Carey released "Butterfly" in 1997 . The record debuted at number 1 on Hot 200. The album's first single "Honey" was a No. 1 hit and got remixes from rappers Diddy, The Lox and Ma$e. In 1998, Carey released her first compilation "#1's". The set listed such singles as "When You Believe", "Sweetheart", "I Still Believe" and many more. Her breakthrough achievement made her one of the American divas. She was tapped performing alongside Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan and Shania Twain on VH1 Divas Concert. After singing on the gig which portion of its proceed went to benefit charity program, Carey showed more of her philanthropic side, getting involved in many other social works.
During late summer of 1999, Carey came out with a new studio project. Having "Heartbreaker" as the hit single, this album's other singles sadly failed to impress the music lovers. During that time, she tried her hands on acting. She had a small role in the 1999's "The Bachelor" starring Renee Zellweger and another one in the film "Wiseguys" in 2002. When her contract with longtime label Sony nearly came to an end, Carey signed a record deal with EMI's Virgin Records. Instead of making new music, Carey had to check into a mental health facility and take a break from performing in 2001 due to what was claimed as exhaustion.
After her hiatus, Carey made an acting debut in the semi-autobiographical film "Glitter" which chronicles the tumultuous rise of a singer in the 1980s. Panned by most movie critics, the film was a box office failure. Her album of the same name "Glitter" was also not quite welcomed by her fans. Worst of all, Carey was unable to do much promotion for the record due to her health concern. The album's lead single "LoverBoy" peaked at No. 2 in the Hot 100, but the album itself only managed to reach No. 7 and became her weakest showing ever, despite being hailed as one of her best works. Due to the "Glitter" failure, EMI decided to part ways with her and they bought out her contract for $35 million. Despite the bad luck, there were several other record companies vying for her signature in the months that followed. Carey, indeed, decided to sign with Island Def Jam in 2002.
As for her love life, Carey briefly dated baseball star Derek Jeter after her divorce with Mottola. She was also romantically linked to singer Luis Miguel. Meanwhile, Carey worked on her next film project, playing a prominent role in the independent film "Wisegirls" (2002); this time, she received much better reviews from critics. Following the film, she released a new album and her first concept album "Charmbracelet" in December 2002 as part of a new deal with Island Records. The album debuted at No. 3. on Billboard Hot 200. The album included such singles, as "Through the Rain", "Boy (I Need You)" featuring rapper Cam'ron, and a cover of Def Leppard's 1980s hit "Bringin' On the Heartbreak." Though many of Carey's devoted fans continued to buy her singles in the thousands, none of the singles took off with pop radio, which play lists ...
had become less open to such maturing pop diva stylists, as Carey herself, Whitney Houston, and Celine Dion. Considering that fact, many observers came to the conclusion that Carey had lost her "radio magic." Nevertheless, Carey's duet with Busta Rhymes, "I Know What You Want" in 2003, fared considerably better, reaching No. 3 at Billboard's pop singles chart. Besides, it was also featured on her latest release "The Remixes", a double CD. Despite the minor reach, that year Carey was awarded the World Music Awards "Diamond Award" in honor of over 100 million album sales worldwide.
During 2003, Carey staged the "Charmbracelet World Tour" and received favorable reviews although the press focused more on her traveling entourage, many pieces of luggage, hotel and dressing room demands, and other diva-like behaviors. The following year she spent most of her time making her second concept album, "The Emancipation of Mimi." In the fall she was featured on Jadakiss's hit single "U Make Me Wanna," which managed to hit the Top 10 on Billboard's R&B chart. And in November the same year, her new song "Say Something," featured rappers Snoop Dogg and Pharrell Williams, leaked onto the Internet but was met with a lukewarm response.
On April 12, 2005, " The Emancipation of Mimi " was released. The album, indeed, told the story of self-discovery and remaking one's image. As it was expected, the release of this album gained positive reviews, with some critics calling it Carey's best album in years. Appeared to be true, "Mimi" debuted at No. 1, with 403,775 copies sold in its first week, the highest tally of Carey's career. This has led many to consider "Mimi" as Carey's comeback album after the underwhelming critical and commercial reception of "Glitter" and "Charmbracelet."
In April 2008, the same month she got married to Nick Cannon, Carey came out with "E=MC²". The record pulled in 463,000 copies in its first week on sale, debuting atop Billboard Hot 200. There were at least four hit singles from the album. The first single was 'Touch My Body" which peaked at number 1 on Hot 100, making her as a solo act with the most No. 1 single. Other singles were "Bye Bye", "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" and "I Stay in Love". Unfortunately, the record was not supported by necessary promotions such as tours.
The next year, Carey recorded another studio effort "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel".an Imperfect She dropped "Obsessed", the lead single from the set, in June the same year. Containing lyrics "Why are you so obsessed with me/ Boy I wanna know/ Lying that you're sexing me/ When everybody knows/ It's clear that you're upset with me", the song was believed to serve as a response to a diss sung by Eminem in his single "Bagpipes to Baghdad". The rumor of her firing back at the rapper in "Obsessed" got persistent when she portrayed a male stalker looking like Eminem in the music video for the track.
Nick who defended Carey right after Eminem's song arrived denied the feud rumor between his wife and the rapper though. "I don't think that she would take her time. My wife doesn't beef. She's Mariah Carey. She's not beefin', she's a vegetarian," he said. Commenting on "Obsessed" lyrics which were mistaken by many as an answer to Eminem's mockery, he explained the song was inspired by Lindsay Lohan's movie "Mean Girls".
"Imperfect Angels" experienced several pushed backs in its release. After being moved from August 25, 2009 to September 15, it was once again delayed to September 29. Though she didn't share the reason behind the postponement, rumor suggested she felt very nervous about Whitney Houston's comeback album "I Look to You" which was dropped in U.S. on August 28. The record was confirmed to feature ads from upscale brands like Elizabeth Arden, Angel Champagne, Carmen Steffens, Le Metier de Beaute and the Bahamas Board of Tourism.
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