Q&A: Mariah Carey enters ‘the era of me’ with her first album in 7 years

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Seven years after her last album and 35 years into a powerhouse career, Mariah Carey continues her reign as the queen of pop and R&B with “Here for It All.”

If good things come to those who wait, fans are about to audibly feast on Carey’s evolution with this musically layered project.

Carey’s 16th studio album, out Friday, brings fans into what she’s calling “the era of me” — leaning into her now-familiar, unapologetically confident energy. “I’m D-I-V-A, that’s MC … I ain’t checked

a price since Emancipation Mi … I’m the movie and the muse/and you couldn’t walk a mile in my shoes,” she sings on the first track, “Mi.”

The 11-track album includes singles “Type Dangerous,” sampling Eric B. and Rakim, and “Sugar Sweet,” featuring vocals from Kehlani and Shenseea. Anderson .Paak and the Clark Sisters join in the fun.

Carey recently sat down with The Associated Press to discuss her collaborations, the spirituality woven into her music and her most liberating era. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

AP: What comes first in the songwriting process for you? And has it become almost like a spiritual discipline in a way where whenever you need to enter a space of healing or process emotions, you immediately turn to songwriting?

CAREY: It’s really interesting. I have all different ways of going about it. Sometimes I’ll just have to say this happened in the past and sometimes it happens again, you never know what it’s going to be. But I’ll suddenly be like — I hear a melody and a lyric at the same time, and I’ll go, you know, put it in my notes and sing it into the notes and also just write down what I’m hearing, what I am feeling. I think songwriting has definitely been my outlet for what I need when I’m ever going through something, you know, whenever I’m feeling like the need to express myself. It’s definitely songwriting.

AP: You get to work with The Clark Sisters on this project. I know in the past you’ve listed them as an influence. What was it like to have this full circle moment where you’re both collaborating on “Jesus I Do”?

CAREY: It was amazing. I was so thrilled to be able to work with the Clark Sisters. ... I never could have imagined that it would have happened that I would be able to work with The Clark Sisters, but we did. So, it was major ... definitely butterflies coming into it. And also just like, you know, shaking a little bit like, “This is really happening.”

AP: You’ve mixed in your faith through different gospel tracks on different albums. We see it in this one as well with “Jesus I Do.” Why is it important for you to say, “I’m not necessarily making a gospel album with this one, but I want to make sure that I bring my faith into this a little bit?”

CAREY: Well, it was interesting. Also, the title track, “Here for It All,” kind of has a spiritual tonality to it, and interestingly enough, I put “Jesus I Do” right before that. ... Since the past few albums that I’ve done, I’ve kind of had to put something spiritual in there because it’s for me, it’s not like a “Let me impress this one or that one with this.” That was, you know, always just for me to really feel like that spiritual side of who I am ... it’s definitely almost like a dedication to faith.

AP: I feel like you're one of the few icons who is so connected to their fans and invites them in any chance that you get. What is it about that love that is so important to you and how much do they play into the decision-making of what goes into the album?

CAREY: I love my fans, like we have this whole thing with the Lambily, it’s a long story, but we love the Lambs. And I think the fact that they really study the albums, you know, like it’s not just like, “Oh, I’ll just throw this out.” I know they’re going to really be focused on what I’ve written about, what type of musical selections I’ve made, so, yeah, I don’t know, we just have an incredible connection.

AP: “Here for It All” so beautifully ties everything together. What led you to say this is the one that’s gonna be representing the album, but it’s also gonna be the one that really ties it all together at the end?

CAREY: Well, I knew it was going to be the one that ties it all together at the end. But then I also, when listening to the album that I had sequenced, I said I have to put “Here for It All” at the end because I want people to take the time to listen to it. I want my fans to take time to listen it and just to know that it’s, in a way, it’s kind of for them. It’s interesting. It’s got a vibe to it that just happened.

AP: You’re embarking on a new creative chapter for this. I’m curious, did the album unfold as you were organically making new music?

CAREY: Yeah, I was working on this album for so long, and I didn’t even know, like, was I going to put it out? What was it going to be? And it just became something that I then sort of focused on and said, I’m going to make this my 16th album, which I can’t even believe it is. But yeah, I am so thankful for where we are at with this album, and I can wait for people to hear it. We're calling it the era of me.

AP: I know you’ve mentioned that “Butterfly” era was the first time that you felt free in your music. What does that mean to you to feel free, and how have you continued to feel free throughout all of these different eras that you’ve gone through?

CAREY: Well, the “Butterfly” era was amazing and also a scary moment because I was going through like a breakup of a relationship that I really couldn’t get out— it was a whole thing. I don’t want to go into it because I hear people are saying that I won’t let it go so I’m like, “It’s just one person, we don’t care about them.” But yeah, “Butterfly” was definitely my first time feeling fully free and just, yeah, loving the moment. Even though I was a little bit stuck in a moment, I got through it.