After departing from Columbia Records (she found Columbia to be too stressful and controlling) in 2000, she signed to
Virgin Records for a short period of time. Mariah produced one album while at Virgin,
Glitter, the soundtrack for her first feature film of the same name. Both the album and the movie were panned by critics; this, compounded by her recent divorce, caused her considerable emotional distress, and she decided to leave both Virgin and the public spotlight for a time.
Carey signed to
Island Records in late 2002, but did not produce any critically successful albums until 2005’s
The Emancipation of Mimi. Featuring production by industry legends
Kanye West and
Pharrell, the album features a somewhat more pop-inspired sound and spent 72 weeks on the
Billboard Top 100 chart, thanks to the success of singles
“It’s Like That”,
“Get Your Number”, and
“Say Somethin’” Mariah released her most recent album
E=MC2 in 2008, and has since released two singles in support of the album,
“Touch My Body” and
“Bye Bye.”