 Following the release of Rainbow , Carey left Sony and signed an $ 80 million , four @-@ album contract with EMI 's Virgin Records , wishing to severe all ties with Sony and its chairman , her former husband Tommy Mottola . Halperin and Hampp believe that following a prolonged period of absence from Sony and re @-@ signing with them is a positive situation for Carey : " Doug Morris , current chairman / CEO of Sony Music , brought Carey to Island Def Jam in 2003 when he was running Universal Music Group . Reid , then head of Island Def Jam , oversaw her Mimi @-@ powered 2005 comeback . Joey Arbagey , a collaborator of Carey 's during the making of the six @-@ times platinum [ The Emancipation of Mimi ] , is now executive vp A & R at Epic . " Furthermore , Carey released seven studio albums , a live EP and four compilation / greatest hits albums with Sony , which have sold a total of 43 @.@ 9 million units in the US combined . Although Halperin and Hampp note that " Carey 's legacy is undisputed , her recent stumbles have not gone unnoticed , " with regard to her divorce from Nick Cannon , the low sales of Me . I Am Mariah … The Elusive Chanteuse and its failure to garner a top @-@ ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 and hiring and firing three managers : Dupri , Randy Jackson and Kevin Giles ( the last of whom Carey has kept as a consultant ) . As a result , several record labels were reluctant to offer Carey a contract . According to Billboard , many other critics felt that reuniting with Reid is Carey 's best chance of re @-@ establishing herself on the charts . 
