Happy anniversary, E=MC2
One year ago, on April 15, 2008, Mariah released her 11th studio album, E=MC2. As a follow up to the massive international hit The Emancipation of Mimi, a lot was expected from E=MC2 and it did not disappoint. Mariah described it as "the dessert" to The Emancipation's "dinner" and the reviews were not late to follow.
The Associated Press named E=MC2 one of 2008's top 10 albums and said: "Like its predecessor, 'The Emancipation of Mimi', it has the right mix of party jams, torch songs and touching ballads." Blender called it "Mariah's most-fun and best album". Stellar reviews from MTV ("Mimi Is at her best when she's keeping it real") and VH1 ("oh yeah, Mimi's back") were written after advanced listening parties, and the bottom line in The New York Post's review was: "On a like it, love it or leave it scale, this is a definite 'love it' album."
E=MC2 stands for "Emancipation equals Mariah Carey to the 2nd power" and it sure does. Billboard: "She's proclaimed emancipation before, but Mariah Carey's never sounded as free as she does on E=MC2." E=MC2 debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart with first week sales of 463,000 copies, Mariah's best opening ever. The reviews by Rolling Stone ("it starts in a club and ends in a church") and Entertainment Weekly ("Winning formula. Mariah Carey's E=MC2 adds up to an aural success, offering a smart mix of dance and drama.") described what the album quickly became known for: a unique mixture of hot club bangers, soulful urban tracks and Mariah's signature ballads.
The album has 14 tracks, all co-written and co-produced by Mariah along with A-list producers including Jermaine Dupri, Danja, Bryan Michael Cox, Scott Storch, Stargate, DJ Toomp and James Poyser. "Touch My Body", the first (and somewhat unconventional) single released from the album, exceeded all expectations and became an overnight success. Billboard noted that over 65 radio stations played the song five hours after its digital release. When released digitally on iTunes, the song set the record for the best debut-week of digital sales by any artist with a total of 285,544 downloads. "Touch My Body" became Mariah's 18th #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, helping Mariah break an amazing record, previously held by Elvis Presley, of being the solo artist with the most #1 singles (only The Beatles with 20 have more).
A great representation of the album's fun nature, the "Touch My Body" video is one of Mariah's most popular music videos with over 25 million views on YouTube. With great audience acceptance and critical acclaim, E=MC2is not only Mariah's most-fun record but an immediate fan-favorite and an album that will always be remembered for yielding the most live performances of album-tracks. (MariahCarey.com)
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