on The Emancipation of Mimi, her tenth studio effort. By November 2004, Carey had already recorded several songs for the album. Island Records head L.A. Reid suggested Carey to compose a few more strong singles to ensure the project's commercial success. Noting that she had written some of her best work with Jermaine Dupri, Reid recommended that Carey meet with Dupri for a brief studio session. Carey took Reid's advice and headed to Atlanta to collaborate with Dupri. During this two-day trip, the duo wrote and produced "Shake It Off" and "Get Your Number," which were eventually released as the album's third and fourth singles. Following this recording session, "Shake It Off" was briefly selected as the album's lead single, replacing the two other contenders "Stay The Night" and "Say Somethin'". Dupri explained to MTV News: I had that beat actually before she got to the studio. So she came in, she heard that beat and was like, 'Yeah, that's what I want.' That was one of the first records we had. I didn't really know what to do for her because I didn't hear nothing else that was on the album, but I just felt like she didn't have that bounce on her album. Composition "Shake It Off" is a mid-tempo R&B song with a pop and hip hop backbeat and a "thumping", sparse production. Written and produced by Carey, Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox and Johntá Austin, the song drew comparisons to several productions from Usher's 2004 album, Confessions. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by W.B.M. Music Corporation, "Shake It Off" is set in common time with a tempo of 66 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of D major with Carey's vocal range spanning from the low-note of D3 to the high-note of G#6. The song follows in the chord progression of Bm7–Am7–Gmaj7 The verses and chorus remain in a narrow voice range, until according to Jon Pareles of The New York Times, Carey "gives herself a few of her old sky-high notes as a background flourish" near the song's end. According to Carey's album guide in Rolling Stone, Dupri leaves his trademark on the album's best tracks including "Shake It Off", with the track's production and beat described as "syncopated" and "bouncy." Lyrically, the song features a message of female strength, the song lyrics were described as "goofy" and "fun" by