 E = MC ² was generally well received by music critics , with many complimenting the record 's broad genre influences , and musical and production styles . Some critics , however , felt that the album was too similar to The Emancipation of Mimi , and didn 't offer anything new from the formula . The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with opening week sales of 463 @,@ 000 copies ; the highest first @-@ week sales of Carey 's career . It opened inside the top @-@ five on the albums chart in Australia , Canada , Switzerland and the United Kingdom . The album achieved worldwide sales of over 2 @.@ 5 million copies . 
