Carey's label Island Records, was very satisfied with the song. He convinced Carey to continue writing and producing new songs, and suggested on re-releasing the album, which had already sold over four million units in the United States alone. Carey agreed to the idea of re-releasing The Emancipation of Mimi, feeling eager to release the song, as well as other material to her fans, instead of making them wait for a brand new album. In an interview with MTV News, Carey discussed the decision of releasing the song immediately, as well as the re-release of the album: 'Don't Forget About Us' was a song that Jermaine [Dupri] and I started writing and didn't finish, and L.A. Reid heard it. He was excited about it and he was like, 'We should re-release the album. I agreed because were trying to figure out what to do with the song because we loved it so much, and we didn't want to wait until the next album to send it to radio. After completing the song, Carey announced on October 13, 2005, via her official website, that she would be re-releasing The Emancipation of Mimi. Additionally, she explained how the album would contain four new songs, and would be promoted internationally by the new single, "Don't Forget About Us". The song was released throughout the globe as the fifth official single from The Emancipation of Mimi, and the first from the re-release, tentatively titled, Ultra Platinum Edition. The song was first serviced to American contemporary hit, rhythmic contemporary, and urban contemporary radio stations on October 10, 2005. In Australia, a CD single was issued on December 5, 2005. The following Monday, on December 12, a CD single was issued in the United Kingdom. On January 27, 2006, a CD was released in Austria and Germany. A release in Taiwan followed on February 17. Composition "Don't Forget About Us" is a mid-tempo song lasting three minutes and fifty-three seconds, while drawing influence from pop and R&B with downtempo beats music genres. Written by Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox and Johntá Austin, and produced by the former three, the song drew comparisons to Carey's "We Belong Together". According to Michael Paoletta from Billboard, the song features a similar tempo, lyrical style, instrumentation and production as the latter song, and incorporates a reminiscent vocal performance from Carey. The song has a "moderately slow" tempo of 72 beats