Glitter by Mariah Carey

Glitter is the soundtrack to the 2001 film of the same title and the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on August 18, 2001, in Japan by Sony Music and in the United States on September 11, 2001, by Virgin Records. Mixing dance-pop, funk, hip hop and R&B, the album was a complete musical departure from any of Carey's previous releases, focusing heavily on recreating a 1980s post-disco era to accompany the film, set in 1983. By covering or heavily sampling several older tunes and songs, Carey created "Glitter" as an album that would help viewers connect with the film, as well as incorporating newly written ballads. The singer collaborated with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and DJ Clue, who co-produced the album. Musically, "Glitter" was structured to be a retro-influenced album and have more of a dance-oriented element. On several songs, critics noted Carey to be more sexually suggestive lyrically than before. Glitter featured several musical acts such as Eric Benét, Ludacris, Da Brat, Busta Rhymes, Fabolous, and Ja Rule. Upon release, both the album and its accompanying film were met with generally negative reviews from critics, who felt it failed in trying to capture a genuine 1980s theme, and there were too many guest appearances. Retrospective reviews, however, have been largely positive, with many saying the album was unfairly maligned. Universally, "Glitter' was viewed as a commercial and critical failure, leading to Virgin Records cancelling Carey's $100 million five-album contract and dropping her from the label. While it debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200, at the time it marked Carey's lowest first-week sales of any album she had ever released. Internationally, it peaked outside the top ten in many countries, but topped the charts in Japan and Greece. "Glitter" became Carey's least successful album at the time, selling two million copies worldwide. Nearly two decades after its release, "Glitter" began to attract wide praise from mainstream critics and has developed a cult following. On May 22, 2020, Carey announced the album's release on streaming services. #JusticeForGlitter is the hashtag Mariah's lambs used to bring this album to #1 on iTunes prior to the release of "Caution". ℗ 2001 MARIAH