E=MC2

Performer: Mariah Carey
Artist: T-Pain; Damian Marley; Young Jeezy
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: The arrival of E=MC2 in 2008 indicated that Mariah Carey's reign as the queen of pop, and her status as one of the most popular and best-selling artists of all time, wasn't likely to end soon. The follow-up to the 2005 multi-platinum, chart-topping, Grammy-sweeping THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI, E=MC2 reveals no slackening of focus or ambition, thanks in part to an all-star line-up of production help that includes The Dream, C. "Tricky" Stewart, Jermaine Dupri, will.i.am, Stargate, DJ Troomp, and Antonio "LA" Reid (who co-produced the album with Carey). As usual, Carey's concentration isn't on club-oriented dance tracks but on smooth, mid-tempo R&B that pulses with sexy glamour. The lead-off single, "Touch My Body," is a case in point, a breathy invocation that induces both romantic feelings and swaying hips, and is classic Carey. Other album highlights include opener "Migrate," a moody, slinky jam; the disco-flavored "I'm That Chick"; and the ballads "I Stay in Love" and "Love Story." Nothing here is a radical departure, but Carey just seems to get better at what she does best: making sexy, listenable, flawlessly crafted R&B.

Entertainment Weekly (p.63) - "Carey remains a romantic at heart. With the ballads 'Love Story' and 'Last Kiss,' she reunites with Dupri to recapture the passionate splendor of 2005's 'We Belong Together.'" -- Grade: A- Blender (Magazine) (p.75) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[This is] Carey's most-fun album, and her best. Not coincidentally, it's also her most propulsive, with strong contributions from A-list producers including Jermaine Dupri, SwizzBeatz, Stargate and Tricky Stewart."

With her multi-octave voice and more than 80 million records sold worldwide, it's no surprise that pop diva Mariah Carey is viewed as the successor to Whitney Houston. She emerged as the premier R&B/pop songstress of the 1990s, and by the end of the decade had shifted gears a bit by collaborating with the likes of Ol' Dirty Bastard and incorporating elements of hip-hop into her sound. Though her 2001 big-screen debut, GLITTER, was a total flop and something of a blow to Carey's seemingly Teflon career, her 2005 comeback record, THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI, solidified her status as a true pop-music diva.

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