 Following her decline in popularity between 2001 and 2005 , critics dubbed the song her musical comeback , as many had considered her career over . " We Belong Together " earned her several music industry awards and nominations throughout 2005 – 06 . The song broke chart records in the United States and became Carey 's sixteenth topper on the US Billboard Hot 100 . After staying at number one for fourteen non @-@ consecutive weeks , it was placed as the second longest running number one song in US chart history , behind Carey 's own " One Sweet Day , " collaboration with Boyz II Men ( 1995 ) . Billboard listed it as the " song of the decade " and the ninth most popular song of all time . Additionally , it broke several airplay records , gathering both the largest one @-@ day and one @-@ week audiences in history . " We Belong Together " also topped the charts in Australia and reached the top two in Canada , New Zealand , and the United Kingdom . 
