Mariah Carey revisits ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’ with its 20th anniversary edition

The Songbird Supreme, Mariah Carey, brings back nostalgia to fans as she releases a brand-new edition of her tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi, on May 30 to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Before the launch, Mariah teased the project on May 21 with “Mariah Carey Live: The Mimi Sessions” on her YouTube account, which features acoustic and live medley performances of the album’s tracks. 

Originally released on April 12, 2005, it sold 404,000 copies during its first week and became one of the best-selling albums of the year. Critics consider The Emancipation of Mimi to be her comeback album and a follow-up to her 1997 magnum opus, Butterfly. She also won three GRAMMY awards for Best Contemporary R&B Album, Best R&B Song, and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. 

The era broke numerous records and spawned multiple worldwide hits, notably two chart-topping singles. We Belong Together spent 14 weeks at #1 and was named Song of the Decade by Billboard. Its longevity is evident even today with radio airplay and recent virality across online platforms. 

Likewise, Don’t Forget About Us served as her 17th #1 single, tying with Elvis Presley for having the most number-one songs on Billboard—a record she has already surpassed since then with 19, marking her as the only solo artist in history with the most singles that reached the summit of the charts, merely behind The Beatles who had 20. 

The other single, Shake It Off, peaked at #2 solely because of the dominance of her other song, We Belong Together, at the time, making her the first female artist to occupy the top two spots of the charts and “blocking herself” from #1. 

In this re-issue, the Lambs, also known as Mariah Carey fans, are awaited with a total of 40 songs, consisting of tracks from the standard edition, including the R&B classics: It’s Like That, We Belong Together, Shake It Off; hard-hitting ballads and vocal acrobatics which the singer is known for such as Mine Again and Circles; gospel and soul inspired Fly Like a Bird; new remixes, a capellas, a live version, and the previously unreleased “When I Feel It.”

This revisit is a way for listeners and new fans to realize she was able to blend various genres cohesively into a single body of work while still sounding timeless and fresh two decades later. It is also one of the reasons why The Emancipation of Mimi is one of the sought-after albums that perfectly encapsulates the early 2000s, cementing her spot as one of the few living legends in the music industry, apart from her new-found title as the Queen of Christmas with her holiday staple, All I Want for Christmas is You.

In another good news for the Filipino Lambs. Mariah Carey will return to Manila for the Asian leg of her tour, The Celebration of Mimi, on October 14, 2025, at the Mall of Asia Arena.