pose nearly the same as on the cover of The Emancipation of Mimi, with different lighting and wardrobe

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born March 27, 1969 in Huntington, New York, on Long Island.
• Youngest of three children of Patricia Hickey, a former opera singer, and Alfred Roy Carey, an aeronautical engineer.
• Began singing at age three; graduated from Harborfields High School in 1987.
• Worked as a demo singer and backup singer, including for Brenda K. Starr.

Career

• Signed to Columbia Records after Tommy Mottola heard her demo tape in December 1988.
• Debut album Mariah Carey (1990) topped the US Billboard 200 and won Best New Artist at the Grammys.
• Became the first artist whose first five singles reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Music Box (1993), Merry Christmas (1994), and Daydream (1995) achieved major global sales.
• Later albums moved toward hip-hop and R&B, including Butterfly (1997) and Rainbow (1999).
• Comeback album The Emancipation of Mimi (2005) was her fifth number-one album in the US.
• Known as the 'Songbird Supreme' and 'Queen of Christmas'; one of the best-selling artists in history with over 220 million records sold.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Generally well received by music critics, with many praising the record's broad genre influences and its musical and production styles
• Some critics felt the album was too similar to The Emancipation of Mimi
• Metacritic weighted average of 64 based on 19 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews
• AllMusic (Stephen Thomas Erlewine): three out of five stars, arguing that Carey's identity rests on being permanently transient
• Billboard (Gary Trust): said Carey was in 'pristine form' and had made a pop album with equal parts levity and gravity
• Entertainment Weekly (Margeaux Watson): graded the album A−, saying its goal was to prove her comeback was no fluke
• The Guardian (Alex Macpherson): four out of five stars, praising her vocal form throughout the album
• The Washington Post (Freedom De Luc): said Carey repeated the formula of Mimi for stasis rather than experimentation
• The New York Times (Ben Ratliff): felt the album did not match the level of Mimi and sounded like urban-radio imitation
• PopMatters (Evan Sawdey): four out of ten, calling it a shallow imitation of its predecessor
• Rolling Stone (Caryn Ganz): questioned why nearly every song confines Carey to four-note verses
• Los Angeles Times (Richard Cromelin): two out of four stars, noting that consistency mattered less for an album assembled as singles
• Slant Magazine (Eric Henderson): three out of five stars

Reappraisal

• April 2020: resurgence in popularity, reaching number one on the iTunes albums charts in several countries including the United States
• Top 10 on iTunes albums charts in several other countries worldwide

Records

• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 463,000 copies in opening week, Carey's highest first-week sales
• Stayed at number one in its second week with 182,000 copies sold
• Certified Platinum by the RIAA on July 8, 2008, for one million units shipped
• Debuted at number one in Canada with 19,000 first-week copies; certified Platinum by CRIA for 100,000 units
• UK Albums Chart debut at number three with 34,800 copies; certified Gold by the BPI
• Japan Oricon Overall Chart peak at number seven; certified Gold by the RIAJ for 100,000 copies
• Australia debut at number two; certified Gold by ARIA for 35,000 units
• Ranked 26th best-selling album worldwide in 2008 by IFPI
• 2.5 million copies sold worldwide as of September 19, 2009
• Ended 2008 at number 22 on the Billboard 200 year-end chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Working title was That Chick, which was also the name of a song that later became 'I'm That Chick'; the title changed to E=MC² as the release date neared.
• The title is a word play on Albert Einstein's mass–energy equivalence formula and has been called the sequel and improved counterpart to The Emancipation of Mimi.
• On the release day, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa proclaimed April 15 officially as Mariah Carey day.
• From April 25 through April 27, 2008, the Empire State Building was lit in Carey's motif colors of lavender, pink and white.
• The album was originally due in late 2007 but its release was delayed twice, first to February 2008 and then to April 2008.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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