 In 2005 , Carey signed a new record deal with Island Records and released her tenth studio album , The Emancipation of Mimi . It became the best @-@ selling album of 2005 the United States , and the second best @-@ seller around the world , with over 12 million units sold . It earned a myriad of music industry awards , and brought Carey back to the top of pop music following her commercial decline in 2001 . After completing The Adventures of Mimi Tour , she began working on material for her eleventh studio effort , the yet untitled E = MC ² . E = MC ² was hailed as one of the most anticipated albums of 2008 , with many critics weighing their opinions on whether Carey would be able to deliver significant success , following her achievements with The Emancipation of Mimi . Carey began writing and producing the music she saw fit , and not anything to please record executives . Throughout 2007 , Carey recorded the album in a studio built into her private villa in Anguilla , in the Caribbean . She describe E = MC ² as one of her most expressive albums , and one that she felt free on , and able to express herself through her music . In an interview with The Bryan Times , Carey spoke of her sentiments on the album " It 's hard for me to sit here and talk about it without sounding like if I 'm bragging if I 'm in love with it , but I am I love with this album . I think that having the success with the last record allowed me to have more freedom ... and just make records that I like . Its kind of a really fun record . 
