Mariah Carey shares feelings about fans’ reaction to ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’

Mariah Carey is setting the record straight — and having a little fun with it — when it comes to how people talk about one of her most iconic albums. In an exclusive chat with People, the Emotions powerhouse, 56, opened up about her true feelings toward The Emancipation of Mimi, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary on April 12.

Turns out, Mariah wasn’t exactly thrilled back in the day when folks dubbed the album a "comeback." 

"At the time, it annoyed me when they called it a comeback album," she admitted. "But now I'm just like, 'Oh yeah, my comeback album.'" She didn’t stop there, cheekily adding, "It's like, how many comebacks do I have to have?"

These days, Carey is at peace with the label, even calling it "somewhat accurate." She shared that people who really know the album tend to be big fans of it. 

"But not everybody knows that album," she pointed out. "So people can discover various songs and kind of get to know the feeling of that album."

The All I Want for Christmas Is You hitmaker also reflected on how special the album remains for her, a sentiment that shines through even two decades later.

In a recent episode of Vevo’s Footnotes, Carey gave even more behind-the-scenes tea about the making of We Belong Together, one of the album’s biggest hits.

People reports Carey shared that the track was one of the final songs crafted for The Emancipation of Mimi. She collaborated with Jermaine Dupri, who also produced It’s Like That and Shake It Off, creating pure R&B magic.

In true Mariah style, what once annoyed her has now become just another jewel in her sparkling career — and honestly, we wouldn't have it any other way.